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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..e50e605 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #54558 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/54558) diff --git a/old/54558-0.txt b/old/54558-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index c9bb910..0000000 --- a/old/54558-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,9428 +0,0 @@ -Project Gutenberg's The Life of Henry Bradley Plant, by G. Hutchinson Smyth - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: The Life of Henry Bradley Plant - -Author: G. Hutchinson Smyth - -Release Date: April 17, 2017 [EBook #54558] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LIFE OF HENRY BRADLEY PLANT *** - - - - -Produced by Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images available at The Internet Archive) - - - - - - - - - - [Illustration: text decoration] - - - - - _Henry Bradley Plant._ - - - - - THE LIFE OF - HENRY BRADLEY PLANT - - FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT OF THE PLANT SYSTEM - OF RAILROADS AND STEAMSHIPS AND ALSO - OF THE SOUTHERN EXPRESS COMPANY - - BY - G. HUTCHINSON SMYTH, D.D. - - [Illustration: text decoration] - - G. P. PUTNAM’S SONS - NEW YORK AND LONDON - The Knickerbocker Press - 1898 - - _Compliments of - The Author._ - - COPYRIGHT, 1898 - BY - G. P. PUTNAM’S SONS - Entered at Stationers’ Hall, London - - The Knickerbocker Press, New York - - - - -[Illustration: text decoration] - -PREFACE. - - -If it be asked why another biography is added to the almost endless -number now in our bookstores and libraries, an answer is found in the -countless distinctions of individual character, and in the varied -experiences which come to men in different walks of life. The botanist -says that of all leaves in the forests of the world, no two can be found -alike in every particular. The phrenologist says the same of the various -forms of the human head, and the psychologist affirms it of the -intellects and dispositions of men and women. Hence each life has its -own peculiar experience to record for the pleasure or profit of others. - -Biography is the most universally interesting and instructive branch of -literature; hence the power of the novel and drama, which are merely -biographies pictured and acted before us. A study of history shows that -the nations’ great movements are the work of individual men and women. -In illustration of this fact it is needful to mention such names only -as Abraham, Joseph, Esther, Joan of Arc, Napoleon, and Washington. - -The commercial and industrial occupations from which a nation now -derives its strength should be honored as truly as the military exploit, -or the scientific achievement. The record of a noble life which, in its -sphere of quiet duty, has accomplished much for the good of others, is a -lesson in patriotism and a legacy to posterity. The best period of the -history of the Cotton States could only be written by taking into -account the share which the subject of this biography has had in their -development. - -It is rare to find a man who has had dealings with so many of his -fellows, and who, at the same time, has won the esteem and affection of -his associates and employés, as has Henry Bradley Plant in every -department of his great railroad system. - -The writing of this biography is undertaken in the belief that there are -many general readers to whom the record of such a life will be as -welcome as it must be to those to whom, in his manifold activities, he -has proved a benefactor and a friend. - -G. H. S. - - - - -[Illustration: text decoration] - - - CHAPTER I. - - PAGE - - The Plant Family--Birth of Henry Bradley Plant--Mr. Plant’s - Parents--Ancestors Came from England in 1639--David Plant Occupied - Many Positions of Honor and Trust--A. P. Plant’s Successful Business - Career--H. B. Plant on his Mother’s Side is Descended from Joseph - Frisbee, a Major in Washington’s Army--Reverend Levi Frisbee, Father - of Professor Levi Frisbee of Harvard College--Connection with Sir - William Pepperell, Bart.--The Historian of the Frisbee Family--Richard - of the Second Generation Went from Virginia to Connecticut, and - Settled at Branford, 1644--Sketch of Oliver Libby Frisbee, Historian - of his Family--Senator Hoar’s Relations to the Frisbee Family--Frisbee - Patriotism and Services to their Country--They Were Good, Church-going - People, mostly of the Puritan Belief--Probability that the Frisbees - Came from Wales.....1-14 - - - CHAPTER II. - - Branford, Connecticut, Purchased by the New Haven Colonists from - the Totokett Indians in 1638--First Settlements Were Made in - 1644--First Church of Logs Surrounded by Stockade to Protect from - Indians--Guards at the Gate during Service--Church and Town Records - Preserved at Branford--John Plum, the First Town Clerk--Style of - the Second Church Building and Character of its Services--Rev. - Timothy Gillett its Pastor--He Taught an Academy in Addition to his - Pastoral Work--Prominent Families of Branford--Intelligent Character - of the People--De Tocqueville’s High Estimate of this “Leetle - State”--Branford in 1779.....15-22 - - CHAPTER III. - - The Blackstone Family--The Ancestor Came from England before - 1630--His Name Was William Blaxton--Settled first in Massachusetts, - afterwards Went to Rhode Island--His Beautiful Character and Numerous - Descendants--Origin of Yale College of Branford--The Blackstone - Memorial Library.....23-34 - - - CHAPTER IV. - - The Plants Came from England to Branford, between Two Hundred and - Three Hundred Years ago--Still Own the Lands first Acquired--Henry’s - Father Died of Typhus Fever when Henry Was about Six Years Old--His - Tender Recollection of his Mother--Henry’s First Day at School--His - Natural Diffidence--Mr. Plant’s After-dinner Speeches--His Mother’s - Second Marriage--Stepfather Kind to Henry--Thrown by a Plough Horse - and nearly Killed--Attended School at Branford--Engaged on Steamboat - Line Running between New Haven and New York--On Leaving, Promised a - Captaincy--Marriage--Express Business--Leaves New Haven and Goes to - New York--Romantic Experience in Florida .....35-50 - - - CHAPTER V. - - Mr. Plant Goes from New Haven to New York--Captain Stone’s - Friendship--Mrs. Plant’s Health Fails again--Returns to the South--Is - Appointed Superintendent of Adams Express Company--His Great Executive - Ability--The Civil War--Mrs. Plant’s Death--Mr. Plant Buys out the - Adams Express Company.....51-55 - - - CHAPTER VI. - - Relations to the Confederate Government--Jefferson Davis Gives him - Charge of Confederate Funds--Mr. Plant Buys a Slave, who afterward - Nursed him through a Severe Sickness--Impaired Health--Goes to - Bermuda, New York, Canada, and Europe--Second Marriage.....56-67 - - - CHAPTER VII. - - Education from Books and from Experience--Keen Intuitions--Abreast of - the Progress--Mr. Plant’s After-dinner Speech at Tampa Banquet Given - him by Tampa Board of Trade, March 18, 1886--Location of Tampa--In - Territorial Days Had a Military Reservation--In 1884 Population about - Seven Hundred--Its Cosmopolitan Population now--Many Cubans and - Spaniards in Tampa--Tobacco Industry--Phosphate Abounds in this Part - of the State--Much of it Shipped to the North and to Europe--Plant - System Gives Impetus to the Prosperity of the Place--Its Progress the - Last Five or Six Years.....68-86 - - - CHAPTER VIII. - - Florida Mr. Plant’s Hobby--Banquet at Ocala--Mr. Plant’s Speech--Sail - on Lakes Harrison and Griffin--Banquet at Leesburg--Visit to - Eustis--Cheering Words to a Young Editor--Make the Best of the - Frost--It may be a Blessing in Disguise--Must Cultivate Other Fruits - (and Cereals) besides Oranges--Importance of Honesty--Sense of - Justice--Consideration for the Workmen--Unconscious Moulding-Power - over Associates and Employees--Letter of Honorable Rufus B. - Bullock.....87-101 - - - CHAPTER IX. - - Mr. Plant’s Industry and Power to Endure Continuous Strain--Labor of - Examining and Answering his Enormous Mail--Letter from Japan--Mail - Delivered Regularly to him at Home and Abroad--His Private Car, - its Style, Structure, Hospitality, and Cheering Presence--Numerous - Calls--The Secret of his Endurance--The Esteem and Love of the - Southern Express Company for its President--Mr. Plant Enjoys Social - Life--He is a Great Lover of almost all Kinds of Music--Mr. Plant - a Medical Benefactor--Some of the Progress Made in the Healing - Art--Bishop of Winchester’s High Estimate of the Value of Health--Dr. - Long’s Opinion of the Gulf Coast as a Health Restorer--Unrecognized - Medicines in Restoring Lost Health--Nervousness among the American - People--The Soothing and Strengthening Effect of Florida Climate--Mr. - Plant’s Part in Facilitating Travel and Providing Comfortable - Accommodations for the Invalid.....102-116 - - - CHAPTER X. - - Reason for Submitting Press Sketches of Mr. Plant--_Descriptive - America_, December, 1886--_City Items_, December, 1886--_Railroad - Topics_--_Home Journal_, New York, March, 1896--F. G. De Fontain - in same Journal--Ocala _Evening Times_, June, 1896--_Express - Gazette_.....117-140 - - - CHAPTER XI. - - Mr. Plant’s Close and Constant Contact with the Great System as - Seen in the Following Letters--Letter Written on Board the Steamer - _Comal_--Letters on Trip to Jamaica, West Indies, March 15, 1893, and - Published in the _Home Journal_.....141-149 - - - CHAPTER XII. - - MANAGEMENT OF THE GREAT PLANT SYSTEM WORTHY OF ADMIRATION AND - IMITATION.....150-156 - - - CHAPTER XIII. - - Plant Day at the Cotton States and International Exposition of 1895 - at Atlanta, Georgia--Preparations for its Celebration--Impressive - Observances of Mr. Plant’s Birthday at the Aragon Hotel--Mr. Plant’s - Remarks in Acknowledging Presentation of Gifts.....157-182 - - - CHAPTER XIV. - - Tampa Bay Hotel, One of the Modern Wonders of the World--Its - Architecture, Furniture, Works of Art, Decorations, Tapestries, - Paintings, Inlaid Table and Three Ebony and Gold Cabinets from the - Tuileries, a Sofa and Two Chairs once Owned by Marie Antoinette--The - Dream of De Soto Realized--A Palace of Art for the Delight and - Joy of Those who are in Health, and an Elysium for the Sad and - Sorrowful.....183-203 - - - CHAPTER XV. - - Programme of Plant Day Ceremonies--Ringing of the Liberty - Bell--Presentation of Addresses to Mr. Plant in the Great - Auditorium--His Reply--Resolutions from the Different Departments of - the System, from the Savannah Board of Trade, etc.--Mr. Morton F. - Plant’s Acknowledgments.....204-226 - - - CHAPTER XVI. - - Banquet at the Aragon Hotel Ends the Festivities of the Day--Sketch - of the Southern Express Company--Distinguished Callers on President - Plant during the Day--Many Telegrams and Letters of Congratulation - Received--Many Press Notices of the Day, and many Tributes of Respect - and Esteem for him who Called it forth.....227-263 - - - CHAPTER XVII. - - Some Changes that have Taken Place in the Configuration of the - Globe--Islands Born and Buried--French Revolution--Napoleon’s - Influence on Europe--England’s Long Wars--Barbarous Treatment - of Prisoners--Slavery Abolished--English Profanity and - Intemperance--Temperance Movements--Duelling--Penny Postage--Expansion - of the Press--Canals, Erie and Suez--Railroads in England and the - United States--First Steamer to Cross the Atlantic--First Steamship - Line.....264-278 - - - CHAPTER XVIII. - - Railroads Established--Engineering Progress--Steel, Iron - Steamships--Horse Railroad--Kerosene Oil in Use 1830--Sewing - Machines--Agricultural Implements 1831-51--Sanitary - Progress--Philanthropic and Christian Progress--Higher - Education--Medical Progress--Humane Care of the - Insane--Sailors’ and Seamen’s Home--World’s Fairs--Religious - Reciprocity--Arbitration--Numerous Inventions and Discoveries--Henry - B. Plant in War and in Peace--Testimonial Presented to Mr. and Mrs. - Plant on the Twenty-fifth Anniversary of their Wedding.....279-306 - - - PLANT GENEALOGY.....307-337 - - - INDEX.....339-344 - -[Illustration: text decoration] - - - - -ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. - - -The author takes pleasure in acknowledging his indebtedness to many of -the Southern Express and “Plant System” officials for their prompt and -valuable assistance in the preparation of a biography of their able and -esteemed President. Chief among those to whom thanks are due may be -mentioned Messrs. A. P. C. Ryan, M. J. O’ Brien, D. F. Jack, B. W. -Wrenn, and G. H. Tilley. The last named furnished not only much material -in manuscript and print, but many valuable suggestions as to their use. -The letter of Ex-Governor Bullock of Georgia, published in the volume -reveals the noble nature which penned it, far more eloquently than any -words which can be written here, and is alike honorable to its -distinguished subject and its eminent author. - -Acknowledgment is due also to the papers from which extracts have been -taken. - - - - -[Illustration: text decoration] - -THE LIFE OF HENRY BRADLEY PLANT. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - - The Plant Family--Birth of Henry Bradley Plant--Mr. Plant’s - Parents--Ancestors Came from England in 1639--David Plant Occupied - Many Positions of Honor and Trust--A. P. Plant’s Successful - Business Career--H. B. Plant on his Mother’s Side is Descended from - Joseph Frisbee, a Major in Washington’s Army--Reverend Levi - Frisbee, Father of Professor Levi Frisbee of Harvard - College--Connection with Sir William Pepperell, Bart.--The - Historian of the Frisbee Family--Richard of the Second Generation - Went from Virginia to Connecticut, and Settled at Branford, - 1644--Sketch of Oliver Libby Frisbee, Historian of his - Family--Senator Hoar’s Relations to the Frisbee Family--Frisbee - Patriotism and Services to their Country--They Were Good - Church-Going People, Mostly of the Puritan Belief--Probability that - the Frisbees Came from Wales. - - -Henry Bradley Plant was born October 27, 1819, at Branford, Connecticut. -His paternal great-grandfather was attached to Washington’s army as a -private, when Washington was at Newburg, and he was one of the guard of -the unfortunate Major André at the time of his execution. His -great-grandfather on his grandmother Plant’s side was a major in General -Washington’s army at the same time. - -Mr. Plant’s father was Anderson Plant and his mother was Betsey Bradley. -They were married December 23, 1818, and were of good old Puritan -ancestry who came from England about two hundred and sixty years ago. -According to a genealogical table at the end of this volume, it will be -seen that John Plant was in Hartford, Connecticut, in the year -1639,--some give the date three years earlier,--and his son, John Plant, -is granted a tract of land at Branford in 1667. These people possessed -the characteristics that distinguished their race. They loved freedom, -were thrifty, energetic, self-reliant, patriotic, and devoutly -religious. Many of them were officers, and most of them members in the -Congregational Church, which was the only church in the town for the -first hundred years of its history. - -Some of them occupied positions of honor and responsibility in the State -and country. - -David Plant was born at Stratford, prepared for college at the Cheshire -Academy, graduated at Yale College in 1804, studied law at the -Litchfield Law School, and was a classmate of John C. Calhoun. In 1819 -and 1820, he was Speaker of the House of Representatives, and in 1821 -was elected to the State Senate and twice re-elected. He was -Lieutenant-Governor of the State from 1823 to 1827, and from 1827 to -1829 he was a member of the United States Congress. In politics he was a -staunch Whig. He was an influential man in the political circles of his -day in the State of Connecticut, and Calhoun, when Secretary of State, -offered him any position within his gift; but he refused to hold office -under the dominant party. - -Another successful man of the Plant family was A. P. Plant, son of -Ebenezer and Lydia (Neal) Plant, born at Southington in the year 1816. - -Early in life he began to earn his own living, and by industry, economy, -and business tact he became in time the head of a large manufacturing -establishment. He settled in that part of the town known as the -“Corner,” a part which rapidly increased in population and soon grew -into a prosperous village. It bears the name of Plantsville in honor of -A. P. Plant and his brother E. H. Plant. His biographer says: “He made a -profession of religion in 1833; and from that time was an influential -member of the Baptist Church. In 1850, he was elected a deacon of the -church in Southington, and held the office until 1872, when he -transferred his relations to the new enterprise started in his own -village. To this church he gave liberally, and left it a legacy in his -will.” He is described as a most faithful and consistent Christian, an -esteemed officer in the church, and a firm believer in the presence of -the Holy Spirit in the heart of the Christian. - -Henry Bradley Plant, on his grandmother’s side, is a direct descendant -of Joseph Frisbee, a major in Washington’s army. The Frisbees were a -numerous family, and many of them occupied positions of honor and -influence in the history of the country. One of them writing to Mr. -Plant says: - -“I suppose you have often wondered what has become of my history of the -Frisbee family. I have been diligently at work on it since you heard -from me. It has grown from a very small beginning to be quite an affair, -namely, from looking up my ancestors so that I could join the hereditary -societies of the United States, to writing a history of over one -thousand of the lineal descendants of Edward Frisbee, the first settler. -I find them a noble race, worthy of history. I have also looked up my -maternal ancestors and can trace them back to 1497, thirteen -generations, among them Sir William Pepperell.” - -The fitness of the writer, Oliver L. Frisbee, for his task of searching -the records of his long line of progenitors may be gathered from another -paragraph in the same letter where he says: “My Alma Mater, Bates -College, gave me the degree of Master of Arts, last Commencement, for -eminent success in business and proficiency in the studies of genealogy, -heraldry, and colonial history.” - -The following sketch, with some slight corrections, is taken from a -carefully prepared account, by the same writer, of the descendants of -Richard Frisbee, the first-named ancestor of this family. - -“Richard Frisbee came from England to Virginia, in 1619, when he was -twenty-four years old. In 1642, the Governor of Virginia ordered all -those who would not join the Church of England to leave the Colony, and -hundreds went to Eastern Virginia, now the State of Maryland. Among -these refugees were Richard Frisbee and his two sons, James and William. -They purchased plantations in Cecil County and resided on Kent Island, -the northern part of Chesapeake Bay. - -“At first the Governor of Virginia claimed this island; later, Lord -Baltimore and afterwards, William Penn. The latter wrote to James -Frisbee, from London, in 1681, instructing him to pay no tax to Lord -Baltimore. James Frisbee was a member of the House of Representatives of -Maryland, and held other important positions in the State. In addressing -a petition to His Majesty, in 1688, he, with others, began their -petition thus: ‘We the undersigned Englishmen though born in America,’ -etc. James went back to England, the land of his birth, in his old age. - -“Richard, son of Richard the emigrant, came from Virginia to -Connecticut, and settled at Branford in 1644, when his brothers went to -Maryland. His son John had several children, among them Edward and -Joseph. The former was the ancestor of Major Philip Frisbee, of Albany -County, New York. He was in the War of the Revolution, and his grandsons -belonged to the Sons of the American Revolution, of the State of New -York. President Edward S. Frisbee of Wells College, in New York State, -is his descendant. The latter, Joseph, your ancestor [referring to Mr. -Plant], married September 14, 1712, had a son Joseph who married Sarah -Bishop, August 25, 1742. Their son Joseph married Sarah Rogers, March -11, 1773. Their eldest child, Sarah, born May 15, 1774, was your -grandmother. - -“The name Joseph has been in our branch of the family a long time. My -father’s name was Joseph. I had a brother Joseph, and my son born this -summer is also named Joseph. - -“The youngest child of the first Edward was Ebenezer, my ancestor, -brother to John, your ancestor. He had two sons, Ebenezer and Elisha. -The latter was the father of the Rev. Levi Frisbee who settled at -Ipswich, Massachusetts, and was the father of Professor Levi Frisbee of -Harvard College, who died in 1820, one of the most talented men that -ever passed through that institution. Senator Hoar was named for him, -George Frisbie Hoar. Ebenezer’s son James, born in 1722, was lieutenant -with Captain Paul Jones, and was killed one hundred and fifteen years -ago to-day, September 23d, in the engagement between the _Bonne Homme -Richard_ and _Serapis_ in the English Channel. This was my -great-grandfather and by right of descent from him I joined the Sons of -the American Revolution. His son Darius (born in 1769), my grandfather, -settled in Kittery, Maine, and married Dorothy Gerrish, a -great-granddaughter of Colonel William Pepperell, a well-known merchant -and the father of Sir William Pepperell, Bart., the hero of Louisburg. -Dorothy Gerrish was also related to some of the most distinguished -colonial families in New England.” - -The subjoined letters from John B. Frisbee and Senator Hoar will be of -interest in this connection. - - -“LAKEWOOD, N. J., December 16, 1894. - -“MY DEAR MR. PLANT: - - “This tardy reply to your favor of the 6th inst. is occasioned by - illness since its receipt, and which prompted my coming to this - place to recruit. I am now rapidly recovering from quite a severe - attack of grippe, and hope to be able to leave for Mexico this - week. - - “Referring to the subject of your letter, I can only give you - meagre information. My great-grandfather, Philip Frisbie, was a - major in the New York Militia and served under Washington, and I - have no doubt was closely related to the Joseph Frisbie you - mention. - - “I have a first cousin, Mrs. Farman, the wife of Judge Farman, - formerly United States Consul-General in Egypt, who has devoted - much time and research in obtaining an accurate history of our - family. Recently, she went to Europe for the purpose of educating - her children in the French and German languages. - - “I have written to her, requesting her to advise you directly in - regard to the information you desire, hence I feel assured that you - will in due time receive a letter from her upon the subject. - - “Since we last met I have visited New York several times, and upon - each occasion you have been absent from the city, thus depriving me - of the coveted pleasure of paying my respects to Mrs. Plant and - your good self; with best regards to both, I remain, - -“Yours very sincerely, - -“JOHN B. FRISBIE.” - - - - - -“UNITED STATES SENATE., -“WASHINGTON, D. C., January 26, 1895. - -“MY DEAR SIR: - - “I know very little about the Frisbie family in this country. I - have no relatives of that name. I was myself named for a very - intimate friend of my father, Prof. Levi Frisbie, who was an - eminent scholar in his time, a graduate at Harvard in 1802, and - afterwards filled two professorships there. His writings, as I dare - say you know, were collected with a brief memoir and are - occasionally to be found in bookstores. He was son of the Rev. Levi - Frisbie, of Ipswich, who delivered several addresses that have been - published. Prof. Frisbie wrote some articles for the _North - American Review_ which you will find referred to in Cushing’s lists - of the articles. Dr. Holmes wrote me some years ago an account of - Prof. Frisbie’s personal appearance, which I suppose I can find - when I am at home in Worcester, if you desire. Prof. Frisbie was - nearly blind and instructed his classes and pursued his studies - without being able to read - -“I am faithfully yours, - -“GEO. F. Hoar.[1] - - - - - - -“To O. L. FRISBIE, -“Portsmouth, N. H.” - - The Frisbee family was patriotic and promptly responded to the call - of freedom and independence. There were thirty-five of them from - Connecticut in the War of the Revolution. Eleven of them spelled - their names Frisbee; seventeen, Frisbie; and seven, Frisby. They - continued in the service of their country from the Lexington alarm, - April 19, 1776, until the disbanding of the army, by Washington, - on the Hudson in 1783. A regiment marched from Connecticut towns, - in 1775, to the relief of Boston. John Frisbee, son of Titus - Ebenezer, represented Branford in the Legislature from 1690 to - 1692. O. L. Frisbee writes to Mr. Plant: “Your ancestor was a good - churchman. From him, there is a long list of Frisbees in the - records of the church of Branford. In 1700, the annals of Branford - say that among the families prominently identified with the church, - town, and business from 1700 to 1800, the Frisbees, Bands, and - Plants head a long list in the order in which I have written their - names. This religious element seems to have been with the Frisbees. - Rev. Levi Frisbee, father of Professor Levi of Harvard College, was - a very pious man. - - “He was invited to deliver an oration on Washington at his death. - My grandfather was a very pious man; he founded a church at - Kittery, Maine. My father, Joseph Frisbee, was a deacon in the - church. He and Caleb Frisbee were in the regiment from Branford. I - found Noah and Edward Frisbee were members of the company that - marched to the relief of Fort William Henry, August, 1757, from - Connecticut. I found your ancestor Joseph Foote Frisbee was in the - Revolutionary War. He lived to be ninety-eight years of age. About - 1700, Samuel Baker and Samuel Frisbee, Jr., bought land for a - wharf at Dutch House Point, from Joseph Foote at Branford. Joseph - Foote Frisbee might have been named for this man. - - “In the church records of Branford there is a great deal about - Joseph Frisbee, in connection with the church from 1743 to 1746. I - find all the Frisbees good church (Congregational) people, from the - first Edward who settled at Branford, July 7, 1644. He and his wife - Abigail joined the Congregational church soon after settling in - Branford. I should say the Frisbees were good fighters in war, and - good church and law-abiding people, with Puritanic principles that - helped to build the nation.” - - In a history of the Wolcotts of Connecticut, it is stated that John - Frisbee and Abigail Culpepper, his wife, came from Wales. This may - be correct, although in the genealogical sketch already given it is - stated that the first of the family, Richard Frisbee, came from - England to Virginia in 1619, but the same sketch says that in 1642 - the Governor of Virginia ordered all who would not join the Church - of England to leave the Colony, and that hundreds went to Eastern - Virginia, now called Maryland, and that among them was Richard - Frisbee, who with his sons settled in Cecil County, living on Kent - Island, the northern part of Chesapeake Bay. Now it is quite - common, in the early accounts of immigration to America, to - describe the people as English, or as coming from England, when in - fact they were Scotch or Irish. But coming from any of the British - Islands they were often called English. This would be more likely - to be the case with those coming from Wales, which is, - geographically speaking, a part of the island of Great Britain. Be - this as it may, it is not of great importance. The spirit of - dissent from the Established Church was just as strong in England - as in Wales. The name Frisbee or Frisby, as its terminal denotes, - is of English origin, but it is quite possible that the family came - from one of the border countries. - - Whether this family came from Wales or England may be only a matter - of historic accuracy and personal interest; certain it is the - Frisbees are a people who have done honor to their country both in - war and in peace. They bore a prominent part in the victorious - struggle for the freedom and independence of the American Colonies. - They have been the promoters of education, peace, piety, and “the - righteousness that exalteth a nation.” We have given this account - of this people, for four reasons. First, because the historian of - the family, with a commendable pride, has collected and preserved - the family record of his people, from which the material for this - brief notice was placed at our disposal. Secondly, because the - family histories of the people who have combined to form the - American nation are only beginning to receive a slight part of the - attention which they justly merit. Thirdly, because a knowledge of - the numerous and varied races that have formed the nation is - essential to a correct understanding of the American people. - Fourthly, because in the present case, owing to the early death of - Mr. Plant’s father, the widowed mother was especially dear to him, - and is still cherished in his memory with the most tender and - affectionate regard. - - Mr. Plant’s connection with Washington’s army during the - Revolutionary War was one of the family traditions, but he was not - the man to accept honors unless he knew they rightly belonged to - him. So after an extensive correspondence, and a thorough - investigation of the military register in several States, and at - the national capital, he received the following communication, - which I have carefully copied from the original. - - “Records and Pension Office, War Department, Washington, November - 15, 1895. Respectfully returned to Mr. Oliver L. Frisbee, A.M., - Portsmouth, New Hampshire. It appears from the records of this - office, that Joseph Frisbee was enlisted September 3, 1780, and - served as a private in Lieutenant-Colonel Sherman’s Company (also - designated as Captain Sylvanus Brown’s and Lieutenant Joseph Hait’s - Company), Eighth Connecticut Regiment, Revolutionary War, and was - also discharged October 29, 1780.” On transmitting the above to Mr. - Plant, Mr. O. Frisbee writes from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, - December 24, 1895: “Enclosed please find the record from Washington - of the service of your grandmother’s father, Joseph Frisbee, in the - Revolutionary War. He was born August 17, 1745; married, March 11, - 1773, Sarah Rogers; had a daughter Sarah, born May 15, 1774, - married Samuel Plant, February 11, 1795. These records will enable - you and your sons to join in ‘The Sons of the American Revolution.’ - -“O. L. FRISBEE.” - - - -[Illustration: text decoration] - - - - -[Illustration: text decoration] - -CHAPTER II. - - Branford, Connecticut, Purchased by the New Haven Colonists from - the Totokett Indians in 1638--First Settlements were Made - 1644--First Church of Logs Surrounded by Stockade to Protect from - Indians--Guards at the Gate during Service--Church and Town Records - Preserved at Branford--John Plum the First Town Clerk--Style of the - Second Church Building and Character of its Services--Rev. Timothy - Gillett its Pastor--He Taught an Academy in Addition to his - Pastoral Work--Prominent Families of Branford--Intelligent - Character of the People--De Tocqueville’s High Estimate of this - “Leetle State”--Branford in 1779. - - -Soon after New Haven was settled, the people negotiated with the Indians -for an additional tract of land, some ten miles in length from north to -south. It extended eight or ten miles east of the Quinnipiac River. The -purchase of this land occurred in December, 1638. It was bought from an -Indian sachem named Sorsheog of Mattabeseck. The territory included the -land on which the town of Branford was built, and its Indian name was -Totokett. It was several years before the purchasers went to live at -Totokett. It was early in the year 1644 when the first settlers located -upon their lands at Branford. By the first of October of that year, the -society was so far organized that their minister could gather them for -regular service. The people soon built him a house and a meeting-house, -or church. This latter stood in the front of the old burying-ground; it -was built of logs and had a thatched roof, and was surrounded by a -cedar-wood stockade twelve feet high. A cedar-wood vase made from the -wood of this stockade is still in the possession of Mrs. Samuel O. -Plant. - -During the hours of worship, one or more of the men stood guard near the -entrance of the stockade. All carried firearms to church, or when going -any distance from home. They were not afraid of the Totokett Indians, -but of raiding bands of other Indian tribes who attacked both the whites -and Indians. The fierce Mohawks from the neighborhood of the Hudson were -often the assailants. The first thing that appears on the ancient -records of Branford is the division of lands among the first settlers in -the month of June, 1645. It has been said, and often repeated, that in -1666, when so many people went from Branford to settle at Newark, New -Jersey, they took the records of Branford with them. These in some way -were burned, and thus much valuable history was lost. But such was not -the fact. - -The town and church records have always - -[Illustration: _Old Homestead of the Plant Family._ - -_Branford, Connecticut._ - -_Birthplace of Henry Bradley Plant._] - -remained at Branford. They are quite full and in a reasonably good state -of preservation. In a manuscript history of Branford from which the -above account is taken, the name of the first town clerk, John Plum, in -1645, and a list of his successors, are given with the date of their -service. It is interesting to note how much alike are the ways and -customs of this old Puritan town to those of the town of Harlem, built -by the Dutch a little later and now part of New York City. In both -places the history of the town and the history of the church are one. -They are so interwoven that they can hardly be separated. The division -of the meadow-lands is the same; mutual protection from the Indians, and -the manner of defence are also alike. The official appointment, by the -town, of a man to gather in all the cows of the settlers, take them out -to graze in the morning, and bring them back at the proper time to be -milked, and many other such customs, are very much alike in both -settlements. - -The second church, or meeting-house, was built on the common, of wood, -and was succeeded by the present house of worship, which is built of -brick. Mr. Plant remembers the high galleries in the old church where -the seats were arranged in slips, the boys on one side, and the girls on -the other; neither could see the minister, and it is very doubtful -whether any of them heard him. There were no children’s sermons in -those days. The babes, of whom Paul writes, were not fed on milk, but on -strong meat, which even the rigorous doctrinal appetites of the fathers -sometimes found hard to digest. Some of the modern church movements, -such as women preaching, and Salvation Army barracks, would have -sufficiently alarmed those good orthodox people to make them call for a -day of fasting and prayer. Nevertheless they were a noble race, among -whom misappropriation and embezzlement of funds, trust swindling and -corporation stealing and political corruption were unknown. - -The pulpit was the old-fashioned barrel-shaped structure, and, like some -of the sermons, was high above the heads of the people. There was a -great sounding-board over the head of the preacher, and it used to be a -subject of calculation with the boys, whether this board would not some -day fall on the devoted head of the speaker and stop the sound -altogether. This church had the old family square pew, and in front of -the pulpit was a bench for the deacons. The people were classified in -their pews according to age, and the oldest, perhaps on account of their -difficulty in hearing, occupied the seats nearest the pulpit. The church -building was not warmed, save by the fervid sermons of those grand old -Puritan divines. That, however, reached only the head and heart, hence, -for the feet, they made stoves of sheet iron, over which was a -perforated tin casing, and over this a hardwood casing. Coals from -corncobs, or seasoned hickory, as being the most durable, were placed in -this stove, which was carried in the bottom of carriage or sleigh to -church, where its heat would last all forenoon. At the close of the -forenoon service, the people went to the neighboring church house, which -was warmed by a log fire. Here they ate their luncheon, and then -returned to the church for another two hours’ devotion. - -The Rev. Timothy P. Gillett was pastor of this church in Mr. Plant’s -boyhood. He taught an academy--Mr. Plant being a scholar for several -terms--in addition to his ministerial duties of preaching, visiting, and -catechising the church people. He was a sober, solemn, orthodox -clergyman of the old school, scholarly and dignified both in and out of -the pulpit. It is only a hint of the changes that time brings, and no -reflection on this good man’s charity to say that, had he seen one of -the modern ministers visiting his flock on a bicycle, he would have had -him deposed from the sacred office. Some unfortunate misunderstanding -came between him and his congregation in the latter part of his -ministry, so that his wife refused to have his remains interred in the -church burying-ground. She afterwards relented, was herself buried in -the church cemetery, and left in her will two thousand dollars to -defray the cost of removing her husband’s remains thither, and for -erecting a suitable monument to his memory. The sacred dust of both -pastor and wife rests, as it should, among the people to whom they -ministered for some fifty years or more. The town of Branford was -composed of an intelligent, industrious, and religious people, mostly -farmers and well-to-do citizens. The academy presided over by the Rev. -Timothy P. Gillett constituted a centre of intellectual, moral, and -spiritual development that inspired the life and elevated the character -of the people. - -The following account from, the _Branford Annals_ is only one of the -many testimonies that might be recorded of the patriotism and courage of -this people: - -“No town in New Haven County was more important during the war of -independence than old Branford. Her citizens proved very patriotic. She -had a few royalists who were somewhat troublesome. But most of her -people were self-sacrificing in a special degree in sustaining the -federal cause. No town surpassed her in furnishing men and means. Most -all of her able-bodied men were in the army, responding promptly at -every call. Col. William Douglass’ regiment, which did most effective -service, was largely recruited from Branford. The coasts and harbors of -Branford exposed her to visits from the vessels of the enemy. -Coast-guards were needed, and were kept night and day at Stony Creek, -Indian Neck, Town Neck, and at Branford Point. At the approach of the -enemy, two reports of a cannon were to call out all the people to repel -invasion. Expresses were kept in readiness to hasten to the remote parts -of the town with the alarming news. When New Haven was invaded, patriots -from Branford were quickly on hand to help. A company of her men were in -the battle at Milford Hill. Two Branford men, Goodrich and Baldwin, were -killed, and several others wounded at that battle. The attack of the -British on the east side of New Haven harbor was repelled by the -Branford home guard mostly. Those from Branford were supported by men -from Guilford, who hastened to the rescue. - -“At that time a new vessel, a brig named the _New Defence_, was at -Branford wharf almost ready to sail against the enemy. She had been -built and manned at Branford. Her future history was tragical. At the -first alarm of the landing at New Haven the guns of this vessel were -taken out and hurried over the hills to East Haven. There mounted and -vigorously used and well supported by the brave minute-men with their -muskets, the invaders were compelled to hasten a retreat. One of the -reports made by the British officers speaks of the strong force and -‘great guns’ encountered in that direction. There is an old record at -Branford showing that Mason Hobart, of that place, was paid £5 for -carting two cannon to East Haven from the brig _New Defence_, July 5, -1779.” - -Connecticut, though one of the smaller States of the Union, has ever -maintained a high standard of patriotism, education, and moral power in -the progress of the country. De Tocqueville was in the habit of saying, -“All de great men in Amerique comed from dat leetle State dey call -Connecti-coot.” Branford is an old seaport town. Its shipbuilding, -fisheries, West India trade, two hundred years ago, were quite extensive -for that day. It is also a seaside resort in summer, being half-way -between Boston and New York. - -Branford was for many years the Governor’s seat of the colonial -government of Connecticut. The house of Governor Saltonstall is still -standing. Many of the useful and prominent men of the country were born -and reared in this quiet yet enterprising little town, founded more than -two and a half centuries ago by the Puritans of old England. Among its -noted and worthy families were those of the Plants and Blackstones, of -whom we shall speak in the following chapter, as the two families became -connected by marriage, and are still warmly attached to their native -town. - - - - -[Illustration: text decoration] CHAPTER III. - - The Blackstone Family--The Ancestor Came from England before - 1630--His Name was William Blaxton--Settled First in Massachusetts, - afterwards Went to Rhode Island--His Beautiful Character and - Numerous Descendants--Origin of Yale College of Branford--The - Blackstone Memorial Library. - - -From a pamphlet history of the Blackstone family, in which the name is -spelled Blaxton, we gather the following interesting account: - -“For several years before Winthrop came, in 1630, William Blaxton -constituted the entire population of this peninsula [Massachusetts, of -which the present Boston Common was then a part], at that time an -unbroken wilderness of woods traversed by savages, by wolves, and other -wild beasts almost as dangerous. Here he dwelt alone, exposed to -dangers, many and great. He was a man of culture, refinement, and -gentlemanly bearing, amiable and hospitable, liked by Indians, and -indeed by everybody. These noble traits, this love of nature, his sacred -calling, his trusting faith, invested whatever belonged to him with a -romantic interest. He was a clergyman of the Church of England, born in -1595, graduated from Cambridge, England, in 1617, and died 1675, aged -eighty years. Blaxton took orders in the Episcopal Church, but it seems -that he never had a cure, though he still wore his canonical coat, which -would indicate his attachment to the English Church, yet some have -represented him as a non-conformist, ‘detesting Prelacy.’ He had in his -library ten large volumes of manuscript books, presumably sermons, all -of which were burned in his house during King Philip’s War. Blaxton came -to America in 1623 with Robert Gorges.” - -The father of Mr. Plant’s first wife was Captain James Blackstone. He -lived to the ripe old age of ninety-seven. His son, Timothy B. -Blackstone, is building a public library in Branford to the memory of -his revered father. The following extract of a letter to the donor from -one of the trustees of this library, Mr. Addison Van Name, will be of -interest in this connection, showing, as it does, the origin of Yale -College. The letter is dated from Yale University Library, and runs as -follows: - -“My fellow-trustees asked me to procure a design for a book-plate, and -one is herewith submitted for your approval. It seemed to us that a -memorable incident in the earlier library history of Branford might -appropriately be commemorated here, and this has been attempted in the -vignette, in the upper right-hand corner of the plate. You are no doubt -familiar with the story, but President Clap’s _Annals of Yale College_ -is not a very common book, and I may be excused for quoting his exact -language. - -“In the year 1700, ‘The Ministers so nominated met at New Haven, and -formed themselves into a body, or society, to consist of eleven -ministers, including a rector, and agreed to found a college in the -colony of Connecticut, which they did at their next meeting at Branford, -in the following manner, viz.: Each member brought a number of books and -presented them to the body, and laying them on the table said these -words, or to this effect, “I give these books for the founding a college -in this Colony.” Then the trustees, as a body, took possession of them, -and appointed the Rev. Mr. Russel, of Branford, to be the Keeper of the -Library, which then consisted of about forty volumes in folio.’” - -The story is so good that, if there were not the best of reasons for -believing it true, one might easily suspect it to have been invented. -But in his preface President Clap says: “Several circumstances [and -among them we may well suppose the incident in question] I received from -sundry gentlemen who were contemporary with the facts related, among -whom were some of the founders of the college with whom I was personally -acquainted in the year 1726.” - -The following account of Mr. Timothy B. Blackstone is taken from the New -York _Herald_ of April 12, 1896: - -“Mr. Blackstone was born in a part of Branford known as Blackstoneville, -on March 28, 1829. His father, Captain James Blackstone, in whose memory -he erected this building, was a well-to-do farmer and stock-raiser. He -derived his title of captain from being elected to that position in a -company of local militia. He was elected to the Legislature in the -sessions of 1825, 1826, and 1830, and was elected State Senator in 1840. - -“Timothy attended the public schools here until he was eighteen years -old, when he left, and obtained employment as assistant to a civil -engineer, who was at that time surveying on the construction of the New -York and New Haven, now the Consolidated, Railroad. After finishing this -piece of work he became an engineer, and was appointed assistant -engineer of the Stockbridge and Pittsfield Railroad, a short line -constructed in 1849, and now a part of the Housatonic road. After this -road was completed, Mr. Blackstone went west in 1851, and took charge of -the construction of a portion of the Illinois Central Railroad. He -settled at this time in La Salle, Ill., and was Mayor of the city for -one year. In 1856, he became civil engineer of the Joliet and Chicago -Railroad, which ran from Joliet via Lockport to Chicago. After this he -was employed in surveying the land over which the Chicago and Alton -Railroad now runs. - -“Mr. Blackstone first began accumulating wealth while this road was -being built. He purchased land ahead, and then sold it at a profit. He -then invested in stock, and held several responsible offices until he -attained his present position--president of the great system.” - -On June 17, 1896, the magnificent library was dedicated with appropriate -ceremonies, and called forth much enthusiasm from the towns-people. - -In the course of his speech on this occasion, as reported in the _Daily -Palladium_ of New Haven, Judge Harrison said: - -“While the primary purpose of the generous donor of this building, and -its endowment fund, is to benefit the people of the town of Branford, it -will never be forgotten that it serves also as a memorial to Hon. James -Blackstone, who spent his long life of ninety-three years in this town, -where he was born, and to the welfare of which he devoted so much time -during the years of his young and mature manhood. For nearly two -centuries the Blackstone family has occupied a conspicuous place in this -community, and for the same length of time representatives of the family -have been tillers of the soil, the title to which has always been in a -Blackstone. - -“We cannot properly dedicate this building to the purpose for which it -is intended without calling your attention briefly to James Blackstone, -his life, his family, and his ancestors. He was born in Branford in -1793, in a house located nearly opposite that home which was during -nearly his whole life his residence, and where he died on the 4th of -February, 1886. His first ancestor in this country was the Rev. William -Blackstone, a graduate, in 1617, of Emanuel College, Cambridge. He -received Episcopal ordination in England after graduation, but, like -John Davenport of New Haven, he soon became of the Puritan persuasion, -left his native country on account of his non-conformity, and became the -first white settler upon that famous neck of land opposite Charlestown, -which is now the city of Boston. When the Massachusetts colony came to -New England they found William Blackstone settled on that peninsula. He -had been there long enough to have planted an orchard of apple trees. -Upon his invitation, the principal part of the Massachusetts colony -removed from Charlestown and founded the town of Boston, on land which -Mr. Blackstone desired them to occupy. He was the first inhabitant of -the town, and the colony records of May 18, 1631, show that he was the -first person admitted a freeman of Boston. His house and orchard were -located upon a spot about half-way between Boston Common and the -Charles River. A few years passed by, and the peculiar notions of the -Puritans of Boston on the subject of church organization and government, -had satisfied William Blackstone that while he could not conform to the -church of Archbishop Laud, neither could he conform to the Puritan -Church of Boston, and when they invited him to join them he constantly -declined, using this language: ‘I came from England because I did not -like the lord-bishops; but I cannot join with you because I would not be -under the lord-brethren.’ - -“In 1633, an agreement was entered into between himself and the other -old settlers, in the division of the lands, that he should have fifty -acres allotted to him near his house forever. In 1635, he sold -forty-four of those acres to the company for £30, retaining the six -acres upon which was his orchard, and soon afterwards he removed to -Rhode Island, living near Providence until the time of his death, which -occurred on the 26th of May, 1675. A few years after leaving Boston he -sold the orchard of six acres to a man named Pepys. He was not in any -manner driven away from Boston by the Puritan Fathers, but holding -certain ideas which did not agree with those of his neighbors, he -concluded to move to a new location, from similar motives to those which -led John Davenport to leave New Haven and go to Boston after the union -of the New Haven colony with the Connecticut colony at Hartford. All of -the accounts and records of Rev. William Blackstone show him to have -been a religious man, with literary tastes, of correct, industrious, -thrifty habits, kind and philanthropic feelings, living for several -years on Boston Neck, and demonstrating the ability of the white man to -live in peace with only Indians for his neighbors. While living in Rhode -Island he frequently went to Providence to preach the gospel, and was -highly esteemed by all the settlers of that colony. In July, 1659, he -married a widow named Sarah Stevenson, and by her he had one son, John -Blackstone. The inventory of his estate after his death describes him as -having a house and orchard, 260 acres of land, interests in the -Providence meadows, and a library of 186 volumes of different languages. -A river of Rhode Island and a town in Massachusetts were named -Blackstone in his honor. - -“His only son, John, married in 1692, and about 1713 moved to the town -of Branford, where he took up his residence on lands southeast of the -centre of the town, and bounded southerly by the sea. - -“The son of this John Blackstone was born in 1669, and died in Branford, -January 3, 1785, aged nearly eighty-six. His son, John Blackstone, was -born in Branford in 1731, and died August 10, 1816, aged eighty-five. -The son of this last John Blackstone, Timothy Blackstone, was born in -Branford in 1776, and died in 1849, at the age of eighty-three. This -Timothy Blackstone was the father of Hon. James Blackstone, who was born -in Branford, in the old homestead of his father and grandfather, in -1793. - -“Here were five generations of the Blackstones living and dying upon the -old family farm in Branford. All of them seem to have possessed many of -the traits of their first ancestor in this country. They were noted for -their force of character, industry, modesty, and marked executive -ability. James Blackstone, like his ancestors, was a farmer. At the age -of twenty he was elected a captain in the Connecticut militia, and as -such commanded his company for several months while serving as -coastguard on Long Island Sound during the war of 1812-15. He held at -one time or another during his life the important local offices of the -town, such as assessor and first selectman. Before the separation of -North Branford in 1831, the township of Branford, as one of the original -towns, was entitled to two representatives in the General Assembly, and -on several occasions Captain James Blackstone of Branford and Captain -Jonathan Rose of North Branford were the representatives of the town at -Hartford and New Haven. In 1842, James Blackstone represented the Sixth -District in the State Senate. In politics he was a Federalist, a Whig, -and a Republican. His advice and counsel were sought by people, not -only of his own town, but of neighboring towns, when occasions arose -concerning the settlement of estates or other matters, where the opinion -and advice of a man of marked good judgment were needed. The first time -I ever saw Captain James Blackstone, he was pointed out to me by a -resident of the town, as he was driving past the old public square, with -the remark: ‘That is Captain James Blackstone. When he rises in a town -meeting and says, “Mr. Moderator, in my humble opinion it is better for -this town that a certain course be taken,” the expression of his opinion -always prevails with the majority of the voters in the meeting, so great -is the confidence the people of the town have in his judgment.’ His -character and remarkable ability can be easily read by any student of -physiognomy who will look at the admirable life-size portrait of him now -placed in this building. If his tastes had led him to a larger place for -the exercise of his ability, no field would have been so large that he -would not have been a leader among men. - -“Yet here he chose to dwell, performing his part well through the whole -of his long life.... - -“The donor of this library was the youngest son of James Blackstone. To -many of you his history and life are well known. He left the east more -than forty years ago to pursue his chosen profession. He married, in -1868, Miss Isabella Norton of Norwich, and since that time his home has -been upon Michigan Avenue, in that great metropolis of the west, -Chicago. There, for over thirty years he has managed with consummate -skill the affairs of the most successful of all the great railroads of -the west. Of him, his character, his generosity, and his remarkable -modesty, but great ability, I am not at liberty to speak ... but this is -not complete as a memorial of James Blackstone unless I mention briefly -the other descendants. The eldest son of James Blackstone, George, died -in 1861, never having been married. The eldest daughter, Mary, married -Samuel O. Plant. One of her daughters, Ellen Plant, is with us to-day. -Three grandchildren of Mrs. Mary Blackstone Plant, being the children of -her daughter Sarah, are William L., Paul W., and Gertrude P. Harrison. - -“The second son of James Blackstone, Lorenzo Blackstone, who lived for -many years in Norwich, and died there in 1888, had five children. The -eldest, De Trafford Blackstone, has one son, Lorenzo. The second child -of Lorenzo is Mrs. Harriet Blackstone Camp of Norwich, who has three -children, Walter Trumbull, Talcott Hale, and Elizabeth Norton Camp. The -second daughter of Lorenzo is Mrs. Frances Ella Huntington of Norwich. -The fourth child of Lorenzo Blackstone is William Norton Blackstone of -Norwich; and his youngest son, Louis Lorenzo Blackstone, died in 1893. - -“The second daughter of James Blackstone, Ellen Elizabeth, married Henry -B. Plant, now of New York City. She died in 1861, leaving one son, -Morton F. Plant, who is married and has one son, Henry B. Plant, Jr. -James Blackstone’s third son was John Blackstone, who died several years -ago, leaving three children, George and Adelaide Blackstone and Mrs. -Emma Pond. - -“Sir William Blackstone, the great authority upon the common law of -England, was a cousin of the fifth degree to our James Blackstone, and -the portraits of the two men bear a marked family resemblance. - -“Ten years ago James Blackstone passed to his reward. His influence for -good still exists in this community, where the old New England ideas are -yet strong, though modified by the leaven of modern industry, education, -and thought.” - -[Illustration: text decoration] - - - - -[Illustration: text decoration] CHAPTER IV. - - The Plants Came from England to Branford, between Two Hundred and - Three Hundred Years ago--Still Own the Lands First - Acquired--Henry’s Father Died of Typhus Fever when Henry was about - Six Years Old--His Tender Recollection of his Mother--Henry’s First - Day at School--His Natural Diffidence--Mr. Plant’s After-Dinner - Speeches--His Mother’s Second Marriage--Stepfather Kind to - Henry--Thrown by a Plough Horse and nearly Killed--Attended School - at Branford--Engaged on Steamboat Line Running between New Haven - and New York--On Leaving, Promised a Captaincy--Marriage--Express - Business--Leaves New Haven and Goes to New York--Romantic - Experience in Florida. - - -The Plants settled in Branford at an early date, and their descendants -still own the lands on which their ancestors first settled over two -hundred years ago. It will be seen, by referring to the genealogical -table at the end of this volume, that Anderson Plant was of the fifth -generation from John Plant, who resided in Hartford, Connecticut, in -1639. Anderson Plant was the father of Henry B. Plant, the subject of -this biography. He is described as a farmer in good circumstances, of -amiable disposition, fond of outdoor sports, gunning being a favorite -amusement. He died when Henry was six years of age, and, consequently, -Mr. Plant does not remember much about his father. He can recall, how -his father once came in, with a friend, from a morning’s duck shooting, -and threw down half a dozen ducks on the floor. At another time, his -father took him by the hand to see something that was happening in the -town which had drawn out the people, but he does not remember what it -was. His father died of typhus fever, and he himself also had the fever, -and was so ill that he knew nothing of his loss until he was partially -recovered from the dreadful disease. - -One week after the father’s death, the father’s youngest sister died, -and Henry’s sister also died a few days following, when she was about a -year old. He was then left alone with his mother. - -She was the only daughter of the Honorable Levi Bradley. He was a member -of the Legislature and also a musician who taught a singing school. Mr. -Plant remembers that his mother sat with the choir in front of the -pulpit and led the singing in the Congregational Church. She had been -brought up in the Episcopal Church, and though her father did not -approve of it, she deemed it her duty to go with her husband to his -church. - -“One of the first recollections I have of my mother,” says Mr. Plant, -“was on a Christmas Eve, when she dressed me up neatly, took me on her -knees, talked affectionately to me, and sang that beautiful vesper -hymn, ‘Adeste Fideles’; even now, whenever I hear it, it brings tears to -my eyes.” This explains tears the author has seen in his eyes while -listening to the orchestra in the music-room, but knew not then what -were their tender and sacred association. Little did that mother realize -the mighty power, the subduing influence, the enduring benediction to -her child of that simple act, the outgoing of the maternal heart. The -hallowed influence of that sacred hour has never been effaced through -long years, in the whirl of business, in the varied conflicts incident -to a public life, in close contact with civil war, within sound of the -booming cannon, and the groans of the dying, away in far distant lands, -and on stormy seas. Yet amid all, the hallowed influence of that sacred -hour, when a mere child on a mother’s knee, has never been effaced. How -well it accords with what the poet wrote: - - “I had a mother once like you, - Who o’er my pillow hung, - Kissed from my cheek the briny dew, - And taught my infant tongue. - - “She, when the nightly couch was spread, - Would bow my infant knee, - And place her hand upon my head, - And kneeling, pray for me. - - “Youth came; the props of virtue ruled; - But oft at day’s decline, - A marble touch my brow could feel, - Dear mother was it thine? - - “And still that hand so soft and fair, - Has kept its magic sway, - As when amid my curling hair - With gentle force it lay. - - “That hallowed touch was ne’er forgot, - And now though time hath set - Stern manhood’s seal upon my brows, - These temples feel it yet. - - “And if I e’er in Heaven appear, - A mother’s holy prayer, - A mother’s hand and gentle tear, - That pointed to a Saviour dear, - Will lead the wanderer there.” - -Mr. Plant’s first day at school is another tender memory connected with -his mother. She had dressed him up in new clothes and talked to him -about going to school and learning to read, and becoming a good scholar, -and doubtless much more that her kindly mother-heart would suggest to -awaken interest and stimulate ambition in the boy. Then she took him -outside the gate, pointed out the schoolhouse, kissed him, and told him -to go thither and give his name to the teacher as a scholar. His mother -intuitively knew her child’s sensitive disposition, and had her -misgivings about his being able to carry out her instructions; so she -concealed herself and watched him till he reached the school door. Here -poor little Henry’s courage failed him, and he came running back to his -mother, not to be scolded, but to be encouraged and helped over his -childish timidity. His mother this time went with him to the -schoolhouse, took him in, and made him acquainted with the lady teacher. -Thus began, more than seventy years ago, the first lesson of this most -successful man. The scene is as vivid in his mind to-day as it was on -the day when it was enacted. How little that teacher knew of the man -that was enfolded in this timid child, and of the great privilege, as -well as great responsibility, that was hers, thus early preparing him, -in part, for his great career. - -Henry was a very diffident child, nor did his diffidence quite cease -with childhood, for even in manhood at public dinners when he suspected -that he might be called on for a speech, it took away his appetite if -not the enjoyment of the otherwise pleasant occasion. - -This will surprise many of Mr. Plant’s friends who have listened to him -with pleasure and profit on many occasions. He rarely prepared his -speeches, but drew his ideas from that knowledge and experience which he -possessed on so many different subjects, and always spoke intelligently -in plain, clear, well-chosen words, without any attempt at oratorical -display. Of this we shall speak in another place. - -“Some time after my father’s death, perhaps three or four years,” says -Mr. Plant, “my mother married again, a man by the name of Philemon -Hoadley. He was a very religious man, and was exceedingly kind to me; he -said I was the best boy he had ever seen. He lived in New York State, -and mother left Branford and we moved to his home at Martensburg, New -York. I lived part of the time with her there and part of the time with -my grandmother Plant at Branford. She always attended church on the -Sabbath, and took me with her, never failing to carry a good luncheon, -which we ate in the church house at the close of the morning service.” - -An incident of Mr. Plant’s boyhood was sent to the writer by one who has -known him long, and esteems the President of the Southern Express -Company, (of which he has been a faithful and efficient agent in North -Carolina for many years) very highly, and loves him with a genuine, -manly affection. He writes thus: - -“The following incident which occurred in Branford during Mr. Plant’s -boyhood may be of interest to you, in showing how near the country came -to being deprived of his great usefulness and noble life. When a boy of -about eight or ten years of age, he was one day riding a plow horse at -work in the field. The horse became frightened and ran away, carrying -plow, boy, and all with him. Barefooted and bareheaded, the brave lad -clung to the horse until entirely exhausted, when he fell and was -severely injured. He was found in the woods by friends who carried him -into their house. After several hours’ hard work by the doctor and -others, he revived sufficiently to be taken to his home. The fight for -life was severe and protracted, but he bore it heroically. - -“I wish I could express all I feel towards Mr. Plant. I have been in his -employ thirty-eight years--with the Southern Express Company. During all -these years he has been a friend to me in all that that word implies. I -am sure I voice the sentiments of thousands of his employees when I say -that he is one of the noblest and best of men. - -A. P. B.” - - * * * * * - -After his mother married and had lived for some time at her husband’s -home in New York State, they went to live at New Haven and Henry made -his home with them, often visiting his grandmother Plant at Branford. -The grandmother wanted him to go to Yale College, doubtless in the hope -that he might enter the ministry, for few took a college course in those -days unless they intended to enter the ministry. But Henry was not -particularly fond of study. He had attended the district school at -Branford, and had studied for a time at the Gillett Academy, and at -Lowville, New York State. He had also studied under John E. Lovell, a -famous teacher in New Haven, whose birthday was celebrated in New Haven, -long after his death. He was the founder of the Lancastrian System of -instruction in America. Henry did not accept his grandmother’s offer of -a college course at Yale. He was anxious to try his hand at some active -occupation. He attempted several things, none of which seemed to suit -him. At last, in 1837, he engaged himself to a steamboat line running -boats between New York and New Haven. - -The boats of the line were named respectively, _New York_, _New Haven_, -_The Splendid_, _The Superior_, and _The Bunker Hill_. - -Henry began as captain’s boy and worked his way up, filling various -positions for some five years, to the entire satisfaction of the -company, so that on leaving it he was promised a captaincy of the next -new boat if he would remain with the line. The following account, taken -from, a recent issue of _The Marine Journal_, shows how young Plant -would pocket his fastidiousness, and stand up to manly duty like a true -American. This recalls the story of a man in a Philadelphia market who -tendered his services to an Irish coachman, who was troubled to find a -man to carry home some fish which he had bought for his master. - -Arriving at the fine mansion on Chestnut Street the Irishman offered to -pay his porter, who respectfully declined saying: “Oh, no, I only just -carried the fish to oblige you. I do not need pay. I am a United States -Senator. Good morning.” - -“There are few men who can call to mind more interesting reminiscences -of ‘Auld Lang Syne,’ and tell them in a more agreeable manner than Henry -B. Plant. Referring to his early manhood, Mr. Plant said recently: ‘I -got my first experience in the express business when performing the -service of a deckhand on a steamboat running between New Haven and New -York in the latter part of the “thirties.” At the time referred to I was -employed on the side-wheel steamer _New York_, which had for companion -steamers the _New Haven_, _Splendid_, and _Bunker Hill_, on each one of -which I served at one time or another. It was on the _New York_, -however, that I spent the most of my apprenticeship. The deck-hands -slept below in the forecastle, an uncomfortably small space in the -“eyes” of the boat, and took our meals in the kitchen, standing up. Take -it all in all it was rather rough on a fellow that had just left a good -home, and when some of my towns-people would come aboard and catch me -with swab or broom in hand I didn’t feel altogether happy, but had too -much pluck to quit. One winter the _New York_ had been laid up for new -boilers, and I was transferred to the _Splendid_ till the _New York_ -was ready for service, and when she came out in the spring it was quite -an event. She had two new copper boilers, one on each guard, the first -to be placed on the guards. - -“‘Up to this time a considerable lot of package freight, express matter, -began to be sent back and forth. This was stowed in different places -about the boat and not properly cared for, until one day the captain -conceived the idea that a big double stateroom forward of the wheel -could be used in which to store it, and I was given the duty of looking -after it, and a berth was put up there for me to sleep in. As I look -back upon my career in those days, the one on which I was transferred -from the dingy forecastle to the express room was by far the happiest, -and it was there that I took my first lessons in the express business.’” -Those who are familiar with the extensive business of the Southern -Express Company, of which Mr. Plant was the founder, and which begins at -Washington and extends throughout the railroads south of Washington and -the Ohio, excepting the Illinois Central, and to Cuba by the Plant -Steamship Lines, can understand why it has taken nearly a lifetime of -earnest toil to get it up to its present magnitude. It is a monument to -the enterprise of the youngster from Connecticut, who got his first idea -of the express business on a steamer between New Haven and New York -nearly sixty years ago. The other large undertakings of Mr. Plant in -railroads, steamships, hotels, etc., that have helped make the State of -Florida the garden spot of the United States in winter, were easy as -their necessities developed, in comparison to the Southern Express -business which was the foundation of this enterprising citizen’s fame -and fortune.” - -Captain Stone was very fond of young Plant, and deeply regretted his -loss to the service. It was during Mr. Plant’s engagement with this -company, in 1842, that he married Miss Ellen Elizabeth Blackstone, -daughter of Hon. James Blackstone, one of the Blackstone family already -referred to in this biography. One son was born to him, a promising -child, who lived only eighteen months. His second and only living child -is his son, Morton Freeman, now associated with his father as his -assistant, and Vice-President of all the interests of the “Plant -System,” over which his father presides. Mr. Plant’s position on the -steamboat line plying between New York and New Haven, entailed a -frequent absence from his home in New Haven, and he therefore decided to -be more at home. At this time he went into the express business of the -line conducted by Beecher and Company. At first he had charge of the -business at New Haven, but afterwards went to New York City, still -keeping up his connection with the boats. When the Beecher Company was -consolidated with the Hartford and New Haven line, owned by Daniel -Philipps and C. Spooner of Hartford, Mr. Plant was placed in charge of -all the express business of the New Haven line in New York. Subsequently -the business was acquired by the Adams Express Company, and was -transferred from the steamboat line to the railroad, and Mr. Plant was -transferred with it. While thus employed, young Plant was economical and -saving. He received his pay monthly, and instead of wasting it in folly -and dissipation he gave his earnings to his mother, and she banked it -for him. He then bought some stock in a New Haven bank which he still -retains. His stepfather, being a religious man, advised Henry to buy a -pew in a new church which the Congregational Society was building at New -Haven. This he did, and in after years, on the failure of the church, -when the property was sold, he got back his money. His stepfather died -at New Haven about 1862 or 1863. - -It was in 1853 that Mrs. Plant was seized with congestion of the lungs, -and Doctors Delafield and Marco advised that she be at once taken to -Florida. On March 25, 1853, Mr. Plant started with his sick wife from -New York City to Charleston, South Carolina, by the steamer _Marion_. -From Charleston he sailed on the steamer _Calhoun_ to Savannah, Georgia. -And from Savannah he went by the steamer _Welaka_ to Jacksonville, -Florida. It took over eight days to - -[Illustration: _Ellen Elizabeth (Blackstone) Plant._] - -make the journey which is now a delightful trip of one day, for he left -New York on the Sabbath morning and the next Sabbath evening he arrived -at Jacksonville, which was a small village then with only one poor wharf -and not a vehicle of any kind to carry passengers or baggage. He -succeeded in getting some negro boys to carry his trunk to a poor hotel -where he remained only one day. Through some persuasion he found a man -to take him into his private house at Strawberry Mills, seven miles in -the country from Jacksonville, across the St. John’s River. Here Mrs. -Plant’s health greatly improved, her cough disappeared and she was so -much better that by the first of May, Mr. Plant was able to leave her -and return to New York. Early in July, Mrs. Plant came back to the city -apparently in good health. The following almost romantic story is told -in the New York _Times_ of their first experience in Florida. - -“In the winter of 1853, a Northern man with an invalid wife brought her -down to Jacksonville to benefit her health. The present metropolis of -Florida was then a settlement of five or six houses, one of which was -called a hotel, but the hotel was so badly kept that the gentleman was -cautioned against going to it, and he found accommodations in a private -house. He had letters of introduction to a Florida settler, whose home -was six or eight miles out of Jacksonville, and as soon as he could -communicate with him through a stray traveller, the settler sent his -boat after the Northerner and took him to his house. The boat was an -immense ‘dug-out,’ made from a single mammoth log, manned by a crew of -uniformed blacks, who handled their oars in man-of-war style. At this -settler’s house a hospitable and comfortable stopping-place was found. - -“In the course of the winter the lady’s health improved to such an -extent that her husband decided upon taking her to St. Augustine for a -pleasure trip. There was in the household a beautiful Indian girl, the -daughter of one of the Seminole chiefs, who afterward became the wife of -the settler I have mentioned, and she volunteered to accompany the lady -on what was then the long and difficult journey. The only road between -Jacksonville and St. Augustine was the old Spanish highway known as ‘the -king’s highroad,’ and this was so grown up with trees and bushes that it -was barely passable. But even this road lay five or six miles from the -settler’s house, and to reach it it was necessary to drive through the -trackless woods. The gentleman and his wife and the Indian girl set out -in a buggy, their host going before them on horseback to select the road -and blaze the trees between his place and the king’s highway, to enable -the strangers to find their way back. - -“The journey was made in safety; but the return trip took a little -longer than was intended, and the party found themselves at the point -where they must leave the old highway and turn into the forest just as -the deep shades of a Florida night were about to fall. They found the -blazed trees, but were unable to follow them. The gentleman, however, -managed for some time to pick his way by finding the indistinct wheel -tracks in the sand and the broken twigs; but as the darkness increased -this became impracticable, and there was every prospect that the invalid -lady and her husband and the Indian girl would be compelled to spend the -night under the pine trees. But their host was better acquainted with -blazed trees, and, as they did not arrive when expected, he set out on -horseback to hunt them up, and his shouts soon gave them welcome -assurance of succor. The lady’s health was so much improved before the -winter ended that she returned home comparatively well, and during the -remainder of her life every winter was passed in Florida. Her husband -has not since that time missed his annual winter trip to Florida, and he -is now spending his thirty-ninth winter in the State. - -“The gentleman who found Jacksonville a settlement of a few shanties, -and who came so near passing a romantic but uncomfortable night in the -woods with his wife and the Seminole girl, told me the story of his -adventure a few days ago, while I sat with him in his gorgeous private -car, so far down in the State of Florida that, in 1853, few white men -had reached it. The Florida climate never did a better winter’s work -than when it restored the health of this gentleman’s wife, and thus -interested him in the new country, for the gentleman was Mr. H. B. -Plant, who no longer does his Florida travelling in a dug-out, but sends -his own cars over his own tracks to the farthermost corners of the -State.” - -[Illustration: text decoration] - - - - -[Illustration: text decoration] CHAPTER V. - - Mr. Plant Goes from New Haven to New York--Captain Stone’s - Friendship--Mrs. Plant’s Health Fails again--Returns to the - South--Is Appointed Superintendent of Adams Express Company--His - Great Executive Ability--The Civil War--Mrs. Plant’s Death--Mr. - Plant Buys out the Adams Express Company. - - -When Mr. Plant first went to New York City he boarded at the Judson -Hotel, then kept by a Mr. Judson of Hartford, Connecticut. A little -incident of that period shows the high estimation in which he was held -by Captain Stone, Superintendent of the New York and New Haven steamship -line. Captain S. Bartlett Stone brought his son George to board at the -Hudson Hotel, saying, “Henry, when you were a boy I took charge of you; -now do you the same for my son.” Mr. Plant remained in New York until -October, when the fall weather of the North began to affect the health -of his wife unfavorably. He then started South by the steamship -_Knoxville_, which ran to Savannah. When he reached Savannah he -commenced to exercise his appointment as superintendent of the Harnden -Express, which forwarded express matter from New York by steamer to -Savannah, and thence to Augusta, Macon, and Atlanta, by the Central, -Macon, and Western Railroads; and also in Charleston, of the Hoey -Express, by which goods were forwarded by steamer from New York to -Charleston and were then distributed through the interior by the South -Carolina Railroad. - -About this time, Adams & Company had organized under the corporate title -of the Adams Express Company, and had acquired all these express -interests above mentioned. This was in March, 1853, and April, 1854. The -chief shareholders of the company were Alvan Adams, of Boston; William -B. Dinsmore, of New York; Edward S. Sanford, of Philadelphia; Samuel S. -Shoemaker, of Baltimore; James M. Thompson, of Springfield, -Massachusetts; Johnstone Livingstone, of New York; and R. B. Kinsley, of -Newport, Rhode Island. When it was found necessary for Mr. Plant to go -south again on account of his wife’s health he was appointed -superintendent of the Adams Express Company. This was in 1854, and he -was placed in charge of all the interests then controlled by that -company, and all that might be acquired by the company in the South -under his management or through his efforts. - -During Mr. Plant’s administration of the Adams Express Company, the -lines were extended over all the railroads south of the Potomac River, -namely, Norfolk, Richmond, and Lynchburg, Virginia; Louisville, -Kentucky; Cairo, Illinois, and over all the railroad lines constructed -in the South, and over all the navigable rivers on which at that time -there was steamboat connection. The expanding and establishing of this -great express business at Nashville, Memphis, Vicksburg, Louisville, and -New Orleans, and many other cities and towns, proved to be a herculean -task requiring much arduous travel, often in stage-coaches by day and -night, over rough roads, through swamp and forest, in summer’s heat and -winter’s cold. It goes without saying that in securing efficient -service, properly locating offices, appointing qualified agents, and -earning the confidence and patronage of an exacting public, there was -demanded a discriminating judgment, prompt decision, skill, and tact of -the highest order. It was a tremendous strain on mind and body, and that -too upon one not yet used to a Southern climate. It must be remembered -also that the express business of the South forty years ago was in its -infancy; the great Adams Express Company was still in its swaddling -clothes, and required the greatest care and skill to nurse it into -maturity, strength, and power, especially in the peculiar condition of -the country at the time when a dreadful civil war raged throughout the -land. - -Few men would have ventured on such a hazardous undertaking, and fewer -still would have conducted it to such a successful completion. - -To the cool, clear head, the calm, quiet spirit, the persistent energy -and dominant will of Henry B. Plant, is due the success of this great -achievement. The Southern Express Company and the Texas Express together -do a business now extending over twenty-four thousand four hundred and -twelve miles of railway, have lines in fifteen States, employ six -thousand eight hundred and eight men, use one thousand four hundred and -sixty-three horses and eight hundred and eighty-six wagons. Of both -these companies, Mr. Plant is the honored and efficient president, and -were we to attempt to estimate the amount and value of the goods handled -by these great organizations we feel sure the figures would be beyond -the credulity of our readers. - -This comes down to the year 1861, the beginning of the civil war, when -the Adams Express Company, believing that it would be hazardous for -Northern citizens to hold property in the South, decided to dispose of -their interests there. After unsuccessful negotiations with other -parties resident in the South, the company sold and transferred their -entire interest in the express line to Henry B. Plant. He formed a -corporation under the laws of the State of Georgia, taking in all the -shareholders of the Adams Express Company who were then residents of -the States south of the Potomac and Ohio rivers. - -The company thus formed, known now as the Southern Express Company, at -once elected Mr. Plant as its president, and this honorable and -responsible position he still holds. A central office was established at -Augusta, Georgia. - -Mrs. Plant’s health now began to give way. Their little boy Morton was -with relatives in the North. She saw that troubles many and great were -coming upon the country. Her disease returned, consumption laid its cold -hand upon her, and on February 28, 1861, this faithful wife and loving -mother was taken from a world of strife, with its tumults of war and -fratricidal conflicts, to the home of rest, peace, and eternal -blessedness. The remains were interred in Augusta, but afterwards were -removed to the family plot in the cemetery at Branford, the place of her -birth and where her early years had been spent. - -[Illustration: text decoration] - - - - -[Illustration: text decoration] CHAPTER VI. - - Relations to the Confederate Government--Jefferson Davis Gives him - Charge of Confederate Funds--Mr. Plant Buys a Slave, who afterward - Nursed him through a Severe Sickness--Impaired Health--Goes to - Bermuda, New York, Canada, and Europe--Second Marriage. - - -The seat of the Confederate Government at this time was Montgomery, -Alabama, and the express company, just organized by Mr. Plant, was -appointed by that government collector of tariff upon all goods -consigned by the express company, and was also given the custody of all -funds of the Confederacy that were to be transferred from one place to -another. The express company filled this latter office until the -dissolution of the Confederacy. - -In consequence of this responsibility, officers and agents of the -company were either relieved from military service, or detailed for the -service of the express company. Its officers and agents were also for -the same reason exempted from jury duty in Southern States. - -Shortly before the removal of the capital of the Confederacy from -Montgomery to Richmond, it was deemed necessary by government officials -to define citizenship, and consequently a proclamation was issued by -President Davis, that specified a time in which all citizens of States -not in the Confederacy should leave it, or failing to do so within the -time specified, would become citizens of the Confederacy, and would be -subject to all duties and requirements of citizenship in the said -Confederacy. - -“At that time I thought it was incumbent on me,” said Mr. Plant, “that -my duties and opinions should be understood by President Davis and his -advisers. To that end I caused myself to be represented by counsel to -Mr. Davis and his Cabinet, in order that my opinions and position might -be clearly defined and known to the government, so that its wish might -be expressed, as to whether I should continue to have charge of the -express company without interference, or avail myself of the -proclamation, and take my departure with other citizens of the State of -New York. - -“I wished to know whether by remaining I would be required to abandon -the express and its obligations. It was a great satisfaction to me to -learn from my counsel that the Cabinet were unanimous in this decision -expressed by the President, that I should remain and continue to conduct -the business of my company, he having full confidence in whatever I -might do.” - -The substance of this interesting episode has been published before with -some slight variations, but the above is from the most authoritative -source, and may therefore be received as correct. - -While living at Augusta, Georgia, a curious incident occurred which -resulted in the purchase of a slave by Mr. Plant. When the express -office was opened at this place, help was needed, a sort of -man-of-all-work for the many requirements of the office. Dennis Dorsey, -a colored man, was hired from his owner to act as porter, and in -whatever capacity he might be required. One summer when Mr. Plant was -about to go north, Dennis came to him and said that his master was going -to sell him, and that he wanted Mr. Plant to buy him. “What does your -master want for you?” asked Mr. Plant. “Fifteen hundred dollars,” Dennis -replied, “but it is too much, I am not worth so much. You can buy me -when you come back, as there is little danger of my being sold at that -price.” But Dennis was sold in Mr. Plant’s absence. When Mr. Plant -returned, Dennis besought him to buy him from the trader at Mobile who -then owned him. Mr. Plant bought him for eighteen hundred dollars, and -brought him back to Augusta. In a short time after this Mr. Plant was -stricken down with gastric fever, and Dennis proved a good and faithful -nurse to him. Mrs. Plant was in her grave, and Mr. Plant lived alone at -the hotel, so Dennis was gratified by the opportunity to return the -kindness rendered to him by his generous purchaser. - -Early in August, 1863, Mr. Plant returned from the mountains, whither he -had gone during his convalescence. His health had been improved by the -change, but he was still far from strong. Mr. Thomas H. Watts, -attorney-general for the Southern Confederacy, had seen Mr. Plant’s -physician, who had advised a change of climate. Mr. Watts sent Mr. Plant -a passport, with an order from President Davis authorizing him to pass -through the Confederate lines at any point. In about a month after this -he went to Wilmington, North Carolina, and embarked on the steamer -_Hansa_, for the Bermudas. He remained there about a month, when he went -by the steamer _Alpha_ to Halifax, Nova Scotia, and thence to Montreal. -There some friends from New York came to see him, and brought his son -Morton from school to him. Mr. Plant then went to New Haven, -Connecticut, to visit his mother, and in the fall took passage on the -steamship _City of Edinburgh_ for Liverpool. - -He was now a stranger in a strange land; the weather was cold, and with -impaired health his experience was rather depressing. - -However, Mr. Plant has never been the man to despond, still less to -despair, but to make the best even of discouraging circumstances. So he -went to Paris, whose mercurial people seldom cry, and always laugh when -they can. Here he heard of some friends who were staying in Rome, and -whom he would like to meet, so he determined to go there. By the French -Commissioner of Passports he was informed that his passport from the -Confederacy could not be recognized, and he was summoned to appear at -the commissioner’s office. He at once presented himself to this -official, answered many questions, and was informed that there was no -way by which his passport could be accepted at present, but as he wished -to visit Rome, then occupied by French troops, his case would be -considered. - -A few days afterwards he had the satisfaction of receiving a document -which served as a passport, given in the name of the Empire of France, -and in which he was described as a citizen of the United States of -America, resident at Augusta, Georgia, and all officers, civil, -military, and naval, were commanded to protect this stranger. He went to -Rome _via_ the Mediterranean Sea, and was received everywhere with great -respect. He was about two weeks in France, several weeks in Rome, and -from thence he went to Naples, Leghorn, Genoa, Milan, and Venice, which -latter place was occupied by an Austrian army. - -From Venice he went to Switzerland, visiting many places in that -picturesque land, and returned to Paris by way of the Rhine. He then -passed his time between London and Paris until the autumn, when he -returned to America by way of Canada. He afterwards went to New York, -where he was staying when President Lincoln was assassinated. By the end -of April he was back in Augusta, Georgia. - -Mr. Plant’s second tour in Europe was in 1873, on the occasion of his -second marriage. He was then accompanied by his mother and his son, -Morton Freeman, and on this occasion he made quite an extensive tour of -the continent. - -His third visit was in the year 1889, when he went to the Paris -Exposition with an exhibit of Southern products. Soon after his arrival -in Paris he was asked by General Franklin, representative and -Commissioner-General of the United States, to accept the position of -juror in Class Six, representing the United States. To this responsible -position he was duly appointed by the proper authorities, and served -with entire satisfaction to all concerned. He was the only -English-speaking juror in that class, as Sir Douglas Galton was absent -until near the close of the Exposition. From this Exposition the “Plant -System” was awarded a large number of medals, which may be seen framed -in that palace of art, wrongly named an hotel, at Tampa Bay. A diploma -was given to Mr. Plant, in addition, and many other marks of esteem and -courteous attention were freely tendered him. - -Mr. Plant led a very busy life in Augusta. He lived with his wife at the -hotel, and, when she was travelling in the North in the summer, he had -his office, for convenience, on the same floor as his bedroom. It had -been his habit to keep pad and pencil by his bedside, so that when there -came to his mind a matter that called for attention he at once put it -down on his memoranda. He was constantly receiving reports from his -express offices all over the South. There came to him, for adjustment, -many questions of management that were perplexing and urgent, so that he -was often on the road, called away at short notice, north, south, or -southwest. Complications, great, varied, and numerous, were superinduced -by the civil war. The railroads were often seized by the contending -armies, offices were raided, and confusion worse confounded heaped -troubles thick and fast upon the president of the company, sufficient to -have crushed a man of ordinary brain and nerve. But Mr. Plant was not -the man to give way to difficulties,--only coolly to plan, determine, -execute, and conquer. - -The following communication in memorandum form, from one intimately -acquainted with Mr. and Mrs. Plant while in Augusta, Georgia, will be -found suggestive of the busy life he led, and will prove valuable in -furnishing the dates when he lived in that city, and the location of his -various residences while there. Moreover, its sequel sounds like the -plot of a good novel. - -“Mr. and Mrs. H. B. Plant became residents of Augusta, Georgia, in 1854. -Captain W. and his wife moved to that city in 1855. Both families -boarded at the Eagle and Phœnix Hotel, and thus became acquainted. -The Eagle and Phœnix was on Broad Street, and is now believed to be -the property of Mr. Plant. Mr. Plant was busy organizing and developing -the express business, was continually on the road, and made frequent -visits to the North. He moved to the Globe Hotel about the summer of -1856. Captain W. and his wife moved to the Trout House, in Atlanta, -Georgia, early in 1858, and Mr. and Mrs. Plant joined them there and -spent the summer months with them, while Mr. Plant still made Augusta -his headquarters and was constantly on the road. - -“On Mr. and Mrs. Plant’s return to Augusta in the fall of 1858, they -took residence at the Planter’s Hotel, then kept by Mr. Robbins. In the -spring of 1859, Mr. and Mrs. Plant, leaving their young son Morton, with -Captain W. and his wife in Atlanta, visited New Orleans and remained -there during Mardi Gras. Their stay, however, was much shortened by the -demands made upon Mr. Plant’s time and attention by the celebrated -Maroney robbery. Mrs. Plant’s health, which had been failing for some -time, was rapidly growing worse. Mr. Plant’s movements were thus -handicapped, and his trips necessarily became shorter and more frequent. -Captain W. and wife moved to Athens in April, 1861. Mrs. Plant intended -to spend the spring and summer of 1862 with them, but their plans were -broken up by her death, at the Planter’s Hotel, Augusta, February 28, -1862. - -“Mr. Plant visited Athens shortly after the funeral, and remained -several weeks; from thence important business called him back to -Augusta. Health began to fail him and he visited Athens again in the -following year. It was at this time that his friends prevailed upon him -to pay a visit to Europe in the hope that his strength would be restored -to him. - -“In illustration of the good memory which Mr. Plant possessed for a past -kindness, the following interesting story is told. The narrator was -sitting in his office talking with Mr. Plant, when the latter suddenly -turned from him to a clerk to instruct him in the following words. -‘While I remember it, I want you to write to Mrs. W. to say that her -request that we take charge of her money is granted. We will take it and -give her six per cent., this will give her ---- dollars to pay for her -board, and we will add to it ---- dollars, which will keep her -comfortably among her friends.’ - -“The amount added was very nearly one and a half times as large as the -interest on the moderate amount of insurance which her deceased husband -had placed on his life before he died. - -“Then when all arrangements for this poor widow’s comfort had been made -with the treasurer, Mr. Plant, not supposing that I had ever heard of -the woman, explained that long years ago, when his first wife was sick -in Augusta, this now widowed woman was very kind to her and also to his -son Morton who was then a very little child. This was thirty-six years -ago, but it was as fresh in Mr. Plant’s memory, and as near to his heart -as if it had occurred only a few weeks ago. Little did this good woman -think at the time she rendered this kindly service to a delicate wife, -that thirty-six years hence it would be paid back to her with compound -interest. It may be truly said that ‘bread cast upon the waters shall -return after many days.’” - -The Southern Express Company rendered very valuable services to the men -engaged on both sides during the Civil War, by carrying packages, boxes, -and parcels of all descriptions free of charge,--medicines, and comforts -of various character, that made the hard life of the soldier a little -easier, and gladdened his heart with the evidences that he was -remembered tenderly in his far-away home. This service was especially -acceptable on the occasions of exchange of prisoners, when clothing and -money were the special needs of the men. - -The benediction of many a brave heart, now still in death, rests upon -the kindly services of the Southern Express Company so generously given -during the four years of the bloody struggle. - -In evidence of Mr. Plant’s popularity and the esteem in which he was -held by his associates in business as early as 1861, it may be mentioned -that on January 1st of that year, at Augusta, Ga., he was made the -recipient of a magnificent testimonial in the form of a service of solid -silver bearing the following inscription: - - PRESENTED TO - H. B. PLANT - BY HIS ASSOCIATES IN THE ADAMS - SOUTHERN EXPRESS - AS A TESTIMONIAL OF THEIR - RESPECT AND ESTEEM - AUGUSTA, GA., - JANUARY 1, 1861 - -In 1873, eleven years after the death of his first wife, Mr. Plant -married Miss Margaret Josephine Loughman, the only daughter of Martin -Loughman, of New York City. She is descended from an ancient and noble -family, whose ancestral estate, eight miles long, in the Land of the -Shamrock, is now occupied by Lord Dundrum. Mrs. Plant’s great -grandmother on her mother’s side was Lady Mary Murphy, of Ballymore -Castle, Ballymore. Her own mother was Miss Ellen O’Duyer, said to have -been a woman of great beauty and to have been descended from the Kings -of Munster. - -The finest train of Pullman palace cars we ever saw was prominent among -the beautiful exhibits at the Atlanta Exposition of last year (1896). -Their exquisite upholstering and decoration owed their superlative -finish to the refined taste of Mrs. Plant. The Tampa Bay Hotel, more -like a palace of art, is indebted to this same lady for much of its -elaborate furnishing and artistic adornment. The two hand-carved -mantelpieces in the salon, the admiration of all visitors, as well as -some of the fine cabinet-work in the gentlemen’s reading-room, evinced -her business capacity and fine sense of the fitness of beautiful -furnishing that costs no more than the plain and commonplace. She has -given much time and earnest effort to the selection, purchase, and -direction of the upholstering and decorations of that finest of -American-built steamships, _La Grande Duchesse_, just completed at -Newport News. - -The impress of her forcible character and refined taste can be detected -in many places throughout the great system over which her husband so -ably presides, but is known only to those who are admitted to the inner -circles of its operations. - - - - -[Illustration: text decoration] CHAPTER VII. - - Education from Books, and from Experience--Keen Intuitions--Abreast - of the Progress--Mr. Plant’s After-Dinner Speech at Tampa Banquet - Given him by Tampa Board of Trade, March, 18, 1886--Location of - Tampa--In Territorial Days Had a Military Reservation--In 1884 - Population about Seven Hundred--Its Cosmopolitan Population - now--Many Cubans and Spaniards in Tampa--Tobacco - Industry--Phosphate Abounds in this Part of the State--Much of it - Shipped to the North and to Europe--Plant System Gives Impetus to - the Prosperity of the Place--Its Progress the Last Five or Six - Years. - - -Text-books are necessary instruments in a systematic course of -instruction, especially in the period of school and college days, but -their chief value lies, not so much in the actual knowledge which they -impart as in the intellectual training which they give for the -acquisition of knowledge in the future. Hence, as civilization advances -and the schools of higher education increase, less dependence is placed -on text-books, and more emphasis is laid upon lectures and laboratories -by which the student is stimulated to original investigation and -independent thought. The knowledge of current events which we derive -from observation of human nature, and which gives us great -opportunities to do good to ourselves and to others, is not acquired -from books. - -The books may have done good service in the previous mental discipline, -but the actual knowledge, the practical experience in a professional or -business career, has come to us in the course of solution of the -problems of life. Mr. Plant is a striking illustration of this fact. He -was never a bookish man, and lays no claim to classical erudition or -scientific knowledge; yet he is fully alive to the progress of the human -race. Few events of importance in the world escape his keen observation. - -It was his quick insight and keen penetration which led him to see the -opportunities and possibilities offered in the South, when others had -passed them by unseen. - -Mr. Plant has an intuitive knowledge, possessed by few men, of many -things outside his immediate sphere of action. He spent several days -going over the plans of _La Grande Duchesse_ in minute detail before the -contract for building her was signed, noting scores of corrections which -the architect was more than gratified to make. His after-dinner speeches -at Southern banquets have no spread-eagleism in them; no declamation, -but calm, quiet, easy suggestion, as if talking to a few friends whom he -loved and wanted to help, and better still, wanted them to help -themselves. There is no alarm, but friendly admonition, wise counsel, -valuable instruction, most kindly administered. - -In March, 1886, the Tampa Board of Trade honored Mr. Plant with a -splendid banquet, and warmly welcomed him and his friends to this once -sleepy old hamlet, now kept awake by the steam whistles of the South -Florida Railroad and those of the steamships sailing to the West Indies. -In reply to a toast by General John B. Wall, Mr. Plant said: - -“Some two years and a half ago I was escorted here by some of the -gentlemen present, upon a wagon-line across the peninsula of Florida -from Kissimmee City, with Mr. Haines, Mr. Ingraham, Mr. Elliott, and Mr. -Allen. We had a day’s journey to reach over the gap in the railway that -was then being constructed, connecting Tampa with the St. John’s River. -It was an interesting trip. I think to the best of my recollection we -passed not more than seven habitations on that journey, certainly not -more than that while daylight lasted, and now we can make the trip from -Kissimmee to Tampa in three or four hours and find cities on the -way,--cities of enterprise, with a frugal and industrious population. -Business has grown, and great progress has been made in this part of -Florida, but no place has improved more than this town of Tampa. Tampa, -it seems to us, had a chill, although the climate was good. A citizen -told me on that visit that they did not value the land at anything, but -that the air was worth one thousand dollars an acre. That gave the value -of Tampa land at that time. All are aware what is the value of Tampa -land at present. Very little I am told is for sale. - -“That is what the railroad has done for Tampa. The gentlemen who are -associated with me look with pleasure upon the progress that has been -made in Tampa. We go back and look upon the progress that has been made -by what is known as the Plant System, which commences at Charleston, -reaches out to Chattahoochee, and terminates at Tampa. This system, -which you probably know, we call under various names; it is part -railway, part express company, part steamboat company, part steamship -company, but it all has one object and is known as the Plant System. It -has been successful in what it has undertaken so far. I think that -success may be attributed to the harmony that prevails in the councils -on the part of the officers of the railroads, of the steamships, of the -steamboats, and express, that go to make up that system. There is no -jealousy, but rather a rivalry to know which will do the most. And to -that spirit, in every one connected with the system, to do all that is -possible to advance its progress, is due the success of the Plant -System. - -“This is, I think, all that can now be said in direct response to the -toast, but I would like to say a few words of Tampa, of its -possibilities and its opportunities. You are all aware that Tampa is but -one port on the Gulf of Mexico from which a railroad extends to the -interior. There are ports north of it and ports south of it; ports where -railways extend to deep water. Some of them have the advantage of Tampa. -It is useless to mention the names, for you all know them; you are -familiar with the advantages of all these ports. I will not give the -reason why they have not advanced. It may be because they have not all -had the railway backing that Tampa has had; they have not had a united -line of railways leading to them and extending from them. Tampa has just -started, it seems to me, in its progress towards prosperity, and the -prosperity that it must receive if it receives the backing that commerce -would dictate to it. The wants of commerce are large; they are exacting, -and Tampa has many rivals. There are many cities that aspire to it and -to grow as these cities see that Tampa is growing at the present time. -They will do it, if it is possible, by putting on steamship lines, by -putting on railway lines, by extending them to get some of the business -at least, that is now drawing towards Tampa, and it is for the people of -Tampa to determine for themselves to what extent they shall share it. - -“As I have stated, it is important to Tampa’s interests to see that all -obstructions to commerce are removed; in other words, that commerce and -trade shall be unimpeded both to and through Tampa. You all recollect -that last year there was a great Exposition in a neighboring city of the -Gulf--New Orleans,--where millions of money were expended to draw the -attention of the countries south of us, notably the West Indies and -South America. This, that their attention might be drawn to the United -States, and especially the southern part of the United States, for -trade, and, as I said, millions of money were expended on making that -Exposition and maintaining it all the winter for the purpose of showing -the people of the West India Islands what could be done. That Exposition -was gotten up not for benevolence, but for the purpose of inviting -trade. Now we are doing all we can to encourage that trade by opening up -mail communication between the United States and those very countries -that so much money was spent to encourage the trade from. - -“We are running steamships three times each week, and I think that every -gentleman in this hall should raise his voice to the authorities at -Washington and endeavor to persuade them to send the mails of the entire -United States (I mean the mails of the entire United States, the South -and West as well as the East), by the quickest route whereby they can -reach those countries of which I have spoken. By that route the mails -can reach the whole of the West India Islands, the whole of the west -coast of South America, in better time and more frequently, with the -present source of communication than by any other line. And -notwithstanding that line was put on on the 1st of January, our postal -authorities at Washington hardly seem alive to that fact, and, as I said -before, I think that the gentlemen of Tampa should raise a united voice -that the Post-Office Department may be waked up to know there is a route -via Tampa that is the quickest for the entire countries south of us. I -do not know that I can say any more. I have responded to the toast ‘Our -Honored Guests,’ and said very little about them. I feel somewhat in the -position that Mr. Ward probably felt when he was advertised to deliver a -lecture on ‘Twins.’ He occupied his entire evening on the introduction, -and left the speech on the ‘Twins’ out altogether.” - -The following account of the growth of Tampa is taken from the New York -_Daily Tribune_ of November 17, 1891. It illustrates the large share -which Mr. Plant has had in this growth, and the way in which he has -closely identified himself with its history. - -“Over on the west coast of Florida in Hillsborough County, or less than -two hundred miles north of the southern end of the State, is an old, old -town, which, in the territorial days of Florida, when the Government -first established a military reservation here, was a small settlement -that grew into a village and was called Tampa. Owing to its extreme -isolation, its growth was slow, and, in 1884, there were not more than -one or two shops, and a population of a little less than seven hundred. -A year later the southern terminus of the Plant System of railroads was -established at Tampa, and since then the growth of the place has been -phenomenal. As Postmaster Cooper, one of Tampa’s wide-awake citizens and -a newspaper editor, says: ‘Henry B. Plant may be said to have been the -founder of Tampa, and people of enterprise, industry, and capital from -every State in the Union, and Cuba, have flocked here and built upon the -foundation, until to-day Tampa rivals the best cities in the State. The -South Florida Railroad is one of the best equipped railways in the -South, extending from Port Tampa to Sanford, a distance of 124 miles.’ - -“The South Florida Road runs through the most fertile and most -prosperous part of the State and has done more than any other agency to -develop South Florida. And while it is true that the railroad gave to -Tampa her first onward impetus, and has done, and is yet doing, much -toward the development of the place, yet there are other agencies which -have done much to help along the great work. The most prominent of these -is the cigar-making industry, which was first established here three -years ago. It is second to none as an important factor in Tampa’s -substantial prosperity and commercial success. Tampa has also profited -by the immense deposits of phosphate, which is shipped from here, not -only by rail all over the country, but by water direct to Europe. There -is a large grinding mill here, and a meeting of representatives of -phosphate interests was held recently, and a movement started to put up -the necessary tanks and machinery for making the acids and other -materials for the manufacture of superphosphate. When factories of this -sort are put up it will no longer be necessary to send the phosphate to -Europe to be acidulated. - -“I went over to the palatial Tampa Bay Hotel, an enterprise of Mr. -Plant, and the completion and furnishing of which, preparatory to its -opening in two or three weeks, Mr. Plant has been personally -supervising. I found him and a portion of his family at breakfast in his -private car, in which he was to start north in the afternoon for a brief -stay before coming down here for the winter. Mr. Plant is always -approachable, genial in his manner, ready to talk about people and their -prosperity, but not of himself or his. No one can accuse him of egotism. -He said nothing of his massive hotel until I drew him out. I said: ‘Mr. -Plant, I learn that no one knows better than you of the beginning and -the progress of Tampa and its probable future. In fact, they say that -you are the father of Tampa; tell me about it, please.’ - -“‘Well,’ said the genial railroad president, ‘when I first drove across -the country from Sanford, for we are nearly west of that point, and -there was no other way of getting here by land, I found Tampa slumbering -as it had been for years. This was eight years ago. It seemed to me that -all South Florida needed for a successful future was a little spirit and -energy, which could be fostered by transportation facilities. There were -one or two small shops and a population of about seven hundred in Tampa. -I made a careful survey of the situation, calculated upon its prospects -and concluded to take advantage of the opportunity, and we who made -early investments have proved the faith in our own judgment. Tampa was -really unknown to the commercial world until the South Florida Railroad -introduced her there. This was in 1885, and it brought to the town a new -life, and breathed into it all the elements of push, progress, and -success. Tampa at once began to spread itself, and ever since has been -fairly bounding along the road to greatness. It has now a population of -about ten thousand, and is rapidly increasing. Hundreds upon hundreds -of thousands of dollars have been invested in business, and instead of a -few scattered and unpainted storehouses, there are now many magnificent -brick blocks, handsome private residences, cosey cottages, large -warehouses, mammoth wholesale establishments, busy workshops, -comfortable hotels, two newspapers, a phosphate mill, cigar factories, -first-class banking facilities, telegraph and telephone communications, -two electric-light establishments, ice factories, a complete system of -waterworks, eight lines of steamships and steamboats giving -communication to Key West and Havana, Mobile, places on the Manatee -River, etc.’ - -“Mr. Plant’s hotel, upon which he has spent about $2,000,000 on the -building and grounds and $500,000 for the furnishing, and which is -nearly ready for the opening, is in the centre of a sixteen-acre plot of -ground just north of the city bridge. The architecture is Moorish, -patterned after the palaces in Spain, and minarets and domes tower above -the great five-story building, each one of which is surmounted with a -crescent, which is lighted by electricity at night. The main building is -511 feet in length, and varies in width from 50 to 150 feet. A wide -hall, on either side of which are bedrooms, single and in suites, runs -the entire length of the building to the dining-room at the southern -end. The exterior walls are of darkened brick, with buff and red brick -arches and stone dressings. The cornices are of stone and iron; the -piazza columns are of steel, supported on pieces of cut stone. - -“The main entrances are through three pairs of double doors, flanked by -sixteen polished granite columns, supporting Moorish arches, over which -balconies open from the gallery around the rotunda to the second floor. -The principal staircase is of stone, and the horseshoe arch and the -crescent and the star meet the eye at every turn--the electric lights in -the dining-hall, the music-hall, the drawing-room, the reception-room, -the reading-room, and the office being arranged after these patterns. -The drawing-room is a casket of beautiful and antique things, embracing -fine contrasts. There are a sofa and two chairs which were once the -property of Marie Antoinette; a set of four superb gilt chairs which -once belonged to Louis Philippe; two antique Spanish cabinets, and -between ten high, wide windows appear Spanish, French, and Japanese -cabinets, both old and quaint. Old carved Dutch chairs, rare onyx -chairs, and queer seats of other kinds are scattered along the hall. -Among the large collection of oil paintings, water-colors, and -engravings, are portraits and old pictures of Spanish castles and -fortresses. - -“A large rustic gate for carriages and two for pedestrians lead into the -grounds on the northern side. These gates are made of cabbage-palmetto -trunks, the mid-ribs being of the leaves worked into a quaint and rustic -design. On either side of the great gate stand giant cabbage-palmettoes, -thirty and forty feet high, set in groups of five and seven, the Moorish -numbers. A number of large live-oaks, one a tree of great breadth and -beauty, remain on the grounds. Near the centre of the lawn a fort has -been built of white stone, having two embrasures. In it are mounted two -old cannon that were spiked on the reservation of Tampa during the Civil -War. The grounds front on the Hillsborough River and overlook the city, -Fort Brooke and Tampa Bay, and are filled with fruit-trees, roses and -flowers. - -“The streets of Tampa are not what they will be, but a great improvement -has been going on in the last year; and when all the thoroughfares are -paved, macadamized or otherwise hardened, they will be attractive -drives. The roads on the west side of the river are naturally hard and -smooth, giving fine drives in various directions. The water supply is -obtained from one of the largest springs of water in the State, and is -abundant for all purposes, and ample factories provide ice from -distilled water. Until the session of Congress of 1889, Tampa was in the -Key West customs district, and the customhouse business was looked after -by a deputy appointed by the Collector of Customs at Key West. But when -Congress passed a bill making Tampa a regular port of entry, a collector -and a full corps of assistants were appointed. To give an idea of the -growth of Tampa, it is only necessary to compare the customs returns for -1885, when, under a deputy-collector, the receipts were only $75, with -the report of last year, which showed receipts considerably above -$100,000. - -“For a long time builders had suffered great inconvenience and delay -because there were no brickmaking works. It was not believed that good -brick could be made in Tampa, and all orders for this necessary building -material had to be sent away from home. But in 1888, one of the -enterprising citizens, who had found a bed of good clay just north of -the city, began to manufacture bricks. The result is that builders are -now furnished with home-made bricks almost as fast as they need them. It -was stated to me that as much as $300,000 had been expended in the -erection of brick buildings during the last year. One of the new public -buildings is the City Hall and Court House. It is 50 by 100 feet on the -sides and is two and a half stories high. - -“Tampa’s population may certainly be called cosmopolitan, comprising -people from every quarter of the globe; but three classes preponderate -so largely as to warrant distinction,--the American, the Cuban white -people, and the African or colored people. There is no difference worthy -of note between the first mentioned in Tampa and those of other sections -of the United States. They have all the push and enterprise -characteristic of the American people, and are the peer of any in social -life. - -“There are between three and four thousand Cubans in Tampa, and some -Spaniards, too, but there is an intense prejudice on the part of the -Spaniards against the Cubans, and as the latter feel the same dislike -for the Spaniards, conflicts between the two sometimes occur, and if it -were not for the good police administration might prove serious in some -instances. The Cubans are many of them property-holders and are -identified closely with the city’s growth. They are reported as moral, -temperate, energetic and quite desirable citizens; and, are almost -without exception, engaged in cigar-making and kindred industries. They -are also an amusement-loving people, have several clubs and societies, -an opera-house, a band and a newspaper. The Cuban settlement is in the -Fourth Ward, called Ybor City, after Martinez Ybor, the pioneer cigar -manufacturer in Tampa. Only four years ago this part of the city was an -unimproved and uncultivated forest; now it is an active, bustling, -wealthy town within itself, and, to add to its interest, Postmaster -Cooper recently established a branch station, as he has also in the -settlement of the colored people, for the accommodation of those who -live far from the general post-office. - -“Twelve cigar factories are located in Ybor City, and there nearly all -of the cigar-makers live. The largest factories are those of Ybor &, -Co., Sanchez, Haya & Co., Lozano, Pendas & Co., R. Monne & Bro., and E. -Pons &, Co. These five factories manufactured 33,950,575 cigars last -year, the output of the Ybors alone being 15,030,700. The total number -manufactured in the thirty factories in Key West was 77,251,374. More -than $30,000 is paid out to the 1500 or 2000 cigar-makers in Ybor City -every Saturday night, one-fourth of which is paid out at Ybor’s factory; -and about $150,000 has been expended here in the past six years upon -improvements. This cigar-making industry has contributed materially to -the development and growth of Tampa during the last five years, and it -promises much greater benefit in the future. It was in October, 1885, -that Martinez Ybor & Co., who began manufacturing in Havana in 1854, and -afterward put up a large factory in Key West, came to Tampa to -investigate the resources and advantages offered for cigar-making. They -soon afterward purchased forty acres of land in the Fourth Ward, cleared -it of the pines, wild-oats and gophers, and built a factory, a large -boarding-house or hotel, and several small cottages for the workmen -whom they brought from Key West and Havana. The venture proved a success -from the start and improvements were added. The original factory, a -wooden structure, is now the opera house, and a large brick factory has -succeeded the first one, where the daily output of the 450 cigar-makers -employed is 40,000 to 50,000 cigars. Then came Sanchez & Haya, Emilio -Pons, and others, and all declare that they are doing an excellent -business. - -“‘The required condition of the climate of Tampa for good cigars is said -to be fully equal to that of Key West or Havana,’ said one of the -manufacturers who has had factories in both places. ‘This has been -proven by an actual and thorough test. Another advantage comes from the -superior transportation facilities of the South Florida Railroad, which -gets freight quickly to New York.’ - -“The colored people of Tampa are declared to be in a better general -condition than they are in any other part of the South. They are also -represented to be a generous, quiet and inoffensive class of citizens. -They are also far more industrious than those in some other sections of -the South, working almost every day, and the 2000 negro population have -a settlement of their own, midway between Tampa proper and Ybor City, -which would be a credit to any community. Many of the houses, like the -streets, run in irregular lines, but the homes and the shops have a -tidy and orderly appearance as though not neglected, and at night -everything about them is quiet and peaceful, only the songs and the -moderate conversations and the musical laughter being heard. Very few of -these people live in rented apartments, but nearly all own their little -cottage homes. They have many excellent churches, schools taught by -colored teachers, and nearly every home has a small library. Then, too, -or with very few exceptions, the colored people command the respect of -the whites. - -“Port Tampa, which is the port from which the Plant Steamship Line sails -for Havana and other places, is about ten miles below here. One of its -attractions is ‘The Inn,’ a great hotel built in colonial style, beside -the South Florida Railroad, over the water and about 2000 feet from the -shore. It is both a summer and winter resort for tourists and -Floridians. Another attraction is the fishing, either for bass from the -wharf or boats, or for the tarpon, or, ‘Silver King,’ at Pine Island. -The third attraction is Picnic Island, the name itself telling its -purpose.” - -Notwithstanding the general depression of the country during the last -five years, the growth of Tampa has gone forward with a rapidity -unsurpassed in any five years of its history. The entire city has -increased in population from seven thousand to twenty-eight thousand -during the past decade and is still growing steadily. Property is as -valuable on the main business street of Tampa as it is in New York City -above Central Park. The city has a Board of Trade, a Board of Health, -schools, academy and churches of all Christian denominations. Few, if -any, cities in Florida have a more promising future before them than -Tampa. - -[Illustration: text decoration] - - - - -[Illustration: text decoration] CHAPTER VIII. - - Florida Mr. Plant’s Hobby--Banquet at Ocala--Mr. Plant’s - Speech--Sail on Lakes Harrison and Griffin--Banquet at - Leesburg--Visit to Eustis--Cheering Words to a Young Editor--Make - the best of the Frost--It may be a Blessing in Disguise--Must - Cultivate other Fruits, (and Cereals) besides Oranges--Importance - of Honesty--Sense of Justice--Consideration for the - Workmen--Unconscious Moulding-Power over Associates and - Employees--Letter of Honorable Rufus B. Bullock. - - -Mr. Plant’s associates say of him: “Oh, Florida is one of the -President’s pets.” Anything touching the prosperity of Florida is sure -to get a sympathetic hearing from him at all times. He loves the Land of -Flowers and has spent many pleasant days in it at all seasons of the -year. Nor does it fall to the lot of every man to receive such high -appreciation for the good he has done and such esteem and affection as -Mr. Plant receives from these warm-hearted, whole-souled Southern -people. Mr. Plant having recently included Ocala in his railroad and -hotel system, a fact which promises much for the future progress of this -enterprising town and section of Western Florida, the people wished to -express their grateful appreciation of the man whom all the South -delights to honor. So, in the winter of 1896, they tendered to him a -grand banquet to which he and his friends and associates in office were -welcomed. Nothing was left undone by these good people to make the -occasion pleasant. - -The feast was held in the Ocala Hotel which came into the possession of -Mr. Plant during 1896, and was opened that season as one of the Plant -System Hotels. The house was elaborately decorated with Southern ferns -and flowers. A reception was first held in the parlor, then about -seventy ladies and gentlemen sat down to a sumptuous dinner, enlivened -by sweet music, and good cheer. Many beautiful tributes of esteem and -friendship were eloquently presented to the guest of the evening, who -had been requested by the committee of arrangements to speak to the -toast, “The Plant System.” The following account taken from the Atlanta -_Constitution_, is a fairly good report of his speech, which held the -audience spellbound from beginning to end. He said: “I am gratified and -pleased beyond measure to be with you to-night on an occasion of social -enjoyment to exchange compliments and greetings with the undaunted -citizens of Ocala and revel in the bounteous hospitality of this proud -and prosperous little city. Words count for but little in the effort to -express my sincere appreciation of such evidences of cordiality as have -been shown this night to me and to my friends and associates in -business. Surely the very presence of so many of your community’s worthy -citizens, your city’s leading business and professional men, who have -rendered the further compliment of bringing with them their charming -wives and daughters, would of itself inspire any man, who is not -insensible to the impulse of gratitude, with a feeling of gratification -and deep appreciation for the compliment it conveys. It pleases me to -see so many of the ladies of Ocala here to-night, for their charming -presence lends beauty to the brilliant scene and makes all the more -enchanting this hour of pleasure and promise. - -“I feel that it is good to be here. I am always glad to mingle in social -intercourse with my good friends of Florida, for I warrant you that -nothing is more comforting than to know that in all my endeavors to aid -them in the upbuilding of their favored section I have their hearty -good-will and unstinted co-operation. In congratulation upon the -continued prosperity of Ocala, despite the recent chilling frosts, which -seemed well-nigh to sweep away your beautiful orange groves and blight -the interests of your agricultural community, I wish to say that it is -pleasing to me to observe the undaunted pluck and courage of your -irrepressible and invincible people, who, never swerving from the -duties of citizenship, have set about the arduous task of building up -again the agricultural and industrial interests of this region of -Florida, with a newness of life and a heartier zest. Such determined -effort will surely be crowned with unbounded success and prosperity in -the end. There is no reason why Ocala should not be a prosperous city. -Your climate is excellent; your water is pure and wholesome; your lands -are fertile and prolific, and your people are joined with a unity of -ambition and a unity of aim for the upbuilding of every interest alike. - -“I have been asked to speak to you of what is known as the ‘Plant -System.’ Not this mere physical system of the man--for that speaks for -itself. But the system of railways and steamships and other interests -which have been built up as all other industries are built up in the -great march of American progress and industrial development. In touching -upon the plans and scope of the Plant System, I believe I will be -credited with perfect sincerity when I say in the very outset, that if -some of the conditions of which we now have knowledge had been known in -the beginning, much of this system would not exist to-day. I have -reference to such conditions as have in late years arisen and confronted -corporations in the nature of an obstacle and an obstruction. As you all -perhaps know, there has been a great change in the plans and methods of -railroad construction during the last decade or two. In the old days -railroads were built for the most part by the people of means along the -proposed route, and they were for the most part short lines. People did -not set out in the earlier days to build long lines of railways. As -years rolled by, however, there sprang up among the people of some -sections an unexplained feeling of hostility to corporations--a sort of -antagonism to capital--which has worked its way like a devouring worm -into the politics of the nation, and which, in recent years, has well -nigh sapped the lifeblood from many of the leading railway systems of -the country, by plunging them into such a complicated pool of injurious -legislation as to land them on the dangerous shores of bankruptcy. Just -at the time when such a spirit of antagonism was at its zenith there -came a change in the methods of operating railway lines. Instead of the -short lines, several of the roads began to be joined together for a -longer line, thus reducing the expenses of operation and at the same -time giving better facilities of travel and of shipment. It was found -that the railroads could not live if operated on the short-line basis, -for competition grew so great it became necessary to link this road and -that to form a through line binding the commerce of one section to that -of another in rapid transit at reduced expenditure. This came as a -necessity born of the situation, for the railroads were being bankrupted -on the old plan and were sold out by receivers for their original owners -to the men of capital, and they saw the absolute necessity of a more -economical basis of operation. Taxes were high, competition was great -and everything served evidence that the old plan would no longer prove -feasible. - -“Just why there should be any hostility to such a plan of railway -management among the people who are, after all, the ones benefited most -by the increased facilities that are given them, is not made clear to -me, but such a spirit did prevail, and does prevail to-day in some -sections to such an extent that men, blinded to the interests of the -people of their sections, are continually stabbing at the very heart of -the railway corporations and crying out that they need to be watched by -legislative censors, and of this notion the railway commission was born. -My friends, I know but little of the motives that prompt such -legislation against railroads, but I do know that some very serious -mistakes have been made. It has been said that the king can do no wrong, -but it has with equal truth been said that the king can make mistakes. -In the State of Georgia, this persistent spirit of hostility to -railroads, this organized effort of legislative restriction, has within -the past few years thrown nearly every railroad in the State into the -hands of a receiver. The result has been a gradual reorganization of -these properties by the men of capital in the East, and a new plan of -operation at reduced expenditure through consolidation. What else could -have resulted? - -“The interests of the people and the railroads are certainly not -conflicting interests. They are common interests and should go hand in -hand and heart to heart in the great work of building up this country. -The one should not be made an obstacle for the other. I cannot see how -the Plant System of railways and steamships could be other than a pillar -in the structure of the industrial world of this Republic, interested in -all that tends to the promotion of the general interests of the people. -Of what avail would railroad construction be to the owner if it were -intended to be run in hostility to the business interests of the people -of the country it traversed? What would a railroad be worth if not -supported by a healthful business community in perfect harmony? On the -contrary, what would any country be without the railroads? - -“It is true that the people of this section have suffered heavy loss -lately through some unexplained stroke of Providence, by which the -orange groves of Florida were laid low by the withering touch of the -hand of dread winter, and it is furthermore true that the phosphate -interests have been injured by an over-production, but that is a matter -that rests with the fates, to be worked out in their own good season. -Misfortunes sometimes prove to be but blessings in disguise, and it -rests not with mortals to gainsay the wisdom of that edict which comes -from an Omniscient Providence. In all your losses on the farms and in -the phosphate mines, bear in mind that the railroads are suffering a -kindred loss, for the blow was as keenly felt by them as by you. - -“Let us move together while the hand of adversity weighs heavily upon -us, just as we have always tried to do when we were more prosperous. Let -us take no part in the systematic effort that some are making, to -persecute the railway enterprises of Florida at such a time as this, for -such persecutors are blinded to their country’s interests. If there was -ever a time when the people and the railroads ought to work in perfect -harmony that time is at hand. I believe labor ought to be protected in a -reasonable and rightful degree, but I also believe that capital ought to -be protected against the unrighteous onslaughts of those who know not -what they do. - -“In conclusion, my good friends of Ocala, I beg to thank you again for -your generous reception to-night. I believe there is much in the spirit -that rules here that bespeaks the dawn of brighter and better days for -the people of this region.” - -The following day a special train took Mr. Plant and his party to -Leesburg, where arrangements had been made by the people of that -beautiful little town to give Mr. Plant and his friends another ovation -of most healthful pleasure and exquisite enjoyment. The Mayor and -leading citizens of the place met the party at the railroad station and -welcomed them with marked cordiality to their best hospitality and -friendship. At the close of a day’s most delightful sailing up Lakes -Harrison and Griffin, and many carriage rides on the shores of those -beautiful lakes, situated as they are in some of Florida’s most -picturesque scenery, the party sat down to a banquet in the hotel given -by the Leesburg Board of Trade. “It was truly a feast of reason and flow -of soul,” for nothing could have been in better taste or evinced more -genuine esteem and friendship for the guest of the occasion than was -shown there. - -On the next day a special train took Mr. Plant and his party to Eustis. -At the station all the prominent people in town were gathered to welcome -him. Carriages were in waiting to take him and his friends through the -beautiful little town. It was with visible emotion that he looked upon -the withered, lifeless orange trees bared by the terrible frost of the -preceding winter, a drear and desolate scene as compared with the bloom -and beauty of other days. Mr. Plant, however, was never given to -fruitless murmuring. To a young editor in the carriage with him he -said: “No, we must make the best of even the adverse situation. It might -be worse. You must publish words of cheer and hope to your people, and -do all that you can to help them over this trying time. Suggest to them -the planting of other crops, the rearing of other fruits. It will not do -to be altogether dependent on oranges. The soil is capable of raising -many other things besides oranges, and it may be that this calamity will -become a blessing in disguise.” So he ministered good cheer and -practical instruction to the people, who felt that he loved them, and -who were very responsive to his encouraging words. - -I doubt not these people uttered the true sentiments of their deep -feeling when they said as they bade him good-bye: “Mr. Plant, you have -done us all a great deal of good, we shall never forget you for this -visit you have made us. It will be a pleasant memory to us always, and -if you and your friends have enjoyed your visit half as much as we have -enjoyed having you, then is our happiness increased a hundred fold.” -Never have we witnessed anything more beautiful and tenderly impressive -than the kindly interest which Mr. Plant’s visit called out among these -people. His every want was anticipated, luncheons, rare and delicious, -were carefully stored away on boat and train and brought out at the -right time. After sail or ride in train and carriage in this most -appetizing atmosphere had made the party hungry as prairie wolves, then -a sumptuous repast was served and enjoyed to the full. Rooms, and rest -and care in hotel, cars, or boats were provided with a skill and tact -that made one think of the Plant System. - -Honesty is the foundation and keystone of every noble character. It is -the quality that must pervade the whole nature. Nothing can take its -place or atone for its absence, nor can there be a perfect manhood where -it is not the warp and woof of the whole man. “Honesty is the best -policy” says the policy man, but he who is honest only from policy and -not from principle, is not an honest man, but a knave, if not a fool as -well. Genius, scholarship, wit, humor, brilliancy are worse than -worthless when they do not rest on a foundation of honesty. Never was a -greater tribute paid to man than when President Lincoln’s neighbors -dubbed him “Honest Abe.” Nor did poet ever rise to higher flights of -truth than when Scotia’s Bard wrote “An honest man’s the noblest work of -God.” “To be honest, as this world goes, is to be one man picked out of -ten thousand,” says Shakespeare. In the history of the human race men of -all ranks have ever paid the highest tributes to honesty and accorded to -it the first place in human character. It is this quality, combined -with his great energy, which has enabled Mr. Plant to carry his -undertakings to so successful an end. - -One of his associates in business for long years said: “Mr. Plant does -not rashly promise but when he does, performance is sure, cost what it -may. Were I having a business transaction with Mr. Plant for any amount, -and knew that he would live to fulfil his engagement I would ask neither -bond nor written contract. His word would be just as good to me as any -security that could be drawn by the best legal authority in the land.” -“I should name honesty as the dominant principle of Mr. Plant’s -character,” said another. - -It has been naïvely said that no “man is a gentleman to his valet,” but -the testimonies here quoted are from men of long and most intimate -acquaintance, and might be multiplied by hundreds of those who were once -in his employ as well as by those still connected with the great System -over which Mr. Plant presides. Careful scrutiny and good judgment have -characterized all Mr. Plant’s dealings with his fellow-men, but crooked -ways and mean advantage never. He has rendered to his generation an -invaluable service in that he has demonstrated to it that honesty is the -best _principle_ and the surest way to the greatest success. And he has -done this in departments of commerce proverbial for their unjust and -unfair methods of dealing. - -He has a wonderful amount of unconscious power which moulds those who -come within its influence. Hence his associates have remained long with -him even when tempted by other positions. The following extracts from a -letter of ex-Governor R. B. Bullock will be found of interest in this -connection. - - -“REV. Dr. GEO. H. SMYTH. -“Reverend and Dear Sir:-- - -“Replying now to your esteemed favor of March 17th, would say that Mr. -Henry B. Plant came to this city in 1854, representing the Adams and -other express interests, which were then being extended through this -section of the country; and he continued to make this city his -headquarters in that connection until ’69 or ’70, when he made his home -in New York. There are no ‘incidents’ within my knowledge connected with -Mr. Plant’s life here, which would be of special interest to incorporate -in a biography. He developed then the same persistent, conservative and -industrious perseverance in planning for and directing the interests in -his charge, which have since developed into the important and widespread -interests over which he now presides. - -“Naturally, in the development and establishment of the business in his -hands in those early days, it became necessary for him to select proper -men to fill the various positions connected therewith and it is a -notable fact, by experience shown, that the selections so made by him, -were wise and judicious, and one of the marked features of his executive -action has been the kindly exercise of unlimited and undisputed -authority. There is no recollection of his having displayed impatience -or irritable temper, even under very vexatious circumstances. His manner -was always friendly, frank and appreciative, so that the disposition of -the men subject to his control, was always found to be actuated by a -desire to accomplish all that was possible for the interest of the -institution over which Mr. Plant presided, sufficiently encouraged and -cheered by the hope of his approbation. So close an eye did he keep upon -the services rendered by the most insignificant employee, that no -service well rendered failed to receive his personal endorsement and -approval. - -“By reason of his evenly balanced judgment and temper, his relations -with the chief officers of railroad and steamship companies over and by -which express service was transacted, and with bank officials--who were -then our chief patrons--were always of the kindliest character, and he -always enjoyed their perfect confidence and highest respect. - -“In fact, all of the characteristics, which have made his later life the -magnificent success which the country appreciates, were developed and -maintained throughout his early business experience. - -“There is nothing new or peculiar about the facts to which I have -referred, because they are well known and appreciated by hundreds of men -now in the service, who have been continuously with it since its -organization. - -“Very respectfully and truly, - -“RUFUS B. BULLOCK.” - -[Illustration: text decoration] - - - - -[Illustration: text decoration] CHAPTER IX. - - Mr. Plant’s Industry and Power to Endure Continuous Strain--Labor - of Examining and Answering his Enormous Mail--Letter from - Japan--Mail Delivered Regularly to him at Home and Abroad--His - Private Car, its Style, Structure, Hospitality, and Cheering - Presence--Numerous Calls--The Secret of his Endurance--The Esteem - and Love of the Southern Express Company for its President--Mr. - Plant Enjoys Social Life--He is a Great Lover of almost all Kinds - of Music--Mr. Plant a Medical Benefactor--Some of the Progress Made - in the Healing Art--Bishop of Winchester’s High Estimate of the - Value of Health--Dr. Long’s Opinion of the Gulf Coast as a Health - Restorer--Unrecognized Medicines in Restoring Lost - Health--Nervousness among the American People--The Soothing and - Strengthening Effect of Florida Climate--Mr. Plant’s Part in - Facilitating Travel and Providing Comfortable Accommodations for - the Invalid. - - -Mr. Plant’s industry and power of endurance are a marvel to those around -him in office work. Over five hundred letters a week received is no -unusual thing. These are read to him by his private secretary, and -answered under his direction or dictation. They come from the three -different departments of the Plant System, which extends over many -thousands of miles, by land and by sea, and in its Express department -forwards goods over a mileage greater than the circumference of the -globe. - -Some of these letters require deliberation, skill, care, and sound -judgment in replying to the many complex questions of such a large and -important business as the Plant System covers. Others are less -complicated and more easily disposed of, while many are of a social -character, from Mr. Plant’s numerous friends scattered, I might say, -over the world. One day while sitting in his office at Tampa Bay Hotel, -he said: “I had a very pleasant letter this morning from Japan. Some -lady missionaries there write me of an excursion I once gave them in -Florida, which afforded them much enjoyment and of which they write in -enthusiastic appreciation though it occurred many years ago, and I had -forgotten all about it.” - -This large mail is a matter of daily occurrence. No day in the whole -week is free from its arrival. If he travels, as he often does in his -own elegant private car, his mail is delivered at important stations all -along the road. Being in constant communication with all departments of -the System by telegraph, telephone, or messenger, his mail is forwarded -to him promptly at all railroad stations named for its delivery, is -examined and replied to as readily as if in his main office in New York -City, for he has an office, desk, and all needed facilities in his car -for sending out telegrams, letters, or messages from the different -stations by the way. His car is a model of convenience, comfort, and -elegance in all its appointments. It is finished in richly carved -mahogany, upholstered and curtained in rich blue velvet, with numerous -windows and mirrors of heavy French plate glass. It is numbered “100,” -and known all over the South. Its entrance at any station causes -sunshine to break on every face, and the old colored men who come, -bucket in hand, to wash and polish it where it happens to remain over a -night or a day at the station, are fairly beaming when they greet “Massa -Plant” and are always paid back in their own coin with United States -currency added. Every old “uncle” at the railroad stations in the Cotton -States knows “Car 100,” and asks no better holiday than to “shine her.” - -To return to the enormous office work of the President of this great -system of transfer and traffic, it is a marvel how he has stood it all -these years. It is no unusual thing for him at Tampa to spend two hours -in hard work in examining his mail before breakfast, then till luncheon, -with perhaps an hour’s intermission, and then work until late in the -afternoon. His numerous calls from all sorts and classes of people, are -a constant strain upon brain and nerve, not to say heart at times. The -secret of this endurance of long and fatiguing work, is found in the -fact that to a sound constitution, inherited from a hardy, thrifty -ancestry, Mr. Plant has added a temperate life and great moderation in -the use of stimulants. While a man of quick intuition and keen -sensibility, he has shown the most wonderful self-control in the most -trying circumstances. When others would be agitated and wholly thrown -off their balance Mr. Plant would remain calm, quiet, cool, and -clear-headed to a degree that stilled the tempest all around, and -effected an amicable adjustment of matters most important as they were -most complicated and difficult of settlement. This self-control is -joined with great fertility of resources, great charity for the -peculiarities of men, and withal a kindliness of nature, a disposition -not to hurt any one, that have enabled him to render services to his -associates and to his country that may not now be told, and perhaps will -never be known until the great day when the “cup of cold water” shall be -rewarded. Mr. Plant is never in a hurry, much less is he ever flurried, -chafed, or worried about anything. All he does is done deliberately, -systematically, easily, and once done it seldom or never has to be gone -over again. “Make the best of everything,” is his motto. - -A gentleman occupying a prominent position in the express department of -the Plant System writes: - -“It affords me great pleasure to acknowledge the esteem and love of the -Southern Express Company’s employees, known to me, for Mr. Plant, who -has favored us so often with his kindness, liberality, and mercy even -when we were at fault. My knowledge extends back about thirty years, -having commenced with the Southern Express Company in North Carolina in -1866, and having worked in Tennessee, Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia, -Kentucky, and Mississippi since that time, mingling very freely and -socially with my fellow-employees. I have never heard one word of -condemnation of Mr. Plant during all that time but, on the contrary, a -hearty, free expression of respect and affection for the man who, by -divine aid, had done so much for the whole South as well as the great -number of employees in the Southern Express. - -“Faithfully - -“I. S. S. A.” - -In long years of intimate association with Mr. Plant I have never heard -him utter a profane word or a bitter expression against any one. - -“Greater is he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city,” said -the wise man. Mr. Plant has told me himself that if he learned of any -one made unhappy by anything he had ever done or said, or if any -misunderstanding should arise, he could not rest until all was settled -to mutual satisfaction, and that, too, just as speedily as possible. -“Charity for all, malice toward none,” briefly expresses the spirit, -tone, and temper of this great and good man. Hence he has been saved the -consuming force of friction and hatred which grind and wear out so many -before their time. The young men now entering public life will find -most valuable suggestion even in this brief record of a life so large, -useful, and honored, through a period of our country’s history the most -intense as it has been the most important since the days of the -Revolution and the formation of a free and independent republic. - -His busy life has made him neither a recluse, a pessimist, nor a slave -of the world. He has been a good deal in society--both as guest and host -he has mingled freely with his fellow-men and enjoyed to the full the -pleasures of friendly reciprocity. - -Mr. Plant’s love of music, in a man of his years and busy life, is -remarkable. He says: “Music rests me, and helps me to sleep when I -retire for the night, while I find it a great enjoyment in my waking -hours. It is medicine to me.” Hence he is often seen spending the last -hours of the day in the music room of the Tampa Bay Hotel, enjoying with -the guests the delightful music rendered with such exquisite taste by -the skilled orchestra. Mr. Plant is familiar with the best of the modern -operas as well as with the finest classical music of the past. Among his -favorites are Haydn, Handel, and Mozart. He is also fond of popular -ballads and songs, such as Moore’s melodies and national patriotic -songs. He says he enjoys even the hurdy-gurdy. - -Mr. Plant might be termed a medical benefactor,--a health -restorer,--because of the results of his work for the South and the -North as well. In no department of scientific advancement during the -last half-century has progress been more marked than in the department -of medicine. The healing art, in its lessening of pain and in the -prevention and cure of disease, has made, and is daily making, the most -wonderful discoveries. What a boon to suffering humanity was the -discovery of ether by Dr. Charles T. Jackson, of Boston, in 1846, who -found that by the inhaling of this anæsthetic the patient is rendered -unconscious of pain. Vaccine inoculation, introduced by Dr. Jenner in -1799, has prevented the spread of that much dreaded disease, small-pox. -The name of Dr. Koch will long be held in grateful remembrance for his -earnest efforts to cure consumption, as will those of Pasteur to cure -hydrophobia. The Southern States to-day have thousands of people in -ordinary good health, many of them in excellent health, who, ten, -twenty, or thirty years ago, were given up by their physicians as past -recovery and soon to die. But thirty years ago the modes of travel to -the South and the lack of adequate provision there for invalids were -such as only a person in fair health could bear. Through Mr. Plant’s -efforts in large measure, both of these requisites for a sick man, or a -delicate woman, have reached a state of perfection difficult to -improve. - -At the banquet given to Mr. Plant at Leesburg, Florida, in the winter of -1896, one of the speakers referring to what Mr. Plant had done for the -North as well as for the South, said: “In the ‘Dixie’ land he has made -the desert to bloom like the rose, changed waste places into fertile -fields, the swamps into a sanitarium, the sand heap into a Champs -Élysées, the Hillsborough into a Seine, and reproduced the palace of -Versailles on the banks of Tampa Bay, and away up in freezing, shivering -New England and Canada, when the doctor had written his last recipe and -the druggist had emptied his last bottle and the undertaker was at the -front door, our friend has placed the patient in a wheeled palace, and -signalled, ‘On to Richmond,’ not to die, but to live; and old Virginia -has smiled on the dying man, North Carolina has fairly laughed aloud, -South Carolina has taken him into her warm embrace, and Florida has -thrown flowers not on his coffin but on the resurrected Lazarus, and the -family have invited their friends, not to a funeral, but to a feast. The -Plant System ships have ploughed the Gulf of Mexico and spanned the -Caribbean Sea, and have brought health and happiness to many homes over -which bereavement and sorrow were hovering like the black angel of -death.” - -The Bishop of Winchester once said: “The first thing is good health, and -the second is to keep it, and the third to protect it. Then arises the -question, where shall we go?” It is not known that the noted physician -had ever seen the Bishop’s question when he wrote: “Were I sent abroad -to search for a haven of rest for tired man, where new life would come -with every sun, and slumber full of sleep with every night, I would -select the Gulf Coast of Florida. It is the kindest spot, the most -perfect paradise; more beautiful it could not be made, still, calm and -eloquent in every feature.” This was said by Dr. Long, an army physician -in charge at Fort Brook, Tampa. The power of the fine arts over the -mind, and of the mind over the body, are demonstrated facts. The most -frequent and depressing of ailments among Americans is nervousness in -various forms, and in different stages of progress, from morbid -sensitiveness to utter prostration. In many cases medicine merely -aggravates it. Its chief symptoms are irritability and wretchedness, -often ending in suicide. Healing must come largely through the mind in -rest, peace, comfort, and pleasant occupation. - -While the mind in this condition cannot bear strain, neither can it be -idle. Idleness induces morbidness and misery. Physical comfort must not -be neglected, but there must be wholesome, nourishing food, pure air, -and proper exercise. Hence, the value of the well-equipped and elegantly -finished Pullman palace car, and the well-built steamer designed for -comfort and safety, furnished and finished in a style that delights the -eye and ministers to the enjoyment of every faculty. Hence the luxuriant -hotel, with all its home comforts, its artistic adornments, and its -princely entertainment, beauty for the eye, music for the ear, feasting -the æsthetic while feeding the materialistic nature of man. All this -enjoyment, while a soft, balmy air is breathed beneath a clear, blue -sky, and while the invalid is bathed in the bright, warm sunshine of a -southern clime, induces repose, peace, content, happiness, and health. -The spirit loses its irritability, the mind regains its elasticity, -sleep refreshes the tired brain, food nourishes the exhausted body, the -whole man is renewed, and life that was not worth living has become an -inspiration, a joy, an heroic and manly achievement. - -It should be said here that up to the time that Mr. Plant established -the steamship line between Tampa and Havana, there had been no regular -communication between those two ports during the quarantine season. -There were some irregular opportunities of transfer when passengers were -detained for days to be investigated, fumigated, and harassed by -quarantine regulations. Mr. Plant held that ships could be built and -managed that would make communication as safe in summer as in winter, -and he has proved the correctness of his theory. In ten years of regular -service, the steamer _Mascotte_ has never had a case of yellow fever. -Through Mr. Plant’s suggestions, the Tampa Board of Health has -established rules and regulations for travel to the West Indian ports -which make it perfectly safe at all seasons of the year, so far as -contagion from disease is concerned. - -How much Mr. Plant has done to bring this blessed change to thousands, -many beautiful tributes testify in the public press of our times. The -expressions of enjoyment in the following letters could be extended -almost indefinitely. In the Saint Augustine _News_ of March, 1895, an -enthusiastic correspondent writes: “It was early in the present century -that this man of brains and bounty appeared on the great stage, and -began a career scarce equalled by any in the annals of American -financiers, and it is to him that Florida owes a debt of gratitude, -deeper than to any other man--and this man is H. B. Plant. Favored -indeed is Florida, not only in climate, scenery, and fruit, but with the -munificence of these mighty-hearted millionaires, who have Alladin-like -metamorphosed the sunny peninsula into a veritable fairyland. I had the -pleasure of meeting Mr. H. B. Plant, who has transmogrified Tampa, and -ribboned Florida with his railroad system. As usual with men of great -minds and means, he is wholly unpretentious, as much so as his humblest -employee. He is anything but fastidious; yet he is a clean-cut man of -the world, of vast business capacity, a keen, penetrating financier, and -altogether lovable in his domestic life. His shipping interests extend -from Halifax to Boston, his express and rail lines from New York to -Tampa and New Orleans, and his connecting vessels run from Cuba and all -Gulf of Mexico ports. Mr. Plant’s homes are the family place in -Branford, Connecticut, a palace on Fifth Avenue, New York, and the Tampa -Bay Hotel in winter. Mr. Plant’s family consists of a son who will -succeed to his great responsibility and estate.” - -Writing from Cuba in January 1888, “J. C. B.” says in his “Notes”: - -“In the language of an intelligent observer, writing from Havana early -in the present month, it would be difficult to find any other -interesting foreign land, when its accessibility is considered, so -worthy the attention of American travellers as Cuba. To the average -thought of one who has not visited it, it seems far and repellent. It is -neither of these. - -“The improved special fast facilities furnished by the Pennsylvania -Railroad, the Atlantic Coast line, the Plant system of railways, and its -new, swift, and superb steamships, carry you from the American to the -Cuban metropolis in three days. - -“While the north shore of the island has three important -harbors--Havana, Mantanzas, and Cardenas--the former is incomparably the -finest and most spacious; the city, to the west of the gleaming bay, is -a rare study in Moorish, Saxon, and Doric architecture. The scene has -been thus pen-pictured: - -“‘On the east side, where the close jaws of the harbor open, and -clambering up the mountain side where frown the landward outworks of -Moro Castle, is Casa Bianca, with its queer villas and structures, each -one standing out in this wonderful daylight of the tropics in such -distinctness, and with such a strange seeming of approaching and growing -proportions, that, in your fancy, the houses individually become great -pillared temples. In and over and through this dreamful spot, away up -the side of the mountain, thread and run such indescribable wealth of -vegetation that, as you look again and again, the clustered, shining -houses seem like great white grapes bursting through a glorious wealth -of vines and leaves. - -“‘Beyond Casa Bianca the bay debouches to the east. Here is a veritable -valley of rest. Every half a mile is a little cluster of homes set in a -marvellous wealth of rose and bloom. Beyond this valley are seen pretty -villages, each with its half-ruined church, whose only suggestion of use -or occupation is had in the din of never-ceasing chimes; and still -beyond these are uplands which almost reach the dignity of mountains, -upon whose far and receding serrated heights an occasional cocoa tree or -royal palm looms lonely as a ghostly sentinel upon some mediæval tower. - -“‘Farther to the south lie the great Santa Catalina warehouses, where -the saccharine source of Cuba’s wealth is stored in huge hogsheads, or -rests dark as lakes of pitch in tremendous vats. Behind these is Regia, -the lesser Havana, across the harbor, with its churches, its quaint old -markets, its cockpits, its ceaseless fandangoes and its bull pen. Over -beyond this, set like a gleaming nest in the crest of the mountains, a -glimpse is caught of Guanabacoa, full of beautiful villas, beautiful -gardens and fountains, and in the olden times the then oldest Indian -village of which Cuban legends tell. Beyond Regia to the south, and upon -the shores of the bay, is the ferry and railroad station, whence -thousands reach the outlying villas, or leave the capital for the -various seaports of the northern coast; and right here, night and day, -is as busy and interesting a spot for the study of manner and character -as may be found in all Cuba. At this station is seen a famous statue to -Edouard Fesser, founder of the Havana warehouse system. The entire -southern portion of the bay, where some day the barren shore line will -be lined with great warehouses and docks, is filled with old hulls of -sunken steamers and ships, conveying the keenest sense of desolation, -and the shore here rises to uplands bare as Sahara, until, skirting to -the right, the bold mountain, Jesu del Monte, is seen; and then come -the great outlying forts extending far around to the sea. Between you -and these, if still aboard-ship, you see Havana’s domes and minarets, -and, to all intents, you are anchored in a sceneful harbor of old -Spain.’ - -“This schedule of the quick mail service performed by the elegant -steamers, _Mascotte_ and _Olivette_, of the Plant line, in connection -with the railway system heretofore mentioned between Tampa and Key West, -in the east, affords but a few brief hours of rest in the harbor at -Havana. Upon the first appearance of the _Olivette_, fresh from her -conspicuous performances in distancing the fleet of steamers which -accompanied the racing yachts of the international regatta, the writer -had the good fortune to be among the invited guests who paid a visit to -this magnificent vessel, which is justly the pride of her distinguished -owner, Mr. H. B. Plant, the President and Managing Director of the Plant -System of railways and steamships.” - -[Illustration: text decoration] - - - - -[Illustration: text decoration] CHAPTER X. - - Reason for Submitting Press Sketches of Mr. Plant--_Descriptive - America_, December, 1886--_City Items_, December, 1886--_Railroad - Topics_--_Home Journal_, New York, March, 1896--F. G. De Fontain in - same Journal--Ocala _Evening Times_ June, 1896--_Express Gazette_. - - -In the following chapter are given a few press notices of Mr. Plant and -his work in the South, because they contain reliable information of some -of that work which we have left to them to chronicle, and because they -are public expressions of the appreciation of that work and of the -justly high esteem, and friendly regard in which the worker is held by -the people among whom and for whom he has spent the best part of his -life. Instead of a brief chapter, a volume of such complimentary -sketches might be presented, written in even stronger language than is -here used and by masters in the art of writing. But these few will -suffice to show the deep interest of the people in the life and work of -their friend and benefactor, Mr. H. B. Plant. - -The following extract is taken from the _Florida_ number of _Descriptive -America_. - -RAILROAD AND EXPRESS PRESIDENT. - -“In our _Wisconsin_ number we gave the life-history of one man who, -beginning as a farmer’s son, had, by his energy, ability, and integrity, -come to occupy a position of great power, wealth, and usefulness, and we -emphasized the point, that, while he had been wonderfully successful, -his highest claim to our admiration, lay in the fact that, whenever the -opportunity offered, he had sought the prosperity of the nation, the -state, or the city of his adoption, and had made his own gain and -increasing wealth subordinate to the public weal. In this number we have -some similar characters, who, if their wealth does not equal that of the -great banker and railroad king, have at least followed his good example. - -“Such men are always modest, their achievements seem to them very small, -compared with what they might and should have done, and they shrink from -publicity with genuine dread. One of these men is the subject of our -present sketch, Mr. H. B. Plant. - -“Mr. Plant is of pure Puritan stock; his earliest American ancestors -left England about 1640, and if they were not among the little company -who came with John Davenport to Quinnipiac, afterward called New Haven, -they followed very soon after. They settled in Branford, Connecticut, a -town lying between New Haven and Guilford, at which place some of -Davenport’s most eminent men soon established themselves. The Plants of -Branford were a good family, and they have always borne a high -reputation through the eight or nine generations which have elapsed -since they first established themselves in Branford. They were -intelligent, thoughtful farmers, industrious, sound thinkers, orthodox -in faith, and leading those quiet country lives, of which the old New -England towns presented so many examples. The village minister was a man -greatly reverenced by all his people, and if a youth of more than -ordinary promise could be instructed under his direction, it was -something to be proud of. - -“To one of these Branford families, the representative Plant family in -the town, several children were born in the earlier decades of the -present century; one of them, H. B. PLANT, gladdening their hearts in -October, 1819. He must have been a boy of considerable promise, for -after the usual course of study in the District Schools, not at that -time of a very high grade, he spent several terms in the Branford -Academy, then under the oversight of the Branford pastor, Rev. Timothy -P. Gillett, a man of high scholarship and great aptitude for teaching. -Whether he had any aspirations for a collegiate course, we do not know; -but he did not rest content, till he had completed his course of study -with John E. Lovell, of New Haven, the founder of the Lancasterian -system of instruction in America, and, at that time, the most celebrated -teacher in the country. - -“His school days over, Mr. Plant soon found employment on the steamboat -line plying between New Haven and New York. Very soon, one of the first -express lines ever established in this country, known as Beecher’s New -York and New Haven Express, was started, and young Plant became -interested in it, and from that time to the present has always been -largely engaged in the express business. His first important interest in -it was with Adams Express. In 1853, he went to the South, and -established expresses upon the southern railroads, as a branch -enterprise of Adams Express. In 1861, he organized the Southern Express -Co., and became its president, and has continued so to the present time. -He is also president of the Texas Express Co. In 1853, he visited -Florida for the first time, for the benefit of the health of an invalid -wife. There was no means of communication with Jacksonville, except by -steamers up the St. John’s. The place was small and the accommodations -meagre, but the fine climate and mild and balmy air were the means of -prolonging her life many years, and from that time he made yearly visits -thither. During these visits the place grew, and he saw the necessity -for railway communication with that and many other points in Florida; -but he devoted most of his attention to his extensive express business, -until 1879, though owning large blocks of railroad stocks, particularly -in the Georgia and Florida Railways. In 1879, with some friends, he -purchased the Atlantic and Gulf Railroad of Georgia, and subsequently -organized the Savannah, Florida, and Western Railroad, of which he -became president. Soon afterwards he extended this railroad to the -Chattahoochee River, and he also constructed a new line from Way Cross -to Jacksonville. - -“The Savannah and Charleston Railroad (now the Charleston and Savannah), -had been in the courts for many years, but, in 1880, Mr. Plant purchased -and thoroughly rebuilt it; his purpose being to perfect the connections -between Florida, Charleston, and the North. - -“The immense labor connected with the management of these railways, and -of the vast business connected with the expresses, led Mr. Plant and his -associates to organize the Plant Investment Co., to control these -railways, and also to manage and extend, in the interest of its -stockholders, the Florida Southern and the South Florida Railway. The -former road was extended by the Investment Company to Tampa, and to -Bartow, and they are now building it to Pemberton Ferry, where it will -be joined by the South Florida line thus making connection via -Gainesville with South Florida, and _via_ Tampa for Key West and the -West India Islands. - -“In connection with these railroads, we may well answer the question -which is of special importance to us in this _Florida_ number. - -“What has Mr. Plant done for Florida? We answer in general, that he has -rendered the culture of the orange and of the other perishable products -of the State profitable, has greatly facilitated the occupation of the -best lands of the State, opened the way for the settlement of the lands -of Southern Florida, given free and ready access to the Gulf ports, and -thence to Mobile, New Orleans, and Galveston, and established a regular, -frequent, and prompt steamboat service on the St. John’s River. - -“How has he done this? When he had purchased and rebuilt the Charleston -and Savannah Railroad, access to the interior of Florida was difficult -and almost impracticable except by wagon road. There was irregular and -fitful navigation of the St. John’s River, but the steamboats ran when -they had sufficient freight, and only then. There had been some -railroads built (especially those of the Yulee system) but the country -was undeveloped, and as the orange groves required from five to ten -years of growth before they came into profitable bearing, meanwhile the -railways were suffering for want of freight and were unprofitable. Mr. -Plant was convinced that although a more rapid development was in -progress, there would still be delay before the railroads he proposed to -build would prove paying investments. He therefore determined to avail -himself of the land grants already made, and to keep them in repair. - -“The orange product would not bear jolting over wagon roads, or being -stacked up on the wharves waiting for the uncertain coming of the -steamers. His first move was to build a railway direct from Way Cross, -Ga., to Jacksonville, thus bringing his Georgia roads into immediate -communication with a port on the St. John’s River. He then established a -steamboat line on that river which was regular, prompt, efficient, and -carried freight at low rates. Meantime a road had been constructed from -Jacksonville to Palatka, making connection with St. Augustine via Tocoi; -this road is now being extended to cross the river a few miles above -Palatka and thence by way of De Land and other places, re-crossing the -St. John’s a short distance north of Lake Monroe; thence proceeding to -Sanford where it will form a connection with the South Florida, thus -opening up the fine highlands west of the St. John’s and those east of -that river to a ready market, and giving choice of a river or rail -transportation at several points. The Legislature having granted a -charter for a railway connecting Palatka with Lake City by way of -Gainesville and thence down the peninsula it was taken in hand by -capitalists from Boston, and connection made by rail between -Gainesville, Palatka, and Leesburg. - -“With this company Mr. Plant made arrangements for the construction of -the road from Gainesville west to a connection with the Southern -extension of the Savannah, Florida and Western Railroad which has been -constructed and is now in operation. - -“A branch will soon be built to connect it with Lake City. - -“By reference to our map, it will be seen that these roads traverse all -the counties of the interior, down to the Everglades, and open them to -settlement and to profitable orange culture and the production of sugar, -cotton, and rice. These roads have brought actual settlers by scores of -thousands to occupy these rich and fertile lands, the finest in the -State, and other railway companies, stimulated by their example and -encouragement, have constructed roads connecting with these. By the -charters of bankrupt railroads which they have bought, the Plant -Investment Company is entitled to a large amount of lands from the -State, 10,000 acres to the mile, in most cases, as well as later grants -on their newly constructed roads; but the State has not yet the lands to -deed to them, except to a small amount, though eventually it may have. - -“Mr. Plant is a man of fine and commanding appearance, dignified and -quiet, yet genial in manners, and of the most genuine modesty and -gentleness in his intercourse with others. No judge of character could -fail to observe, however, that he is a man of remarkable executive -ability and sound judgment, or that he has a greater amount of reserve -power than most business men possess. His associates, and those with -whom he is brought into business relations, all speak of him in terms of -the highest admiration and esteem.” - -The _City Item_ for December 4, 1886, says: - -“Mr. Henry B. Plant is a very admirable type of that class of successful -men of enterprise who owe their prosperity to broad business views, -large public spirit, and commanding integrity of character joined to -solid capacity. Born in Branford, Conn., his entrance upon active life -was in connection with transportation on the New Haven steamboat line, -and his subsequent career has been identified with similar enterprises. -Ultimately entering the service of Adams Express Company, he was -instrumental in extending its business throughout the Southern States, -and finally, with others, purchased its lines, and formed the Southern -Express Company, of which he became president. This position he still -holds, having by his energy and enterprise greatly enlarged and extended -the business of the company. In 1853, when the delightful climate, -attractiveness and fertility of Florida were as yet but poorly -appreciated, Mr. Plant recognized the possibilities which that State -opened up, and an opportunity being presented for the extention of -transportation facilities by the sale of the Savannah and Charleston -Railway, and the Atlantic and Gulf Railway, those properties were -purchased and reconstructed by him, the name of the former being changed -to the Charleston and Savannah, and the latter to the Savannah, Florida, -and Western Railway. This last he extended to the Chattahoochee River, -to Jacksonville and Gainesville, in Florida. Subsequently he constructed -the road between Way Cross, Georgia, and Jacksonville, and Live Oak and -Gainesville, and also placed steamship lines on the Chattahoochee and -St. John’s Rivers, connecting the railroad at Jacksonville with Sanford -on Lake Monroe, and building the South Florida Railway thence to Bartow -and Tampa, establishing steamboat communication to the Manatee River and -other points on Tampa Bay. More recently he has established a steamboat -line between Tampa, Key West, and Havana. This service was increased on -the 1st inst. to tri-weekly trips, under special contract with the -Post-office Department. By this route, in connection with the railroad -from Tampa, the line from New York to Havana is only three days, thus -enabling the invalid or pleasure seeker of the metropolis to exchange -the rigors of our winter climate for the delicious temperature of Cuba, -with an ease and under conditions of travel which must make this line -increasingly popular with the lapse of years. The _Mascotte_, now -running on this route, is one of the most handsome and complete -steamships built, its appointments being in every respect really -luxurious, while in point of seaworthiness it is everything that the -most expert mechanism could make it. Its staterooms are dainty boudoirs, -while its saloon is as exquisitely fitted up as any drawing-room. A -second vessel, now building for the line, will be equally attractive in -all its interior arrangements. Mr. Plant, while a thorough man of -business, and deeply immersed in material pursuits, has never lost the -courtliness of manner and genial whole-heartedness which are Nature’s -choicest gifts to her favorites; and among all who know him he ranks as -the loyal friend and elegant gentleman.” - -_Railroad Topics_ says: - -“In this day of vast individual fortunes, it is no special compliment to -say of a man that he is rich. If the public takes any interest in his -wealth, there is generally more concern manifested in the manner in -which he made his money, than in the mere fact that he has it. But -conspicuous success and marked prominence do, and will always, command -attention and challenge admiration. The spirit of the American people -is to applaud achievement and honor distinction wherever they are -observed, and when found combined in one man, they make him a popular -object of praise and an interesting subject for biographical sketch. -Such a case we have in the person of Mr. Henry B. Plant, whose record we -attempt to outline in the following brief story: - -“Mr. Plant was born at Branford, Conn., in October, 1819, and is -consequently now in the seventieth year of his age. It is indeed a -pleasure to contemplate the record of a man who has fulfilled the sacred -tradition of his allotted time, and stamped that rounded life with -innumerable evidences of steadily growing strength, constantly -increasing usefulness, continually widening reputation, and vastly -expanding possessions. The personal history of H. B. Plant, if shorn of -all details, would stand complete in that one paragraph. - -“He has thus far lived to excellent purpose, and in the run of that -existence has accomplished in fullest measure all that is comprehended -in the descriptive suggestion. - -“If we wrote not another line, we would feel that we had made a -practical analysis of his life and set forth the salient truths of it. -But when a man has attained Mr. Plant’s prominence, and compassed -achievements such as his, people are interested in the details of his -career, and naturally inquire as to his distinguishing characteristics. -In deference to that reasonable curiosity, and likewise for the pleasure -that there is in it to ourselves, we gladly make this sketch of him. - -“It is nothing remarkable to say that he was born poor. Most men who -have ever amounted to much were. Hence in that particular he is not -exceptional. Neither would we be satisfied simply to class him with that -great multitude, popularly termed, “self made men.” He does belong in -that catagory, but is so far above the average, that we incline to think -of that descriptive fact more as an accident than as a cardinal virtue. - -“The first account we have of him is only a meagre record of his school -days. He never went to college, but had to content his ambitious young -spirit with a good academic course, supplemented by a brief term of -finishing study under a thoroughly competent tutor. This, however, was -only a theoretical disadvantage, from the fact that the termination of -his school days was no interruption to his mental acquirements. He was -born with an ambition for knowledge, and does not to this day feel -himself too old, or too wise, to learn. - -“Mr. Plant’s first experience in business, was when, a mere boy, he -secured employment on one of that line of steamboats, then running -between New Haven and New York. Although very young, he appreciated -even then that the only way to learn any business thoroughly was by -beginning at the bottom. Accordingly he took his first lessons in -steamboat life in a humble position. It was not long, however, before, -by faithfulness and efficiency, he lifted himself into higher and more -responsible places. That first and prompt promotion was the initial sign -of what his life would be, and from then till now, he has steadily -marched onward and upward, overcoming obstacles and mastering -difficulties with heroic energy, and winning success in the various -lines of his broadening operations with positive brilliancy. - -“While employed by the New York and New Haven Steamboat Company, one of -the first express lines ever established in this country was inaugurated -between New Haven and New York, and the enterprise at once fascinated -young Plant. He bent every energy toward the acquirement of a small -interest in the new express company, and in reasonable time accomplished -his purpose. From that day to this, express business has been his best -love throughout the wide range of his material interests. His first -important connection in that line was with the Adams Express Company -about 1847. In that corporation he became a leading spirit and holds -such position to-day. His special pet, however, among the various -express systems with which he is identified is the Southern Express -Company which he established in 1862. This child of his wisdom has grown -to be a giant, and is to-day one of the richest, most influential, and -ably managed corporations in this country. It traverses all the Southern -States, and is, for all practical purposes, permanently established on -nearly every important railroad system in the South. - -“Of late years Mr. Plant has been giving much of his attention to the -acquisition of railroad properties, and in admirable continuance of his -previous record, he has crowned this undertaking with splendid success. -He is virtually master and largely owner of the Savannah, Florida, and -Western Railway, and likewise of the Charleston and Savannah Railway. -This gives him a direct and popular line from Charleston, South -Carolina, to Jacksonville, Florida. He has also made various branches -from his main line, penetrating the principal districts of Florida, and -by this wise railroad building has done far more than can be computed or -told, toward that marvellous development of Florida which has been -accomplished within the last ten years. Mr. Plant was truly a pioneer in -this praiseworthy work, and there is probably no man who deserves more -than he does the grateful acknowledgements of the Florida people, as -well as the hearty gratitude of the countless thousands who have gone -from all other sections of the country to enjoy the healing benefits of -that curative climate, and the sweet restfulness of that floral -dreamland. - -“The Plant Investment Co., of which Mr. H. B. Plant is the head, and in -which he has associated with him several sagacious millionaires, is a -powerful corporation which was organized for co-operative investment in -valuable southern railroad properties and advantageous control of the -same. This company is managed with exceptional ability, and by its vast -acquisitions and extensions, has become a great power in the railroad -world, and is rapidly accumulating for its stockholders untold wealth. -This Investment Company is practically controlled by Mr. Plant, and its -entire policy is shaped by his judgment. One of his latest enterprises, -under the auspices of the Investment Company, is the establishment of a -fast line of steamers from Tampa, Florida, to Cuba. At Tampa, Mr. Plant -has extended one of his railroads out to deep water, and thereby made it -an excellent port for even heavy draught ships. The whole of Florida -bears the impress of his energy, enterprise, and wisdom. - -“Mr. Plant’s home is New York City, where he has a palatial residence on -Fifth avenue, and luxurious business quarters at No. 12 West 23d street. -Whenever a man amasses a fortune he naturally drifts into Wall Street, -the financial centre of America. Mr. Plant is a conspicuous exception to -this rule. He rarely treads the narrow golden street leading from -Trinity Church to East River. There is no speculative element in his -nature. He is conservative to the last degree, and works on no plan that -is not founded on reason and justified by a positive trend from cause to -effect. He has all the vigor and alertness usually to be found in a man -of fifty years of age. He is keenly alive to all the possibilities of -affairs that come under his observation, and quick to determine any -question that is presented to him. - -“He is a thoughtful man and extremely reserved. It is necessary to know -him well to appreciate the excellent fairness of his mind, and the -kindness of his heart. He is ostentatious in nothing, but under all -circumstances conducts himself with modest dignity and irresistible -reserve force. He is emphatically what might be called an extractive -man. That is, he has an inexplicable faculty for drawing any one out, -without ever appearing inquisitive, or leading on by talking much -himself. If he has one characteristic stronger than all others, it is -his wonderful genius for keeping his own counsel. He never lacks -cordiality of manner, but is always gracious and genial. Another -forceful point of his character, is that inexhaustible patience which -has enabled him to live undisturbed in the faith that ‘all things come -to him who knows how to wait.’ - -“He thoroughly systematizes every department of his life, and keeps his -house in such perfect order that if he should shake the harness off and -quit work to-morrow, all those far-reaching plans which have had their -foundations laid under his wise direction, would by his faithful -followers be worked out to rounded completeness and finished perfection. - -“And thus by the mighty working of his master brain he has achieved -success, won renown, accumulated an immense fortune, done great good, -and made for himself an undisputed place among the leaders of this day. -And besides all these victories, he has set on foot gigantic plans that -may not fully mature for many years to come, but in those very plans he -has laid the corner-stone of a great monument to his worthy memory, and -those who come after him, if faithful to their trust, will build on as -wisely as he has planned, until the capstone of his imperishable -memorial is fitted in its place, by the final accomplishment of each and -every purpose of his well-spent life.” - -_The Home Journal_ says: - -“Henry B. Plant, president of the Plant System of hotels, railways, and -steamship lines, is one of the men of to-day, whose work will influence -the future. He controls twelve different railway corporations with a -mileage of 1941, and 5506 employees; is president of the Southern and -the Texas Express Companies, employing 6808 men; president of steamship -lines, covering the coasts of the Gulf, going to Cuba and Jamaica, and -skirting the coasts of the North, running to Cape Breton and the -maritime provinces; founder of the most palatial winter resort in -America, the Tampa Bay Hotel, and owner of five other beautiful resorts -within the State. To Mr. Plant may be accredited the development, if not -the real discovery, of the grand West or Gulf Coast of Florida. He is an -American, and is seventy-seven years old; a man of tireless energy, -wonderful ability, and remarkable industry. His career is marked by -honesty, uprightness, straightforwardness, and business-like dealings. -These qualities, together with a broad intelligence and keen perception, -have brought him success. Withal, he is modest and unassuming, and has -no pride but that which he takes in good works.” - -From the Ocala _Evening Star_, June 22, 1896: - -“H. B. Plant, the railroad king, has again stepped into our midst and -proposes to add to the new improvements of our city a large and elegant -passenger depot. - -“Notwithstanding the fact that he has done much already to advance the -prosperity of the beautiful perpetual summer land of flowers and -sunshine, he is still, at the present time, losing no opportunity to -add to the beauty and upbuilding of the State of Florida. - -“If every railroad running into our State would feel as much interest in -her welfare as does the Plant System, but a few years would elapse -before this section would be the most prosperous in the Union. - -“Thousands upon thousands of dollars are spent every year by the -officials of this road in the improvement and erection of property -within our borders. - -“H. B. Plant is indeed a friend to Florida, and if other roads would -spend as much money in our State as he does, there would not be such a -cry for free silver, as there would be plenty in circulation, and every -one, from laborer to governor, would have his share. - -“While Mr. Plant is somewhat advanced in life, the _Star_ hopes that his -years may yet be many and his love for the sunny peninsula as great in -coming years as in the past.” - -From the _Home Journal_, New York, March 11, 1896: - -“If, comparatively a few years ago, one had ventured the prophecy that -the time would arrive when we could leave New York at half-past nine one -morning, and wake up at daylight the next morning in Charleston, a court -of inquiry would have been called to pass upon his mental condition. -Such, however, are the facts to-day. - -“You leave Jersey City in a sleeper, supplied with all of the latest -appointments for comfort; a courteous conductor takes your tickets, with -which you have no further concern until you reach Charleston, when they -are handed to you in an envelope. What a comfort not to have to be -pulling out the everlasting ticket just in the midst of conversation or -while reading an interesting magazine article! - -“If the cars are not crowded, you feel a sort of proprietary right to -roam around at pleasure, change your seat as often as you desire, and -wash your face and your hands whenever they need it in the cosy little -toilet-room. What a change from the old-fashioned water-cooler, where a -cupful of water was wont to be poured over a pocket-handkerchief, and -the face and hands wiped with it, leaving arabesque designs in black and -white wherever it touched! - -“Then, instead of rushing to a railroad eating-house in order to refresh -the inner man, having to put up with ‘railroad coffee,’ and experiencing -a nervous shock every time a whistle blows, your meals are taken at -dainty little tables, in your own compartments, where polite and -efficient waiters do your bidding. - -“Instead of the tiresome, old-fashioned trip of two days and a night, -the trip now is twenty hours. Verily the twin powers of steam and -electricity have wrought wonders in the conditions of life. - -“The Plant System, to which the Atlantic Coast Line is ‘a feeder,’ has -emphatically gridironed the South. To-day Mr. Henry B. Plant is the -president of a railroad system that embraces twelve different -corporations, and whose mileage extends to 1941, with a list of -employees numbering 5506. He is also president of the Plant steamship -and steamboat lines, covering the coasts of the Gulf, Cuba, and Jamaica, -and skirting the coasts of the North, running from Boston along Nova -Scotia to Cape Breton and Prince Edward Island. In addition to these -interests, Mr. Plant is president of the Southern and Texas Express -companies, which do a business as express forwarders over 24,412 miles -of railway, and have lines in fifteen States, employing 6808 men and -using 1463 horses and 886 wagons. Mr. Plant is seventy-six years of age. -He needs no eulogy; his works speak for him. Although of Northern birth, -he is as much beloved and respected at the South as if native-born. - -“Thirty-six years ago, President Jefferson Davis, of the Southern -Confederacy, demonstrated his confidence in, and admiration of Henry -Bradley Plant by giving him a pass entitling him to move hither and -thither at will through army headquarters, or wherever he pleased, in -the interest of the Adams Express Company, which he then represented, -although Mr. Plant declared that he did not sympathize with the -political movement which sought to rend the States. - -“The Tampa Bay Hotel, Port Tampa Inn, and the Seminole, Winter Park, -Florida, are monuments of Mr. Plant’s enterprise and a portion of the -System. From one of these palatial hotels one can catch a fish on the -back porch and pluck a lemon to dress it with from the front porch. In -Charleston the name of Henry B. Plant is a synonym for success, and a -name which many a young man mentions with veneration, as one to which he -owes a lasting debt of gratitude.” - -The May number of the _Express Gazette_, Cincinnati, Ohio, has this -appreciative paragraph: - -“The editor of the _Advertiser_, Key West, Florida, pays the following -eloquent tribute of praise to Mr. H. B. Plant, President of the Plant -System of Railroads and the Southern Express Company: - -“‘Mr. H. B. Plant, the president, the founder, and the controlling -spirit of the great Plant System, is held in high estimate by the -citizens of this island. He found it, years ago, isolated and remote -from the great centres of commerce, and his partiality to us soon -changed a semi-occasional connection with the mainland, by vessels of -inferior character, into a tri-weekly communication by the finest -coastwise steamers in the Southern waters. Brought in ready touch with -the marts of trade, factories sprang into existence, commerce grew, and -a city with millions of revenue supplanted a fishing hamlet. Through his -enterprise we are enabled to write our history in a line--a village, a -city, a metropolis--and all this in a decade. - -“‘The debt of gratitude which Key West owes to Mr. Plant is beyond -estimate. Indeed, so accustomed are we to the conveniences at hand, that -we are prone to fail in appreciation of what we have, in our greed for -more. That Mr. Plant has been and is still our best friend cannot be -questioned in the light of past experience; and while we cordially -welcome and hail with delight the coming of other transportation, our -city should never be forgetful of the man who was our friend when we had -no other.’” - -[Illustration: text decoration] - - - - -[Illustration: text decoration] CHAPTER XI. - - Mr. Plant’s Close and Constant Contact with the Great System as - Seen in the Following Letters--Letter Written on Board the Steamer - _Comal_--Letters on Trip to Jamaica, West Indies, March 15, 1893, - and Published in the _Home Journal_. - - -Mr. Plant keeps himself constantly informed of the workings of the whole -System over which he presides, by daily communication with every part of -it. The head of each department writes to the president every day, or -telegraphs, or does both if necessary, and in return, Mr. Plant, through -his secretary, replies daily to each communication received. So close -does he keep to the workings of the System that wherever he travels in -the country his mail is regularly delivered to him at points arranged -for the purpose, and it is as promptly answered from his private car as -if he were at his own office in New York City. Nor are all these letters -which pass between the president and his associates about hard business; -they are often social, familiar greetings, and interchanges of friendly -intercourse. The following extract from a letter, written by Mr. Plant -when traveling to Galveston, Texas, is an illustration of this: - - - NOTES OF THE VOYAGE. - -“Left wharf on Steamer _Comal_, Saturday, July 22, 1893, 4 P.M., wind -southwest. Passed Sandy Hook about 5.30, found sea smooth; well off the -coast, shore houses vaguely seen in the distance. - -“_Sunday, 23d._--Had a still and comfortable moonlight night; smooth -seas; wind southwest; off Cape Charles, twelve o’clock. About one -o’clock wind all died away. The sea perfectly smooth until 2.30, when a -light breeze came in from the southeast, which lasted until sunset, then -died away and came out again from the west about six o’clock. Passed -Body Island Light with light breeze. No sea. - -“8.10 P.M.--Hatteras Light fairly abreast--ten sailing vessels and one -steamer in sight. Weather being fine, captain concluded to cross the -Gulf Stream and run down on the east side and along the Bahama Banks. We -have now been out twenty-eight hours, and I have felt very well. No -annoyance from the stomach so far in any particular. - -“_12 o’clock noon, Monday, 24th._--We are bowling along in the Gulf -Stream with a good breeze from the west--smooth sea. Had a fairly good -sleep. Room being on the port side and the wind from the west made it -rather warm. At noon to-day the temperature of the water is eighty -degrees and the air is eighty-two degrees, which is not so bad as might -be. We are now well off Charleston and about abreast of the Bermudas. - -“_Tuesday, 25th._--The wind continued from the west until about four -o’clock, when it ceased, and from that until nine we had a dead calm and -a smooth glassy sea. Now at ten o’clock a light breeze comes in from the -east, and we have prospect of a comfortable day. - -“Yesterday P.M. we had crossed and were entirely east of the Gulf Stream -and there was no wind, of course, in still water. While in the Stream we -had a current of about three knots against us. Our course is now -bringing us again near the stream, which we shall cross in the course of -the day and will probably pass Jupiter before bedtime, say, nine -o’clock. We are having a delightful voyage so far, and I seem to be -doing quite well. - -“P.M.--The southwest wind has died out and we have a gentle breeze from -the east; this gives promise of the northeast trades for to-night, which -will be quite acceptable and will put me on the windward side of the -ship; have been on the lee side so far. - -“5 P.M.--Have not seen a sail to-day, and am having a very restful time. - -“9.30 P.M.--Have been with the captain since dinner, and for the last -half hour on the lookout for Jupiter Light. The lead informs us that we -are too far off the coast to enable us to see the Light just yet. - -“9.50 P.M.--Now we just have a glimpse of the Light from the bridge, and -as ‘All’s well,’ I will to my couch for the night. The winds are -favoring those on the port side, having swung around to the northeast, -giving a promise of the southeast trades for to-morrow; so good-night. - -“_Wednesday_ A.M.--Had a splendid shower this A.M. just after daylight, -and right after the northeast wind died out and was soon followed by the -good southeast trade, and now (10.30) we are sailing along just outside -the reefs, having passed Cape Florida early this A.M. During the night -we have passed Palm Beach (Lake Worth). - -“10.30 A.M.--We are now directly abreast of Carysfort Light, and a more -pleasant day to be at sea could not be desired. While at breakfast we -passed near the wreck of the English steamer _Earl King_. She went on -the reef about a year and a half ago; nothing now in sight but a portion -of what looks to be the bow--a good beacon to warn others from this -dangerous reef. She is reported to have been an old ship loaded with -cement and other cheap freight, bound for New Orleans, and well insured. - -“The indications are that we shall arrive at Key West about seven -o’clock this P.M. and in time to meet the _Mascotte_ on her return from -Havana. As we have but a small freight for Key West, we shall not be -long detained there, and shall expect to arrive in Galveston early -Saturday night. Temperature of air at one o’clock 81¾ degrees; water 83 -degrees. - -“_Wednesday_ P.M.--Passed Aligator Light one o’clock; this will bring us -to Key West about eight o’clock, and enable me to place this on -_Mascotte_ without much to spare, and probably place us ashore at -Galveston Sunday morning, and as you may not be in Darien Sunday, you -will only receive the message at office on Monday A.M. Send to Mrs. -Plant at Branford on arrival, so she may receive the information same -day. Would like to have you make at least a synopsis of the daily notes -to Mr. O’B., that you may send to him should he be absent. We are now -well up with American Shoal Light; next we shall have Sombrero, and then -Sand Key and Key West. We are likely to fall in with the _Mascotte_. - -“We are jogging along very pleasantly with wind well on the port quarter -and temperature quite comfortable.” - -The following letter from Mr. Plant, published in the _Home Journal_, -New York, March 15, 1893, speaks for itself. It shows its author to be -at home on shipboard, and as much at his ease as in his own parlor; -while carefully noting all points of interest and enjoying to the full -all that was enjoyable. - -ON BOARD S. S. “HALIFAX,” -SUNDAY, Feb. 26, ’93. - -“We sailed from Port Tampa on Thursday, February 16th, and after a -delightfully smooth and pleasant trip arrived at Nassau, N. P., on -Saturday morning. A number of our party were entertained by the -Honorable Sir Ambrose Shea, governor of the island; others of us -preferred to pass the few hours in riding and driving, seeing something -of the beauties of the place. We returned to the steamer in the -afternoon and got under way, passing out of the harbor through the “Hole -in the Wall,” as it is called. We steamed down over the banks, passing -along the eastern shore of the island, and leaving Cape Mayce on our -starboard, until away over to port were seen the highlands of Hayti. - -“All the way from Port Tampa to Jamaica, the weather was simply -delightful, and the sea as smooth as the waters of our Seneca Lake. We -arrived at the wharf at Kingston at seven o’clock Tuesday morning. Our -excursionists all went to the Myrtle Bank Hotel, where choice -accommodations were provided. We received a call from the Consul-General -of the United States, Mr. Dent, and also visits from other important -people of the city of Kingston. In the afternoon we received an -invitation, conveyed to the party through our conductor, Mr. A. E. Dick, -a hotel man well known in New York, to attend a garden party given by -Lady Blake at King’s House. Lady Blake is the wife of Sir Henry Blake, -the governor of the island. We found a large crowd of people, a gracious -welcome, exquisite music and bountiful refreshment. Only think of it--an -out-of-door reception on the twenty-first day of February! - -“In the evening we were surprised to learn that a grand ball would be -given in our honor by the citizens of Kingston. It proved a very -brilliant affair. The beautiful costumes of the ladies formed a striking -contrast to the military costumes of the officers of the British West -Indian Squadron; there were eight ships in the harbor. - -“We were called very early in the morning, coffee and fruit being served -in our rooms, and took carriages to the Western Railway station, whence -we started by rail for Bog Walk, on the Rio Cobre River. We arrived at -half-past ten. After leaving the train our attention was called to a -group of negro men and women who were engaged in loading bananas into a -car for transportation to the city of Kingston and thence to the United -States. - -“At Rio Cobre, we enjoyed one of the most beautiful drives that your -correspondent has ever experienced, down the valley of the Rio Cobre, a -most beautiful sheet of water, and after a ride of two hours, reaching -Spanish Town, one of the principal cities on the island of Jamaica. It -was at Spanish Town that a son of Christopher Columbus settled when he -came to the island of Jamaica. We were entertained by the proprietor of -the Rio Cobre Hotel, where we remained until the afternoon, when we -again took train for our headquarters at Myrtle Bank, in Kingston. - -“Early the following morning we were called, fruit and coffee were again -served in our rooms, and we started at six o’clock for a drive of -twenty-five miles over and across the beautiful mountain ranges and -towards the north coast of the island. At ten o’clock we arrived at the -Castleton Gardens, a beautiful spot owned and sustained by the -government as a garden of acclimation. Here are found the grandest of -all tropical palms. At the hotel connected with the gardens we partook -of a royal breakfast, into which entered many different kinds of fruit. -After a stop of two hours we resumed our journey over the mountains, and -in the distance we obtained a good view of the lovely Annotta bay. - -“En route, we visited a sugar estate where we saw the conversion of -sugar-cane into Jamaica rum of the first quality. Most of the labor is -performed by Malays, brought from the valley of the Ganges in India, who -while here are compelled to labor in competition with the negroes. The -men are paid at the rate of one shilling and six pence per day, while -the women receive only one shilling per day. I can assure you, from the -manner in which they work, it is evident that they earned every penny -they received. By the way, the coachman who drove us, informed me that -his wages were ten shillings per week of seven days’ continuous work and -he has to board himself out of that pittance. - -“On the afternoon of this day, Friday, we were well off the coast of -Jamaica, homeward bound. Now as I write, Sunday morning, we are -approaching Egmont Key, which is situated at the entrance of Tampa Bay. -Soon we shall be docked, and soon thereafter at that haven which has -been so often described but to which no writer to my mind has done -justice--the Tampa Bay Hotel.” - -[Illustration: text decoration] - - - - -[Illustration: text decoration] CHAPTER XII. - - MANAGEMENT OF THE GREAT PLANT SYSTEM WORTHY - OF ADMIRATION AND IMITATION. - - -There is perhaps no greater source of waste in our country than that of -labor strikes, which have become of frequent occurrence during the last -two decades. There is great waste of material from the destructive -violence of infuriated mobs. In 1877, the great railway strikes of the -Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and the Pennsylvania and Erie Systems, -resulted in the destruction of sixteen hundred cars, one hundred and -twenty-six locomotives, and five million dollars worth of property. A -report made in 1895 by the United States Commissioner of Labor (covering -a period of twelve years and six months, that is, from January 1, 1881, -to June 30, 1894) on strikes in the United States, gives the following -suggestive statistics. We read that the number of strikes was 14,390, -affecting 69,167 establishments. The number of employees thrown out of -work was 3,714,406. Loss of wages during this period to the striking -workmen amounted to $163,-807,866. From lockouts the loss was -$26,685,516. The losses to employers from the same cause were, from -strikes $82,590,386, and from lockouts $12,235,451. The losses to -employees and employers amount to the enormous sum of $285,319,219. And -this is only a part of the losses, for it does not take into account the -cost of police, detectives, and soldiers, required to protect persons -and property. In one strike eight thousand of the latter force alone -were needed to subdue riots, and save life and property. What estimate -can be made of the damage to commerce, the disorganization of labor, the -demoralization of the laborers, the families broken up and scattered, -the hate and bitterness engendered? The corporation, therefore, that can -co-operate peacefully with its working force adds much wealth and moral -progress to the nation, as well as legitimate profits to its own -treasury, and comfort, well-being, and happiness to its employees. There -is mutual advantage on both sides, and far reaching and beneficial -influence on all sides. There must be justice and consideration for the -workman from the employer, and there must always be justice and -appreciation from the workman to the man who gives him work,--mutual -interest, benefit, and advantage. It is greatly to the credit of the -Plant System, that the public has never suffered inconvenience in travel -from strikes among its large working force, that the men have not -suffered in person or estate, and that the company has been saved losses -and crosses from this hydra-headed monster, “Conflict between labor and -capital.” That these evils have been avoided, is due to the head of this -great System, due to his sense of justice, to his personal knowledge of, -and friendly interest in such a large number of the employees, and to a -large-hearted consideration for the weaknesses of human nature. Mr. -Plant was one day riding in a baggage car, when he saw an expressman -turn wrong side up a box that had been marked “Glass.” He called -attention to the fact. “That box,” said he to the man, “is marked -‘Glass’ and should be kept ‘glass’ side up as marked.” “Oh I know it is -marked ‘Glass,’ but I never pay any attention to that,” said the -expressman. Mr. Plant said no more. When the man and the superintendent -of the express office were alone together, the superintendent said to -the man, “Do you know who that gentleman was who spoke to you about the -box marked ‘Glass’?”--“No.”--“Well, that was Mr. Plant, the president of -the express company.”--“Oh my! that means my dismissal sure.”--“Yes, I -think it does; I shall have to dismiss you”; and he said, later, to Mr. -Plant, “I shall dismiss that man of course.” “No,” said the president. -“Don’t discharge him; call him to your office and impress it upon him -that that is not the way this company does its business, and he won’t -forget it.” The man has been long a faithful and efficient employee of -the company. Mr. Plant’s name does not figure as often as do some others -in lists of large donations to churches and charities of deserving -character, though they have not been passed by without recognition, and -kind and generous treatment of the deserving men in his employ have -never been wanting. While travelling with Mr. Plant to Atlanta, one of -the heads of a department reported to him that an old gentleman who held -an honored and important position in the System was greatly broken down -with nervous prostration. “Send him to his home to remain until he is -well, and remit his salary all the same.” It was remarked by a bystander -that he thought that that was very kind of the president. “Oh,” was the -answer, “that is only a regular occurrence to those of us who have been -with President Plant as long as I have.” - -Those who have read the blood curdling accounts of some of the strikes -that have occurred within the past ten years, and have experienced some -of the inconveniences and dangers resulting from them, will contrast -such accounts with what was seen on “Plant Day” at the Atlanta -Exposition, and on all other days throughout the South as well, and will -feel that the account of that day was worthy of a place in the record of -the noble life we are endeavoring to preserve as an example to public -men and as a lesson and inspiration for coming generations. We let the -associates and employees of the Plant System tell their own story. It -was printed in a beautiful pamphlet as a souvenir of the day, and was -specially designed for those whose devotion to duty prevented them from -sharing, in person, the pleasures of that memorable day. With the -exception of a few paragraphs of biographical matter contained in other -sections of the volume, or merely of temporary interest, the account is -published in full in a later chapter. - -It is as creditable to the men who have stood around their president -most faithfully in his arduous labors, as it is honorable to him who has -led them on to noble achievement, and deserved success. Mr. Plant’s -methods of management are worthy of highest commendation, and would -repay careful study in like conditions. If any man were to discover a -plan for extinguishing fire that would to save the country $285,390,219, -in the course of a dozen years, the insurance companies would purchase -his patent for a large sum of money, and the country would raise -monuments to his honor. Mr. Plant’s method is even better; it is on the -philosophical principle of prevention. It prevents the kindling of the -flames, and while it may not be absolutely fire-proof, it has stood a -long and severe test. We honor him and his loyal associates and -employees for the more than peaceful course they have left on record. We -say “more than peaceful” for it has been a course of mutual concessions, -personal interest, and friendly association, as the following chapters -will show. Nor is the view taken in these chapters narrowed to special -and individual cases. It is as broad as the South linked to the North, -and covers the whole United States; for no part of our country can be -advanced without every other part sharing in the uplift. - -It would not be surprising if the best part of Mr. Plant’s work should -fail to be recognized. People see the material progress of a State, the -things that can be measured, weighed, and valued at a price; the subtle -forces that produce the material are often overlooked. The intellectual, -moral, patriotic, and philanthropic spirit that moves the man and -diffuses itself throughout the State or nation is not the first thing -that arrests attention. Yet this unrecognized force is the great -uplifting power of a people in all that is best and noblest in their -onward march of progress. It is now an axiom that the North and South -did not know and understand each other previous to the late war; that if -they had understood each other, a war such as the revolt of the Southern -States would never have occurred, would, in fact, have been impossible. -The facilities afforded for travel and the superior hotel -accommodations which have been provided by, and have resulted from, the -Plant System, have brought North and South together in mutual interest -and friendly accord to such an extent that a war can never again take -place, for these two sections of our country are so interlaced, -interdependent, and identified in interest, and withal in such friendly -association, that the misunderstandings of the past can never again -arise. It is a fact of history, that in proportion as nations, races, -and religions come closer to each other, the causes of conflict are, to -the same degree, lessened. A homely illustration of this fact is -contained in the story of the Irishman who was walking along the Strand -in London one morning, when through the fog he discovered a monster from -which, at first, he was going to run away; then, grasping his shillelah, -he came close up to the monster intending to kill the “baste,” when “lo -and behold,” said Pat, “it was me brother John!” So it often comes to -pass that the monster in the distance to be annihilated, in closer -proximity is a brother to be loved. - - - - -[Illustration: text decoration] CHAPTER XIII. - - Plant Day at the Cotton States and International Exposition of 1895 - at Atlanta, Georgia--Preparations for its Celebration--Impressive - Observance of Mr. Plant’s Birthday at the Aragon Hotel--Mr. Plant’s - Remarks in Acknowledging Presentation of Gifts. - - -The Atlanta Cotton States and International Exposition was created -through the zeal and enterprise of a number of the patriotic citizens of -the city of Atlanta and of the State of Georgia, and, on the 18th day of -September, 1895, when its doors were opened to the world, naught but -words of admiration and praise could be spoken for the men, who, through -the devotion of their energies, time and money, had made it in every way -a success. - -There are already extant records of the speeches of the prominent men -who, from the Auditorium platform in the Exposition grounds, addressed -the public on that day and proclaimed to the world the reasons which -actuated the creation of this Exposition, not only for the advancement -of the mercantile interests of the southern section of the country, but -as well for the education of its people. - -While it is, therefore, futile to reproduce here the history of the -Exposition, it might be well to say that as far back as December, 1894, -Mr. H. B. Plant was called upon by a committee of gentlemen representing -the Cotton States and International Exposition Company and urged to make -an exhibit at the Exposition. In recognition of his acquiescence, and -the erection of a building by the Plant System of Railways and Steamship -Lines, in which was placed a most creditable exhibit from the sections -of South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida traversed by the Plant -System of Railways, the Exposition Company determined that a day should -be set apart, to be known as “Plant System Day,” and as the founder and -president of the System, Mr. Henry B. Plant, was to celebrate the -seventy-sixth anniversary of his birth on October 27, 1895, it was -decided that in his honor the two events should be commemorated as a -unit. This plan was impracticable, as the 27th fell on Sunday, but that -the celebration should be as closely connected as possible, the day -following, October 28th, was named by the Committee and announced to the -public as “Plant System Day” at the Cotton States and International -Exposition. - -From the time of this announcement until the day of the festivities, -preparations were made to make the occasion in all ways enjoyable. Mr. -Plant, accompanied by his family, arrived in Atlanta on Saturday, and -on the succeeding morning, the seventy-sixth anniversary of his birth, -was greeted by the following article, written by Mr. Clark Howell, and -published in the _Constitution_. It served as an index to a time replete -with pleasure, and as a welcome to Mr. H. B. Plant, President, and to -the Plant System in Atlanta, Georgia, October 27 and 28, 1895. - -From the Atlanta _Constitution_, October 27, 1895. - -“No more important day will be celebrated during the present Cotton -States and International Exposition than to-morrow, which has been set -aside in honor of Mr. Henry B. Plant, the head of the great Plant -railway and steamship lines. The importance of the day will spring not -only from the successful life of which Mr. Plant is an example, but from -the fact that above any other man living he represents the great -industrial revolution which has come over the face of the Southern -States, and which marks the success of free over slave labor. - - * * * * * - -“To-day Mr. Plant might be called an international developer. Of this, -however, the story of his life will be the best witness. To-morrow he -will have completed his seventy-sixth year, forty-one of which have been -spent in the South, during which time the twin powers of steam and -electricity have wrought wonders in the conditions of life. To-day he is -the president of a railway system which embraces twelve different -corporations, and whose mileage extends to 1941, with a list of -employees numbering 5506. He is also president of the Plant steamship -and steamboat lines, the one covering the coasts of the Gulf and going -to Cuba and Jamaica, the other skirting the coasts of the North, running -from Boston and along Nova Scotia to Cape Breton and the maritime -provinces of Canada. In addition to these interests, he is still -president of the Southern and the Texas Express Companies, which do a -business as express forwarders over 24,412 miles of railway; have lines -in fifteen States, employing 6,808 men, and using 1,463 horses and 886 -wagons. As a complement to the handling of railroads, and the sailing of -ships, and the expressing of freightage, Mr. Plant has erected four -winter resort hotels in Florida, one of which, the great Tampa Bay -Hotel, is probably the largest winter resort hotel of its kind on the -continent. It will thus be seen that this great man, who is to be the -toast at the Exposition to-morrow, does service under three flags, those -of America, England, and Spain. - -“Such developments as these are enough to make his life history of -interest to the old and of profit to the young, as showing the vast -possibilities which our country affords, and the immense rewards which -come to industry, tact, and intelligence. - - * * * * * - -“The coming of Mr. Plant to the Southern States really marked the -opening of Florida to the people of this country as a winter resort. It -was in 1853, the year of Mr. Plant’s arrival, that he visited Florida -for the sake of his invalid wife, when access could only be had by -steamboat, by the St. John’s River. The mild climate of that State -prolonged Mrs. Plant’s life for years. He saw the necessity of railroads -in the State, and it was in this way that he began buying stock in -various Florida and Georgia railroads, though he did not engage in any -railroad enterprise as a manager until 1879. In that year Mr. Plant -purchased the Atlantic and Gulf Railroad of Georgia, and subsequently -reorganized the company as the Savannah, Florida, and Western Railway, -of which he is still the head. The Savannah and Charleston Railway was -next purchased in 1880, and the story of the completion of the Plant -System--now extending to Charleston on the one side, to Montgomery, -Alabama, on the other, covering Florida and forming a perfect -network--would be to repeat the story of railroad development in that -entire section. - -“In these enterprises it was the purpose of Mr. Plant and his -associates to extend and add to the various properties, and they -believed this could best be accomplished under a single organization -with ample powers. With this object in view, several of his associates -being residents of Connecticut, the birth-place of Mr. Plant, a charter -was obtained in 1882 from the legislature of that State, and the Plant -Investment Company organized. Mr. Plant became president, and remained -such to the present time. Among his associates were W. T. Walters and B. -F. Newcomer, of Baltimore; E. B. Haskell, of Boston; Henry M. Flagler -and Morris K. Jessup, of New York, and Lorenzo Blackstone, Henry -Sanford, Lynde Harrison, H. P. Hoadley, and G. H. Tilley, of -Connecticut. Since the formation of the Plant Investment Company, -several properties have been acquired by purchase. In 1885, they bought -the South Florida Railroad, at the time running only between Sanford and -Kissimmee, which was changed from narrow to broad gauge, with an -extension of the line to Port Tampa, Florida, which is the port of entry -for the West India fast mail steamers (Plant Steamship Line) between -Port Tampa and Havana, Cuba. Subsequently the line was extended north -from Lakeland to a connection with the Savannah, Florida, and Western -Railway (Gainsville division) at High Springs, thus completing the line -from Charleston, South Carolina, to Port Tampa, Florida. Thereafter the -company acquired, in 1887, the Brunswick and Western Railroad, between -Brunswick and Albany, Georgia, via. Waycross, which road was rebuilt; in -1889, the Alabama Midland Railway, from Montgomery, Alabama, to -Bainbridge, Georgia; and in 1892, the Silver Springs, Ocala, and Gulf -Railroad, extending from Ocala to Homosassa and Inverness, Florida. In -1893, the Tampa and Thonotosassa Railroad was constructed, from Tampa to -Thonotosassa, and the Winston and Bone Valley Railroad was purchased to -accommodate the people of the phosphate mining districts. In 1894, the -Abbeville Southern Railway, from Abbeville, Alabama, to a junction of -the line of the Alabama Midland Railway, was built. The system has been -extended in 1895 by the purchase of the Florida Southern Railway and the -Sanford and St. Petersburg Railroad, both narrow gauge roads, and -preparations are now being made to change them to standard gauge. - -“In addition to the railway properties enumerated, Mr. Plant established -two lines of steamboats: one, in 1880, to run between Sanford and -Jacksonville, which was discontinued upon the completion of the railway -between these two points; the other on the Chattahoochie River, known as -the People’s Line, plying between Columbus and Bainbridge, Georgia, and -Apalachicola, Florida. In 1886, he established the Plant Steamship Line -for regular service between Port Tampa, Key West, and Havana, Cuba, -under contract with the United States Post Office Department, for the -carriage of the Key West and Havana mails, and for occasional service -between Port Tampa and the island of Jamaica, with regular service -between Port Tampa and Mobile, and Port Tampa and points on the Manatee -River. - -“Subsequently the line of the Atlantic, Canada, and Plant Steamship -Line, Limited, running between Boston and Halifax, was acquired by -purchase, and chartered under the Dominion Government as the Canada, -Atlantic, and Plant Steamship Company, Limited. In 1893, the North -Atlantic Line of steamers was added to the line through purchase, and -the route between Boston, Cape Breton, and Prince Edward Island is now -operated by the company of which he is at the head. - -“The Plant Investment Company had widened the gauges of its various -roads to the standard measure, has organized the fast mail steamships -between Port Tampa and Havana, and has in many other ways developed the -country and revolutionized the face of nature in that section. A reading -of the names of the directors of the Plant Investment Company shows that -through Mr. Plant other men, such as Mr. Flagler, have been led to -investments in the Gulf States, which are of incalculable value, and -which will perpetually influence the destiny of the South. - -“Without entering into the statistical and prosaic relation of railroad -names and technical details, it may be said Mr. Plant stands foremost as -a developer, and that while honor is due him for the creation of so much -wealth, for the integrity of his life, for the energy with which he has -built up the country, yet it is as a public benefactor and as one who -has contributed vastly to the possibility of such an Exposition being -held in the South, that he will be spoken of to-morrow. When he came -here, in 1854, he found the country wedded to a slave-labor system, -which necessarily meant a purely agricultural condition, and under which -it would be impossible to develop manufacturing and other corporative -industries. Without having been connected in any way with the war or -with the politics which preceded it or followed after it, yet he was the -pioneer of that new business which the war made possible, and which -marks the end of the old and the beginning of the new. His career is a -remarkable example of what can be accomplished by untiring industry and -indomitable will. The people of Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, and -Alabama cheerfully acknowledge the great obligations under which they -have been placed by the labors of this energetic and capable man. - -“In recent years he has made his home in New York City, spending each -summer in Branford, Connecticut. He is a member of the Union League Club -and of the New England Society of New York, a man of commanding -appearance, genial of nature, dignified and courteous of manner, and as -modest as he is competent. - -“Such a man needs no eulogy. His works speak for him. Such a people as -those of the South need no incentive to recognize worth wherever they -see it. Mr. Plant will be royally received to-morrow, and in the closing -years of his life he may well rest satisfied that a people for whom he -has done so much will not easily forget it, and that his name will be -remembered as one of the men who have served their time and generation, -and who deserve the laurel wreath of immortality. - -“Forty-one years of his eventful life have been spent in the South; and -his great fortune has been made in the South. How many important volumes -of history are crowded into those forty-one years! Within that period -this man of affairs has seen four million slaves emancipated; he has -witnessed the greatest war of modern times; he has practically witnessed -the birth of those twin powers--steam and electricity--whose combined -forces have created new conditions of life; he has been an eye-witness -to the tearing down and the upbuilding of States and the adjustment of -the American people to a new environment. And yet, amid all this -kaleidoscopic change, this quiet business man has gone on adding to his -fortune in peace and in panic, in storm and in sunshine, and his -potential force in Southern development will be fittingly recognized and -crowned to-morrow, in a day set apart among the great days of the -Exposition in his honor. - -“What superb judgment and business sagacity make up the background of -this picture! Mr. Plant has never sought or held office. His name is not -on the roster of military heroes, nor is it emblazoned on the roll of -those who have won renown in the evolution of statecraft. But in that -great battle of rebuilding States and industrial life in the South he -stands to-day pre-eminent. Behind him, and loyally supporting him, is a -busy industrial army of 12,639 men, and, counting their families, an -army of 60,000 people. - -“The lessons of Mr. Plant’s life are simple and should be an inspiration -to young men throughout America. He has avoided politics and -speculation; he has never bought nor built a railroad to sell; he has -never wrecked a property in order to purchase it. He lives, and his -companies live, within their income. He is scrupulously exact in keeping -his engagements, and always acts within the limits of that truth, which -he often quotes, ‘It is easier to promise than it is to perform.’ - -“The lesson of his life, which the occasion justifies in emphasizing, is -this: Faith in the South and her possibilities is the basis of his great -fortune. When others have faltered he has gone on investing the earnings -of his properties in the South. In his loyal friendship to the South, -and his unwavering faith in her greatness and her coming glory, he has -proven his faith by his work. - -“Mr. Plant is one of those remarkable men who master all conditions and -create environment. He is a builder--a creator. A whole State blossoms -at the touch of his magic wand. Thousands and tens of thousands bless -him that he uses and does not bury his talents. Long may he live--an -example to all young men, an inspiration to investors, a true, a loyal, -and a royal friend of the South.” - -Surrounded by many of his friends and associates, who had assembled to -pay their respects, Mr. Plant’s anniversary was most auspiciously -ushered in by the foregoing remarks of a representative of the Atlanta -people. But it yet needed the remembrance of the officers and employees -of the Plant System of Railway and Steamship Lines and of the Southern -Express Company to testify the admiration and esteem in which he was -held by the men who served under him. This tribute on the part of the -officers and employees was an unexpected pleasure to Mr. Plant. In -referring to the event, the Atlanta _Constitution_ published the -following account of the presentations and of Mr. Plant’s response: - -From the Atlanta _Constitution_, October 28, 1895. - -“Mr. H. B. Plant, President of the Plant System of Railway and Steamship -Lines, was complimented yesterday as few great railroad kings have ever -been complimented by the men who compose the vast army of workers under -their direction. - -“It was the seventy-sixth birthday of the well-known giant of the -Southern railway world, and he was presented with rich and rare tokens -of the love, honor and affection which his employees bear him. - -“It was a happy day all round, and the Plant people fairly revelled in -the privilege of paying such becoming tribute to the man who has done so -much for the Southern States. - -“As for Mr. Plant himself, he declared that it was certainly one of the -happiest moments of his life, and the brightest, happiest birthday he -ever enjoyed. - -“At a quarter to ten o’clock Mr. Plant was notified that a number of -prominent officials of his various systems of transportation lines were -waiting to see him at his private parlors at the Aragon. - -“He met them, and was informed that they wanted to join with him in the -name of every employee of the lines to exchange the congratulations and -compliments of the season of his birthday. Mr. Plant at once summoned -his family and friends, who are with him here, and soon Mrs. Plant, Mrs. -M. A. Wood, Dr. G. Durrant, Rev. Dr. Smythe, and Vice-President M. F. -Plant were in the parlor. There were also present the following friends -and associates in the railway and express business: - -“R. G. Erwin, Vice-President and General Counsel, Plant System; M. J. -O’Brien, Vice-President and General Manager, Southern Express Company; -D. F. Jack, Assistant to the President; B. Dunham, General -Superintendent, Plant System of Railways; J. W. Fitzgerald, -Superintendent, Plant Steamship Line; B. W. Wrenn, Passenger Traffic -Manager, Plant System; F. B. Papy, General Freight Agent, Plant System; -Hon. F. G. duBignon, General Counsel; T. W. Leary, Assistant General -Manager, Southern Express Company; G. H. Tilley, Secretary and -Treasurer, Southern Express Company; F. Q. Brown, President, Florida -Southern Railway; Hon. S. G. McLendon, Counsel, Plant System of -Railways; O. M. Sadler, Superintendent Southern Express Company, -Piedmont Division; H. C. Fisher, Superintendent Southern Division, -Southern Express; C. T. Campbell, Superintendent Southern Express -Company, Central Division; W. W. Hulbert, Superintendent Georgia -Division, Southern Express Company; Mark J. O’Brien, Assistant -Superintendent Southern Express Company, Central Division; F. DeC. -Sullivan, New York; E. M. Williams, New York; W. S. Chisholm, member of -the firm of Erwin, DuBignon, & Chisholm, Attorneys for the Plant System -of Railroads, Savannah. - -“The room was a scene of rare beauty, there being on every side a huge -bank of flowers, fragrantly speaking the affectionate salute of the -employees of Mr. Plant and members of his family. On one side was a -beautiful vase of American Beauty roses, sent from the main office of -the Plant System in New York, by the employees there. - -“Appropriate inscriptions were embroidered in letters of gold on the -ribbons of red, white, and blue tied about the long stems of the roses. -On the other side was a bank of carnations, chrysanthemums, lilies, and -roses from H. B. Plant, Jr. This pleased Mr. Plant greatly, coming from -a little son of Mr. M. F. Plant, a grandson of the distinguished -railroad magnate. - -“On a pretty table in the centre was a huge and gorgeous silver cup--a -loving-cup--which was presented to Mr. Plant by Mr. S. G. McLendon, on -behalf of the employees of the railway department of his great System. -It is a most beautiful and elaborate solid silver cup, and will hold two -gallons of champagne. It is, perhaps, the finest and most artistic piece -of work ever made by the Gorham Manufacturing Company, of New York. The -idea conveyed in the loving-cup is a most beautiful one. The cup has -two large handles, and around the festal board is turned from hand to -hand, each guest taking a quaff, the cup being held by two persons. The -cup never touches the board until it has made the round of the guests. - -“This cup, presented by the Plant Railway System employees, is -handsomely engraved, and bears on one side this inscription: ‘The -Railway Employees of the Plant System to H. B. Plant, President.’ On the -reverse side is the date, ‘October 27, 1895.’ - -“In presenting this beautiful token, Mr. S. G. McLendon, attorney for -the Plant System at Thomasville, read the following testimonial on -behalf of the employees: - -“‘Mr. Plant:--The employees of the Plant System of Railways extend to -you their sincere and heartfelt congratulations upon this, your -birthday. - -“‘As a slight token of their affectionate and loyal regard, they present -you this loving-cup, filled with their best wishes for your continued -health and strength. It was no idle fancy which prompted the selection -of this modest testimonial; its name aptly marks the impulse which -prompted the gift, and which it but inadequately measures by its size. - -“‘The author of a great railway system, such as that which bears your -name, must be to all mankind a genuine benefactor; but to you belongs, -in truth, an honor and distinction far more precious. - -“‘To promote the well-being of one fellow-man, to upbuild the material -interests of great and growing States, and to see new life, hope, and -promise rise up with smiling face and outstretched, laden hands, is -indeed enough to fulfill the measure of any ordinary ambition; but when -to the gratification which springs from such a consciousness is added -the knowledge that those who labored with and under you in these great -enterprises, whose part it was to follow and obey, are each and all as -loyal and devoted to you personally as you have been, through many years -and trials, to the great interests confided to your care, satisfaction -must ripen into that contentment which only comes when the “softer green -of our better selves” is in the ascendant. - -“‘It is the earnest prayer of the employees that for many, many years -yet to come your life and activity may be spared to the great properties -which owe their existence and prosperity to your foresight and sagacity, -and as the seasons come and go, they crave for themselves no higher -privilege than to refill this cup with renewed affection and esteem. - -“‘For the employees of the Plant System of Railways. - -“‘B. DUNHAM, -“‘General Superintendent.’ - -“The employees of the steamship lines of the Plant System sent a -handsome and perfect combination compass, barometer, and thermometer as -a fitting birthday present to Mr. Plant. Hon. Fleming duBignon, General -Counsel for the Plant System, read the following letter in making the -presentation on behalf of the men who manage this branch of Mr. Plant’s -vast business: - -“‘ATLANTA, GEORGIA, October 27, 1895. - -“‘Mr. H. B. PLANT, PRESIDENT.--Dear Sir: The love and confidence of -associates, neighbors and friends are to be valued more than silver and -gold. In this life the point set to bound one’s career ought to be the -esteem of his fellow-men. For such an honor good men strive in all the -protean forms of earthly contest. To gain this reward, to touch the -dust-covered goal with a glowing chariot wheel, is worthy of the -loftiest ambition. No human being can possess any greater glory than the -estimation of the people among whom he lives. - -“‘Acting upon the principle that labor conquers all things, and that -time will bring its own rewards, you struck out for yourself into the -great ocean of busy life around you and struggled heroically with its -billows. You were strong and worthy, and your fellow-men were not slow -in making the discovery. Your unbounded faith in the future of this -marvellous section, coupled with your genius and intelligent direction, -have advanced the several States into which your enterprises now extend -into commanding positions of commercial superiority. Your ships have not -drifted like dead sea-weeds upon the tops of sleepy waves, but, laden -with the rich treasures of this and other climes, have travelled the -wide seas over as a public benefaction. The mind of man cannot measure, -nor can the tongue of man describe, the practical good your energies -have accomplished. The Plant System, consisting of many thousands of -miles of telegraph, express, railway, and steamship lines, founded by -your genius, is a monument to your memory more lasting than brass and -more enduring than marble. - -“‘Concealing quick feelings under an appearance of reserve, you have -never deemed it a weakness to give sway to the influence of loving and -sympathetic emotions. Your benevolences, therefore, have made life -beautiful to many people. Associated with you for so long a time, it is -natural that we, the employees of the Plant Steamship Line, should feel -a filial pride in the success of your varied and various undertakings. -We are proud of the history you have made. We come to-day, therefore, to -bring you our greetings, to manifest our love and admiration, and to -express the hope that your useful and distinguished life may be spared -many years to your country, family, and friends. - -“‘As an evidence of our affection and respect, we herewith present you, -as a fitting birthday gift, this compass, commonly used for directing -and ascertaining the course of ships over a waste of waters. This -compass is fitted with a magnetic needle which points ever to the north, -enabling the tempest-tossed mariner to hold his way over the stormy sea -when there is neither cape nor headland, sun, moon, nor stars, nor any -mark in the heavens or on the earth to tell him when or where or how to -steer. - -“‘We pray that the star of destiny, like this mysterious needle, will -ever guide and help you to keep an unfaltering step along the dangerous -crags and treacherous precipices which beset the pathway of every man, -and that your life may be long and useful “in the land that the Lord, -thy God, giveth thee.” - -“‘Truly yours, -“‘J. W. FITZGERALD. - -“‘On behalf of the employees of the Plant Steamship Line.’ - -“The Southern Express men presented their president with a handsome -marine glass. - -“The following testimonial, read by T. W. Leary, Assistant General -Manager of the Southern Express Company, which was organized by Mr. -Plant in 1853, explains the sentiment conveyed with the gift: - -“‘ATLANTA, GEORGIA, October 27, 1895. - -“‘MR. H. B. PLANT, President Southern Express Company.--Dear Sir: The -employees of the Southern Express Company extend to you on this -anniversary of your birthday cordial greetings, fraught with sentiments -of highest respect and esteem, inspired by the kindly courtesy and -impartial consideration which have ever marked your intercourse with -them. - -“‘Regarding you not alone as an official superior, but also as a -personal friend, sensible to their welfare and the true relationship of -the employer and the employee, exemplified by your long career in -friendly association with those with whom you have called around you in -the conduct of the company’s affairs, they are glad to avail themselves -of this auspicious occasion to manifest the interest it inspires within -them by an offering in token of their appreciation and good will. - -“‘It is, therefore, the privilege and pleasure of the undersigned, in -behalf of the employees of the Southern Express Company, to present to -you the accompanying testimonial, coupled with heartfelt wishes that as -things viewed through its lenses are brought clearer and closer to -vision, so with each succeeding return of the day this glass -commemorates, may you see the nearer fruition of the unremitting labor -of years devoted to the upbuilding of those important enterprises with -the history of which your name is indissolubly connected. - -“‘Commending this souvenir to your acceptance with the united hope of -those from whom it comes that continued health, strength, and success -may be granted you in the future, we are, yours faithfully, - -“‘F. L. COOPER, “‘W. A. DEWEES, “‘W. M. SHOEMAKER, “‘Committee.’ - -“After the above letters were read, Mr. Plant addressed those present in -substance as follows: - -“‘Gentlemen of the Plant System of Railroads and Steamship Lines and of -the Southern Express Company, and my Friends: I thank you sincerely for -the beautiful presents which you have given me on this the anniversary -of my birth, and for the loving words of congratulation which accompany -them. - -“‘While it reached my ears that there was to be some observance of the -occasion, I am wholly unprepared for the magnificence of the gifts and -the demonstration of fidelity and affection with which they are -accompanied, and I am, therefore, unable to do justice to myself in -expressing to you the appreciation I feel. I speak from a full heart, -and can more than fill this beautiful loving-cup with affection and -esteem for you, and for the employees whose feelings towards me are -manifested not only by this testimonial, but as well by their constant -and untiring devotion to the trusts confided to them through many years. -To them, in a large measure, is due such success as has crowned my -efforts in railway construction and management, and I now take pleasure -in making this acknowledgment, and in assuring them of my continued -confidence in them, and of my gratitude to them; without their -unflagging efforts no measure of success could have been achieved. I -look to them all with the fall assurance that the future, with their -assistance, will result in still greater accomplishments in our railway -enterprises. - -“‘This compass, the gift of the employees of the Plant Steamship Line, -brings to my mind the thought that, whatever may have been my mistakes -in life, I have always had one aim, which, like the needle, though -oscillating and varying at times in some slight degree, pointed ever to -one end, and that was to endeavor to do what was right and just. - -“‘Our steamships were the children of my later years, and they, with the -faithful employees who operate them, are, and shall continue to be, very -near to my heart. - -“‘The gift of the employees of the Southern Express Company brings to -my mind pictures of the past. The express business was my first love, -and I see here present those who were with me in troublous times, and -bore with me the heat and burden of the fight. Their affection and -loyalty have sustained me in many an anxious moment, and the knowledge -that I had around me those upon whom I could count in every peril has -enabled me to achieve some measure of success. To extend to them my -thanks for all that they have been to me and done for me would be idle. -They know how I feel towards them, and I am sure I know how they feel -towards me. - -“‘I wish to say to you all that I am more apt to express my feelings in -acts than in words; many of the employees of our several companies have -been with me so long that they have become as members of my family. I -feel towards all the employees that in a business sense they are members -of my family and I want them to feel that they bear this relation to me. - -“‘I see with us to-day one to whom I feel I owe much; I refer to Dr. G. -Durrant, of New York. I had a severe attack of illness last May, but did -not know until long after it was over how near to death I was. To his -untiring and faithful attention, both as a good friend and as a skilled -physician, I owe my recovery, perhaps my life, and it gives me pleasure -to take this occasion to express my confidence in him and my thanks to -him. - -“‘These beautiful flowers on my left came to me from my little grandson, -and I bespeak in his behalf from you all the love and affection which -you have shown to me, and express the hope that in days to come, when I -am no more with you, he may be one of yourselves and a co-worker in the -enterprises which all the employees of our companies sustain by their -energies and their work. - -“‘These flowers on my right come from those at our New York office, some -of whom cannot be with us to-day in person, but who are with us in -spirit and love and testify their memory of the occasion by this -beautiful remembrance. - -“‘Mr. and Mrs. Frank Q. Brown, of Boston, have presented me with this -cane, which I appreciate very highly, but will hope that I may not need -to have immediate use for it, though if that time should come it will be -a staff upon which I will gladly lean. Mr. Brown is now one of us, and -though he has but lately come among us, I am sure you will all welcome -the President of the Florida Southern Railway in our ranks.’ [Applause.] - -“It was the happiest of seasons for Mr. Plant, and his face beamed -brightly with the light of profound gladness. - -“All day there was a stream of distinguished callers, who congratulated -him on the day with good wishes for many returns. Letters and telegrams -and cablegrams were read, all bearing the hearty congratulations of -friends and employees.” - -[Illustration: text decoration] - - - - -[Illustration: text decoration] CHAPTER XIV. - - Tampa Bay Hotel, One of the Modern Wonders of the World--Its - Architecture, Furniture, Works of Art, Decorations, Tapestries, - Paintings, Inlaid Table and Three Ebony and Gold Cabinets from the - Tuileries, a Sofa and Two Chairs once Owned by Marie - Antoinette--The Dream of De Soto Realized--A Palace of Art for the - Delight and Joy of Those who are in Health, and an Elysium for the - Sad and Sorrowful. - - -The following account of the Tampa Bay Hotel, from the pen of W. C. -Prime, is taken from the New York _Journal of Commerce_: - -“The most charming book in all the world of literature is the collection -of tales known to common fame as the _Arabian Nights_. Their charm -consists in the total freedom from all restraints of verities, of either -probabilities or possibilities. Events occur in dreamlike succession, -and transformations take place with such delicious swiftness and ease -that, if you read the story as you should, with forgetfulness of self, -and without any of the folly of critical judgment, you are removed into -another world than this--a world of refreshing liberty, wherein thought -has no bounds and imagination flows in glorious revelry. - -“That which the unknown Saracen story-teller created in words and -fancies, this late nineteenth century seeks to create in reality, by the -aid of wealth and steam and electricity. It does not succeed. But it -comes so near to success that we may wonder and admire, and for a moment -at a time we can forget that the result is artificial, not natural, and -that it is a miracle of human invention which dazzles and astonishes our -senses. All this by way of introduction to my letter.... - -“The scene changed suddenly. The train emerged into a blaze of electric -light. By this blaze of light you could see, high in the air and -stretching a thousand feet to right and left, bright domes and minarets, -appearing and disappearing with all the swiftness of magic. It was -bewildering. A few steps lead into the blinding light of the grand hall -of the new hotel, a wilderness of all that is gorgeous in works of -modern art. Rich furniture in gold and ebony, velvets, tapestries, grand -vases of porcelain, massive figures in pottery, bronzes in groups, small -and of life size, oil-paintings, works of masters, etchings, engravings, -carvings, in short, countless examples of the most costly and superb art -productions of the age, under a flood of light from a hundred electric -bands; all this bursting on the gaze of the traveller at the end of his -journey, it forms what may well be considered a modern artificial -approximation to one of the transformations in dreams of the Saracens. - -“It is not to be denied that this Tampa Bay Hotel is one of the modern -wonders of the world. It is a product of the times. It illustrates the -age, the demands of the people, what they enjoy, and what they are -willing to pay for. I have no space to enter into a description of it. -It would require a guide-book for a full description. ‘It is splendid, -but it is incongruous,’ said a friend. ‘Why should it be incongruous?’ -was my reply. ‘It is a hotel, not a private house.’ There is, -nevertheless, a sufficiency of uniformity in the building and -decorations, while the general principle of the furnishing is in -harlequin style, which is most pleasing to the mass of visitors. Each -work of art (of which there are hundreds and hundreds) is chosen by some -one who has exercised taste of high order. The objects are good, each -worthy of examination. The many large tapestries are costly, and are -fine works. The paintings are of extraordinary rank. There is no more -striking feature of the furniture than the table porcelains. These are -exquisite works of ceramic art. The plates are of infinite variety. You -may have your beef on a very charming bit of French porcelain, your -salad on a reproduction of an old Vienna plate of semi-Saracenic -pattern, your ice on one of the little plates designed by Moritz -Fischer, and copied elsewhere, your coffee in a very perfect repetition -of one of Wedgewood’s simple and lovely bordered cups. In fact, there is -no end to the variety of these lovely porcelains. And just here I may -add, that the cooking and the service are unexceptionable. The table is -of the very best class, and equal to that of any hotel in the world. -This, too, is miraculous, in a new house at this remote point. - -“I may sum up a sketch of the hotel in a few words. There is nothing -cheap, nothing inferior in it. Money has been freely expended in the -purchase of the most costly objects, in all departments of art, for -furniture and decorations; good taste has been exercised in the -selection of these objects, and they are brought together in lavish -profusion. The building is vast in extent. The grounds around it have -been rescued from savage nature and reduced to order and beauty. The -river is in front and Tampa lies across the river, which is narrowed to -less than three hundred feet wide. Some hundred palmetto trees have been -transplanted to form a grove near the river. Orange blossoms in -neighboring orchards fill the air with their odor. Pineapples grow in -luxuriance. To one who knew this spot as I knew it years ago, the -gorgeous hotel and its surroundings may well seem the creation of a -dream.” - -Mr. Henry G. Parker, in the Boston _Saturday Evening Gazette_, writes: - -“It was reserved for the sagacious and enterprising railroad and -steamboat magnate, Mr. H. B. Plant, to reap the honor of erecting in -tropical Florida the most attractive, most original, and most beautiful -hotel in the South, if not in the whole country; and it is a hotel of -which the whole world needs to be advised. It has one vase, which is the -admiration and wonder of all who behold it, in the grand office rotunda, -where ladies and gentlemen congregate at all hours of the day and -evening. The entire estate, including land and building, cost two -millions of dollars, and the furniture and fittings half a million more. -No one who does not see it and dwell in it for at least a day, can form -the faintest idea of the comprehensiveness of its purpose, the breadth -of its plan, the ideal refinement of its comforts, the noble scale of -its luxuries. Nothing offends the eye or the taste at any point, and -while the first view of the hotel exteriorly is impressive, the effect -produced by a first glance on entering its broad and inviting portals is -one of astonishment and delight. - -“The architecture of the Tampa Bay Hotel is Moorish, patterned after the -palaces in Spain. The horseshoe and crescent are everywhere visible in -its design, and minarets and domes tower above the great building, which -is five stories high above the basement. The house is constructed of -Atlanta red brick with rolled steel beams, and brick partitions, floors, -and ceilings, and so is absolutely fire-proof. - -“Numerous flights of stone steps lead up by easy ascent to the long -verandas that extend along each side of the structure. These piazzas -vary in width from sixteen to twenty-six feet. The length of the main -building is 511 feet, but with the solarium and dining-room, which are -connected with it, the house affords a continuous walk of twelve hundred -feet, and the walk around it on the outside is exactly one mile. On the -building there are thirteen minarets and domes, each surmounted with a -gilt crescent, making in all a complete lunar year. The hotel contains, -nearly five hundred rooms. - -“The drawing-room, in perfect taste throughout, is a museum of beautiful -things, embracing fine contrasts, rich harmonies, and pleasant -innovations that render it indeed ‘a joy forever.’ Here there is an -inlaid table which once graced the Tuileries, as did also three ebony -and gold cabinets. On the table is a rare bit of sculpture, _The -Sleeping Beauty_, in Carrara marble. There are a sofa and two chairs -that were owned by Marie Antoinette. A set of four chairs may be seen -that belonged to Louis Philippe. Then there are numerous French and -Japanese cabinets, and above each is suspended a dazzling crystal -mirror. All these and hundreds of other wonderful things were -personally secured in Europe by Mr. Plant and his accomplished wife, -while Boston, New York, and Grand Rapids have been drawn upon for what -is best in their specialties in useful and ornamental furniture. - -“The dining-room is octagon in shape, lighted from above, and is -decorated with costly and elegant tapestries and Japanese screens. Its -tables and nicely upholstered chairs are the very acme of comfort, and -the whole apartment is tempting, aside from the unsurpassed excellence -of the cuisine. The waiters are well groomed and well trained, having -gained their knowledge and their courtesy in the leading hotels and -clubs of New York. The _chef_ is Joseph P. Campazzi, celebrated all over -this country. He has fourteen first-class assistants, besides a dozen -others, in his kitchen, which is the largest, most thoroughly equipped -and most convenient to be found in the United States. He has arranged -his departments for the care of meats, game, and fish on a plan of his -own, which is worthy the attention and examination of every _chef_ in -the land. His ice-box contains between four and five tons, and he -provides also for The Inn (also Mr. Plant’s property), at Tampa Port, -and for the Havana steamers of the Plant Line. Meats are shipped in a -refrigerator car from New York, while game goes from Baltimore, and -largely from the sportsmen in and about Tampa. Fish is to be found in -great variety and abundance in Southern Florida, at very low prices, and -red snapper, pompano, sheepshead, and shad, deliciously cooked, are -always to be found upon the table. Giovanni Carretta, who for fifteen -years enjoyed a remarkable fame in New York at Delmonico’s and the Union -Club, is the pastry-cook, and his deft hand has lost none of its wonted -cunning. Rossi, from the Manhattan Club, is the baker. - -“There are two hundred employees in the Tampa Bay Hotel, all of them -carefully selected with a view to their special fitness for the places -they fill. The chambers and suites are handsome and convenient -proportionately with the public rooms. The carpets everywhere are -harmonious in color, restful to the eye, and in the best of taste; more -than thirty thousand yards of them have been laid. - -“The music-room is a special feature. It is large, well ventilated, -attractive in its circular form, simple in decoration, has a raised -stage, and its acoustic properties are fine. Moreover, the band is -superb. It consists of sixteen picked and skillful musicians, six of -whom were taken from the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Their performances -of classical music, as well as of the tuneful and delicious dance music, -will stand the test of severe criticism, and not be found wanting. This -important feature of entertainment is to be maintained at any cost, and -it affords a great deal of pleasure to all who visit the Tampa Bay -Hotel. - -“Tampa is of interest historically, being the place where Ferdinand De -Soto landed, May 25, 1539. From there he started on his search for the -mines of wealth supposed to exist in the New World, which resulted in -the discovery of the Mississippi River. There also Navarez, having -obtained a grant of Florida from Charles V. of Spain, landed with a -large force, April 16, 1528. Tampa is on the Gulf coast of Florida, 240 -miles from Jacksonville. There are two trains daily, with Pullman cars, -from Jacksonville and St. Augustine to Tampa, passing through Palatka, -Sanford, and Winter Park, both having direct connection with all Eastern -and Western cities, and one being a through train from New York. Its -rapid growth during the past seven years, from eight hundred inhabitants -to as many thousands, has been brought about by the Plant System having -completed the South Florida Railroad to Tampa for the purpose of -developing it commercially. The climate is perfect, and it is the only -city in Florida with all the advantages of both inland and coast without -the inconvenience of either; the only city that affords all the delights -of a sportsman’s life to hunter and fisher, yachtsmen and horsemen, -along with first-class business facilities in all directions. No malaria -ever infects the delicious air, and the water is as soft as lavender. It -is the place of places for invalids, and a lapse of two years will see -Tampa the most important business city in its State. We are writing, not -for the interest of the Tampa Bay Hotel alone, fine as it is, but to -impart information and to convey suggestions that may be valuable to -many of our readers. By no means fail to go as far as Tampa if you visit -Florida in this tempestuous winter.” - - - AT TAMPA BAY. - -“Was it not some old reportorial ruse played upon the credulity of the -ancients that made the story of Aladdin’s wonderful lamp to live in -literature and come down to us through the ages to make us listen with -open ears, gape with open mouth, and wonder with open eyes at the -wonders of it--and I wonder if that ancient reporter could prove in any -way the foundation of his story of the lamp and the rubbing of it. Aye, -there’s the rub--I think he couldn’t prove it. He might show the lamp, -but no palace would rise up at his rubbing, however hard. _But_, to-day, -the vision may be produced and the palace reared, and yet no lamp to -rub. I would lead to a land where balmy breezes blow and sigh among the -pines, and make the feathery palm trees wave as nodding plumes. Coming -out from under these, on a night when the moon is bright, to the banks -of a beautiful river with banks fringed with ferns, look across its -waters where the moon and stars are reflected and so many, many lights -that are on the river’s other shore, there the palace is, a brighter -than Aladdin’s, and more beautiful. That’s Tampa Bay. That your coming -under these pines and palms may be in a palace car, produces no -disillusion,--there’s a palace at Tampa Bay. - -“It might have been, in the long centuries agone, when his ship floated -lazily and his barges glided noiselessly over the waters to the -fern-fringed banks of Tampa’s river, that that ancient and original -tourist, on the same mission bent as those of to-day, in search of the -fount of perpetual youth, might have looked, disheartened, on the -tangled forest and heard the moaning of the winds through the pines that -brought no tidings of a land of life. - -“I wonder if in his dreams that night, when his ship came in to Tampa -Bay, this grand old Grandee was back in his castles in Spain, and -sported in fantastic fandango with the dark-browed Señorita of fair -Castile. Was his dream a prophetic vision that it seemed to be an -Alhambra just there under the lee of his ship, or did some grander -palace with Moorish minarets and silvered domes, glistening with more -silvery brightness under the rays of a tropic moon, topped with golden -crescents that could only come from the Orient to ornament its towers -high above the pines, seem to be here in this far-off land--a dream -passing all realization. And what a disappointing awakening awaited this -ancient cavalier who sought the waters that would make him young again, -for when the morning came, and the sun shone brightly, the knight must -have trod the deck with restless impatience; the vision of last night -carried him back to lordly Spain, the awakening brought him here again, -and only a lofty pine stood in the place of the tallest tower, the -swaying top was not a silver dome, and the mournful moaning in its -boughs fell not as sweetly on his ear as the tinkling tingle of guitars -and his dream-made mandolins. And I am sure, in haste he left a spot so -disappointing, and perhaps to the tune of ‘Over the Hills and Far Away,’ -marched to find the great Mississippi. - -“I say, perhaps old De Soto dreamed all this when he landed here at -Tampa, and if he did, behold ’t was prophecy--for the swaying pines have -toppled and in their places have risen higher the golden crescents of -the Orient, and the silvered domes and Moorish minarets that ornament a -palace, and here at Tampa Bay the Spaniard’s dream has been realized two -hundred years after. - -“The tourist of to-day does not approach from the direction of his -illustrious predecessor, but has the decided advantage, whether the -coming be by night or day. If by day, the grandly magnificent picture -comes suddenly upon the view as the train makes a turn and stops -between the little town and the river. The foreground is the river, the -middle distance, green sloping lawns dotted with flowers, around whose -beds are winding walks that circle fountains and lead through groves of -palms and oranges to the pines beyond, the same great pines that De Soto -walked under in the struggle to get off his ‘sea legs.’ In the -brightness of a semi-tropic sun the domes and crescents glisten -intensely, and the massive pile grows to immensity. The broad galleries -extend all along the front, the roof commencing above the third-story -windows, slopes gently, so as not to obstruct the view, and at its outer -edge drops in huge ornaments, in arched and hanging pendants ending in -brackets at every column, and at the walls; the grateful shade inviting -as on a summer’s day. - -“The lawn, carefully kept and green as one of Kentucky’s own, has a -miniature fort with mounted cannon and a flagstaff that floats the -country’s colors by day, and sports a crescent of electric fire at -night. The fountains, the flowers, and tropic fruits growing here as if -’twas their natural home, serve as ornaments. A dainty little boat-house -at the bottom of the lawn is headquarters for all sorts of boats for -rowing or sailing, as well as for naphtha and steam launches. The view -from the cars comprises all this, as also from the bridge that spans the -river from the hotel to the town. The intending guest need not leave -the train here; after a short stop it will cross the river and come -right to the galleries of the west entrance and stop under the shadow of -the great hotel at Tampa Bay. - -“If in the ecstacy of a first impression I likened this to a palace of -Spain that Ponce de Leon might have dreamed of, I had no retraction to -make when the second day of my visit came and I saw it with modern -surroundings of railway and steamer--it is a palace still, and more of -that than the hotel, and in its appointments more like a gentleman’s -residence on a scale exaggerated to positive magnificence--totally -unlike any other, and it is no disparagement to any to say it is the -most unique in the world--I was about to say of its kind--it has no -kind; there is none other in similarity with it, and taken all in all is -the finest in the world. - -“I say this not without thought of what it means--the Ponce de Leon at -St. Augustine may have cost more dollars to build, decorate, and -furnish, and the name and fame of the Ponce de Leon has gone to the four -quarters, and ’tis not intended to compare invidiously. Here at Tampa -Bay, the surroundings take one back through the centuries even before De -Soto came, and this may have been the very spot where he landed. - -“The horseshoe arches of the Moorish curve are everywhere, from the -grand galleries to the rotunda doors, in the salon entrances and to the -grand banquet hall, for it is nothing less, and every minaret is -crescent crested, and passing under them leads to some old picture, -antique, or cabinet that ornamented some palace hall before the land on -which this one stands had been discovered,--and herein is the argument -that this is the only one in the world. The others boast of their -‘especially made’ appointments, while these were made before the land -was discovered. - -“The rotunda is a grand assembly hall with its polished floors, rich -carpets and hangings, antique vases and bric-a-brac, divans and -luxurious lounges, as little like a hotel office as the ‘east room’ of -the White House is like a railway station. The apartment is -seventy-eight feet square and is thirty feet from the floor to the -ceiling. The massive doors are of Spanish mahogany, highly polished, -encasing heavy plates of bevelled glass, the frames are carved in -designs of great beauty. Thirteen marble columns support a balcony that -looks over from the second floor, around which is a carved rail, also in -Spanish mahogany. - -“The Moorish and Spanish styles which prevail in the architectural work -do not always obtain in the decorations and furnishings--the divans in -the rotunda were once in the Tuileries salons, and there is an original -portrait in oil of Louis XIV. of France, also a clock of the same -period. The paintings are varied in design, as they are in age and -history, and every one, every antique and cabinet, has its history. On -one wall is a beautiful canvas, the _Return from the Masquerade_, on -another, _Wine, Woman, and Song_, these suggest the gay side of life, -while some of the old faded examples of the school of long ago carry one -back to the old masters. Two dwarfs in bronze that suggest the Black -Forest legends guard the entrance to the hall of the grand salon, and -near them are two Japanese vases, six feet high, which were exhibited at -the Vienna exposition. - -“Mirrors in antique frames rich in gilded carvings are on the walls, -massive doors in bevelled glass lead to parlors, halls, libraries, and -writing rooms, electric lights are imbedded in the ceilings and walls, -and hang down in chandeliers. This is the rotunda. The business office -occupies the smallest corner, as if it was of the smallest importance in -a hall so replete with ornament and so devoted to comfort and luxury. -The telegraph and ticket offices are also in the rotunda, and everything -that pertains to the more prosaic business ideas--but they do not -intrude upon the dreamy existence that obtains from the antique -surroundings. - -“The grand parlor is magnificent. Every nook and corner has some dainty -bit to show a woman’s hand has been here, and in all the grand -apartment shows what might have been done by a princess in her own -house. It was a woman’s design that this divan should have growing -flowers from its centre, and between the seat-arms, that roses and -calla-lilies should mingle their perfume where beauty holds sway. Her -idea that this cabinet, three hundred years old, should be brought from -some castle in Seville or Salamanca to ornament this salon. It is an -exquisite piece with inlaid woods, ebony, pearl, and ivory, with quaint -little paintings under marvellously clear glass in the carved panels. -The bronzes, gildings, and inlaid woods of the cabinets contrast with -the white and gold of the surrounding decorations in pleasing effect. -The white and gold of the upholstery and the hangings have their beauty -enhanced by the shaded electric lights in ground glass, softly tinted, -that are set in the arched dome above; the light falls on these -cabinets, tables inlaid in a hundred woods and pearl and ivory, -bric-a-brac and candelabra from every land. Paintings not from this shop -or that, but from the old masters to salon celebrities of modern times. -One is a portrait of Marguerite de Valois and another of the Duc de -Savoy. On the mantels and cabinets are some beautiful, exquisitely -chased ewers and drinking cups in silver, and busts of Elizabeth of -England and Mary, Queen of Scots, in very rare silver bronze. - -“There is marble statuary in exquisite designs from the chisels of the -best sculptors--some Sedan chairs with the eagle of France in their -decorations. - -“The drawing-room is a museum of beautiful things, embracing fine -contrasts, rich harmonies, and pleasant innovations that render it -indeed ‘a joy forever.’ Here, there is an inlaid table which once graced -the Tuileries, as did also three ebony and gold cabinets. On the table -is a rare bit of sculpture, ‘The Sleeping Beauty,’ in Carrara marble. -There, are a sofa and two chairs that were owned by Marie Antoinette. A -set of four chairs may be seen that belonged to Louis Philippe. Then -there are numerous French and Japanese cabinets, and above each is -suspended a dazzling crystal mirror. - -“There are eight cabinets of antique pattern that have been brought from -this or that province of old Spain, gathered in their travels by Mr. and -Mrs. Plant, and _not_, as I have said, ordered from this factory or -that, in the ordinary way of the modern hostelrie. - -“The carpet--scarlet, with its black lions rampant, made in France--is a -replica of one of Louis XIV., and covers the entire floor of this -splendid salon, in which are chairs of gold and silk and plush of the -same era--as there are also tapestries of incalculable values and -richness that have hung in palaces before they came to this one. The -writing and reading rooms just off the rotunda are furnished in the -same unique manner--one which might be called ‘the Louis XIV. room’ has -all its decorations and appointments of the era of that monarch; these -are replicas, or in some cases originals. - -“In the grand chambers the style is not less regal; in magnificence -these surpass anything I have ever seen; no two of them are alike. They -range in size from the grand suite of complete living apartments with -parlors and libraries, to the chamber for two, with silken hangings of -gros-grain watered silk, in white and delicate rose color; a canopied -dressing-case, as dainty as the bride who may stand before it to attire -her pretty self for the grand halls outside her door. The guest rooms on -the floors above have every convenience known to modern inventive -genius, including telephone connection with the office and through a -‘central’ to every other room in the house. A grand hall-way extends -from south to north seven hundred feet, passing through the rotunda. -Just south of the rotunda is the grand staircase, with its life-size -bronzes, holding groups of electric lights, and near by are the -elevators to the upper floors. The north hall passes from the rotunda by -the grand parlors to the gracefully rounding curve of the solarium till -it ends, where shall I say it ends?--in modern parlance at the -dining-hall, but what might be the banquet-room of a Moorish king, with -its lofty dome and arches that rest on fluted pillars. - -“There is no more striking feature than the table porcelain. These are -exquisite works of ceramic art. The plates are of infinite variety. You -may have your beef on a very charming bit of French porcelain, your -salad on a reproduction of an old Vienna plate of semi-Saracenic -pattern, your ice on one of the little plates designed by Moritz Fischer -and copied elsewhere, your coffee in a very perfect repetition of one of -Wedgewood’s simple and lovely bordered cups. In fact, there is no end to -the variety of these lovely porcelains. And just here I may add that the -cooking and the service are unexceptional. The table is of the very best -class and equal to that of any hotel in the world. - -“The room may not be faithfully described in its frescoes and its lights -and pictures, any more than I could satiate your appetite by copying the -menu here--it can’t be done. - -“Just at the end of this hall and very near the entrance to the -dining-room is a grand orchestrion, which, with interchangeable rollers, -plays the latest music, from the popular airs of the day to the classic -productions of the great composers. - -“Just off the rotunda is the music-room with its waxed floor for -terpsichorean uses. There is a perfect stage suitable for concert, -lecture, or tableau, there are foot-lights, and overhead, the electric -fire gleams in a star and crescent group. The room is circular in form -with broad galleries extending around it, so the company may sit in the -open air and listen to the music or look in upon the dancers. These -broad galleries extend on the west and east side, forming a grand -promenade for the gay company such a place attracts. - -“The interior scenes under the brilliant glow of the lights is -entertaining, but I remember in more dreamy way a stroll by moonlight, -down by the river under the palmettos. The moon shone bright and made a -wide silver ribbon far up the broad river and across it, and here came -to me the idea of Ponce de Leon’s dream. - -“The arched and towered façade, the silvered dome, again silvered by the -moon’s rays, lifted up more brightly against the star-lit sky, the -crescented minarets, the electric-fired crescent on the color-staff, the -lights from a hundred windows, the soft patter of the water in the -fountains falling on the lily-pads, the perfume of the flowers, the -splash of an oar and the half murmur of a love song from him who -splashed the oar. Think you this is not an Alhambric picture? Then you -have not read of the Alhambra nor seen Tampa Bay.” - -[Illustration: text decoration] - - - - -[Illustration: text decoration] CHAPTER XV. - - Programme of Plant Day Ceremonies--Ringing of the Liberty - Bell--Presentation of Addresses to Mr. Plant in the great - Auditorium--His Reply--Resolutions from the Different Departments - of the System, from the Savannah Board of Trade, etc.--Mr. Morton - F. Plant’s Acknowledgments. - - -Knowing that all employees would be unable to attend the celebration in -Atlanta, President Plant requested the superintendents of the railways, -steamship, and express interests to allow such men as could be spared -from duty without detriment to the operative departments to be present, -and also requested that special train service should be provided for -their accommodation. This request of the president was so heartily -carried out by the superintendents, and so willingly accepted by the -employees, that three special trains of the Plant System, carrying -several thousand employees, rolled into the Union Depot in Atlanta at an -early hour Monday morning, October 28th. In order that all might be -fully informed of the movements of their worthy president, and of the -programme of the day, the following notice was published in the Atlanta -_Constitution_ of October 28, 1895: - -“Mr. Plant will call on Governor Atkinson at 10 o’clock this morning. - -“He will be at the Exposition grounds at 12 o’clock, when the Columbian -bell will ring for the first time, in his honor. - -“At 1 o’clock all the employees of the Plant System will assemble at the -Auditorium on the grounds, at which time addresses will be delivered by -President Collier, on behalf of the Exposition Company, and Mayor King, -on behalf of the city of Atlanta. Mr. Plant will respond to these -addresses. - -“Music will be furnished by Innes’s band, and, after Mr. Plant’s speech, -resolutions, congratulatory and otherwise, will be read on behalf of the -employees of the system and commercial bodies. - -“At 3 P.M. Mr. Plant will be at the Plant System Building, which is one -of the most picturesque on the grounds. He will spend some time making a -close inspection of the exhibit that has been placed there and which has -attracted such attention all the while from visitors to the great fair. - -“At 8 o’clock this evening a banquet will be tendered Mr. Plant at the -Aragon.” - -Mr. Plant placed himself in the hands of his friends for the day, and -carried out to the letter the programme as above set forth, in order -that he might have opportunity of meeting the employees at the -Exposition. Such of us who had the pleasure of being present and of -personally congratulating the gentleman will be pleased, no doubt, to -read the following account of the day’s proceedings, and to those who -were less fortunate it will be interesting to hear what the Atlanta -_Constitution_, of the 29th of October, had to say of “Plant System Day -at the Exposition.” - -“Eloquent indeed was the demonstration of affection and loyalty by the -employees of the Plant System to their great chieftain, Henry B. Plant, -yesterday at the celebration of Plant System Day at the Exposition. - -“Never was there such an ovation to any living railroad magnate in the -Southern States. The day was beautiful and bright and most auspicious, -and the exercises in the auditorium at the Exposition grounds were -profoundly interesting and impressive. - -“Early in the morning Mr. Plant was driven to the Exposition grounds in -a carriage, the rest of his party accompanying him in other carriages. -They drove through the grounds, and at 12 o’clock sharp they stopped at -the Columbian bell, near the Forestry Building, and, in accordance with -the programme as arranged, the bell was rung many times over in honor of -the great railroader. The bell was rung by Mr. and Mrs. H. B. Plant, -assisted by Mrs. Wood, Mrs. B. W. Wrenn, Major O’Brien, and Mrs. Tilley. - -“Those present at the ringing of the bell were: Mrs. H. B. Plant, Mrs. -W. A. Wood, Mrs. B. W. Wrenn, Mrs. George H. Tilley, Mrs. Porter King, -Mr. H. B. Plant, Mr. R. G. Erwin, Mr. M. F. Plant, Dr. G. H. Smythe, Mr. -G. H. Tilley, Major M. J. O’Brien, and Col. B. W. Wrenn. - -“The party then drove through the grounds, and after a brief glimpse of -the splendid Exposition from the carriages while passing, they went to -the Auditorium, where the regular programme of the day was to be carried -out. - -“Long before they arrived at the auditorium the hall was fairly packed -with the employees of the Plant System of Railroads and of the Southern -Express Company, of which Mr. Plant is president. The distinguished -party, consisting of Mr. Plant and his family and a number of friends, -arrived at the eastern side of the auditorium and entered the vast hall -through the doorway to the stage. - -“At the first sight of them the vast multitude of people within gave a -round of applause which lasted for a long time, and which was a becoming -greeting from the several thousands of Mr. Plant’s employees to him at -such a season. - -“When Mr. Plant and his companions were seated on the stage, the -applause ceased and order was restored in the hall. On the platform, -Mrs. H. B. Plant was seated on the left of Mr. Plant. There were also -there Mrs. W. G. Wood, Mrs. G. H. Tilley, Mrs. B. W. Wrenn, Mr. M. F. -Plant, Mr. R. G. Erwin, Mr. M. J. O’Brien, Mr. S. G. McLendon, Mr. G. H. -Tilley, Mr. A. A. Wiley, Mayor Porter King, Vice-President W. A. -Hemphill, of the Exposition Company; Mr. W. F. Vandiver, Mr. Fleming G. -duBignon, Mr. W. C. Bibb, Judge Robert Falligant, Hon. W. B. Thompson, -formerly Second Assistant Postmaster-General; Hon. W. H. Brawley, U. S. -District Judge; Mr. F. Q. Brown, Mr. G. W. Adair, and others. - -“After music by the Innes Band, Vice-President W. A. Hemphill, of the -Exposition Company, acting as president in the absence of President -Charles Collier, arose and addressed the vast audience on behalf of the -Exposition Company, bidding them a cordial welcome to the fair. - -“Mr. Hemphill said: - -“‘Mr. President, Ladies, and Gentlemen:--I have no doubt that the -welcome that Mr. Collier was to have given you to-day would have been -the most pleasant duty he would have had to perform since the opening of -the Exposition, but he was suddenly called away, and wired me to welcome -you. - -“‘This is an hour of thanks and congratulations. The Board thanks you -for the interest you have taken in our Exposition. We thank you for the -magnificent exhibit of the resources along your line that you have made -at our Exposition, and for the competent people you have placed in -charge of it. We thank you for your presence here to-day, and we are -highly honored that so many distinguished people are here with us. - -“‘Mr. President, we congratulate you upon the magnificent system of -railroads and steamships that you have builded up. Your life and example -have been a great thing for the young men of this country to profit by -[applause], showing them what it is possible for them to attain. We -congratulate you, sir, upon your birthday, and we wish that you may live -to observe many happy birthdays and that each one may be brighter than -the one preceding it. [Applause.] - -“‘What an opportunity this Exposition has given to the States of this -section! The State that has neglected to be represented here has missed -the opportunity of its history. I am glad, sir, from your side, that -Florida is represented here. Her grand resources of factory, of mines, -of forest, of rivers, her fruits and flowers, are here to show our -visiting friends from the North what a great country Florida is. -[Applause.] - -“‘We thank you, sir, for being such a friend to the South. You have -spent more money and developed more territory in this section than any -other man in the Union. [Great applause.] We thank you and honor you for -it, and we hope you will live to see the day when your railroad lines -will extend all over this country [applause]; when your steamships will -plow the Atlantic Ocean and reach the ports of Europe. We hope, sir, -that you will live to see the building of the Nicaragua Canal; when your -steamships shall go through that canal, and, crossing the Pacific Ocean, -reach the ports of China, Japan, and Australia--all these lines pouring -immigration and wealth into this section, making it the most powerful, -most populous and richest section of this Union, and your System the -greatest upon the face of the earth. [Continued applause.] - -“‘I now have the honor and pleasure of introducing to you Mayor King, -who will welcome you for the city of Atlanta.’” - -“Mayor Porter King was greeted with applause and spoke as follows: - -“‘Mr. President, Ladies, and Gentlemen:--On the part of the city of -Atlanta it is to me a matter of peculiar pleasure and pride to welcome -in our midst that broad-minded, grand, glorious, golden-hearted -gentleman and the splendid men who come with him. [Great cheering and -applause.] - -“‘I but re-echo the sentiment so beautifully expressed by Colonel -Hemphill, who preceded me, that if Georgia, the South, and Atlanta owe -aught to any man, it owes as much to Colonel Plant as to any one whose -name I could call. I speak a truth which is perhaps not generally -known, so modest is this gentleman, that to-day he is one of the largest -real estate owners in the city of Atlanta. [Applause.] We think in that, -he has shown the wisdom of his judgment. - -“‘I honor the head of this great System because of the policy that he -has pursued--to build up himself, not by pulling down another, but by -carrying others up with him. [Applause and cheers.] And not alone to -him, but to this vast army of employees, who are themselves but -representatives of the magnificent System of which he is at the head, I -extend a cordial welcome. [Applause.] I am sure it is not in his heart -to detract one bit from any progress, or any forward movement of the -very lowest employee connected with his whole System. [Applause and -cheers.] Rather than to grow up that way, I believe he would rather see -his whole System wrecked. - -“‘We thank you for your presence here to-day. We thank you for the -magnificent exhibit which your System has placed upon these grounds. To -you, one and all, Mr. President and gentlemen, we bid you welcome to -Atlanta; all that she has is yours. We gladly turn it over to you.’” -[Great and continued applause and cheering.] - -“Colonel Hemphill proposed three cheers for President Plant. The cheers -were given. - -“Here the Innes Band gave a splendid rendition of the popular medley, -‘Plantation Echoes,’ including ‘Way Down Upon the Suwanee River,’ which, -was loudly cheered. - -“Mr. Plant’s Address was as follows: - -“‘Mr. President of the Cotton States and International Exposition -Company, and the Honorable Mayor of the city of Atlanta:--In behalf of -my associates and employees of the Plant System, and friends, gentlemen -and ladies, whom I see around me and before me, I scarcely know how to -thank you for this glorious welcome, this grand reception. I can but say -that we are here to witness a very magnificent Exposition, quite beyond -any conception of mine, and, I believe, of any of the gentlemen who have -come here with me to-day, to examine and make a study of this monument -to the enterprise and energies of the good people of the city of Atlanta -and of the State of Georgia. - -“‘When I was called upon in Jacksonville, Florida, in December, 1894, by -a committee of gentlemen of the Exposition Company, and requested by -them to make an exhibit here of interesting products from the country -bordering our lines of roads in South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and -Florida, the four States that our rail lines traverse, I was backward to -do so, for the reason that I feared we had nothing that would do credit -to our line, our interests and our patrons; and had I known, sir, of -the extent and the grandeur of this Exposition, I believe that I should -have continued to hesitate. - -“‘It has been some years since I have visited Atlanta, and I was hardly -prepared to see the growth, the tremendous growth, that I find has -occurred in my absence. I see you are rapidly going forward; that you -are becoming a metropolis. You represent, sir, the capital of one of the -greatest States of the Union--the Empire State of the South. [Applause -and cheers.] - -“‘You never need be backward to represent Atlanta; it appears to me that -within a very short time, without saying anything to the detriment of -any of the other cities in this country, that it will be called The City -of the South. [Applause.] Other cities may advance, and do advance; many -cities and many communities in the South advance rapidly; they advance -in population and in wealth, but, sir, nothing have I seen in many years -to admire like your city of Atlanta. - -“‘I hardly know what language to use that will fittingly present to you, -sir, and to my audience, the opinions I hold in regard to this great -Exposition. It is a surprise, it is a marvel, it is to me wonderful, -and, sir, it proves what can be done by people acting in unison, united -in their enterprise, united in their progress and their desires to -benefit their people and their country, and united through their -capital. Without this unity, and without the other qualifications that -have made the representative men of Atlanta and of this Exposition what -they are, this Exposition could never have been what it is. It is a -visible proof of the importance of united action; it shows what may be -accomplished through union. Without union none of us would be what we -are to-day. - -“‘To my friends and associates, and to the officers and employees of the -Plant System I desire to express my thanks for the numbers they show -here to-day. I commend you all for your good judgment in embracing this -opportunity afforded by the Cotton States and International Exposition -Company, to come here and witness this great work that has been going on -almost without our knowledge. We have all read in the newspapers about -the Cotton States and International Exposition, but I believe that very -few of us had any idea what we were to see and to meet here to-day. But -we are here, most of us only for the day, and I hope that we will -earnestly avail ourselves of all the time possible, not only for the -gratification of our curiosity, but for our further education as well. -Everything we see should be made useful to us; it is such an opportunity -as some of us may never have again, and I therefore say to you -all--while you are in Atlanta, emulate my example, and make this -Exposition a study. [Cheers and applause.] - -“‘As I said before, I am pleased to see such a large representation -here. It is very gratifying to me. It is gratifying to know that so many -could be spared from their duties without disadvantage to the public -whom we serve. You all know the general principles that have influenced -us in the formation of the Plant System. It was to prepare the way to -make as good means of communication as possible with the resources we -had at hand. We have used of our means freely; not only myself, but my -associates have not been sparing in this particular. We have expended -capital and energy in the hope of some day reaping a benefit, which is -proper. As you know, all men seek to benefit themselves; but there has -been behind it, as the President of this great Exposition and the -Honorable Mayor have to-day stated, a desire to do good to our -fellow-man. [Applause.] We have at least been able to furnish good means -of transportation, and I am pleased to say that it is appreciated by our -patrons. I would, however, have you recollect that we are the servants -of the people, who are our patrons, to the extent that we must treat -their property, while in our possession, with all the care we would our -own. We must be careful in our manners and our speech; we must see to it -that no patron of the Plant System ever comes to an officer or employee -for information without getting it to the fullest. [Applause.] - -“‘We must also see that our connecting lines of railways receive proper -treatment from us. Be sure that we cannot well serve the public unless -we treat our allied lines fairly, justly, and properly; be sure of this. -Be sure that we are not all for ourselves. We are public servants, and -we must serve all well, and always recognize the rights of our patrons. -We must never take a customer’s money without giving him his money’s -worth. All this is very easy to say, but it is very difficult for human -nature to carry it out, and we must, therefore, school ourselves in the -effort to learn how best to serve our patrons, and at the same time be -just to ourselves. - -“‘How are the railroads built? Where does the money come from that -constructs and maintains them? It is through the union of men, and the -combination of means and labor. This is how it is accomplished. -[Applause.] There can be but little success in any effort to accomplish -good, in this age, without union. This Exposition could not have been -created and carried on, could not have presented the grandeur it does -now, except through the combination of capital and the energy of men of -enterprise. Look at the States that are represented here. We see not -only many of the States of the United States, but also many foreign -States as well. I find the Central American Republics are represented -here; those unions that are dependent upon the voice of the people for -their government are here. They are getting in line with us. They are -here to co-operate with us of the South in this great work. Even our -United States Government has made a large appropriation, and has sent -down many of its people and many of its products to illustrate itself -and its people. It is through union that success is attained. Look over -this city to-day, I suppose it is so every day, we see floating from the -house-tops, from the towers, and from the flagstaves, that emblem of -Union, the Star Spangled Banner! [Great applause.] Long may it wave over -us [applause], and we be fit and proper citizens to represent it in this -“Land of the free and the home of the brave!”’ [Long continued -applause.] - -“‘We are going to have some resolutions read,’ said Mr. Hemphill, ‘and, -Mr. President, I wish you would commission me a brakeman in order that I -may vote with the boys.’ - -“‘I do,’ said Mr. Plant. - -“In presenting the resolutions passed by the Commercial and Industrial -Association of Montgomery, Alabama, Mr. W. C. Bibb, Jr., chairman of the -committee appointed to convey them to Mr. Plant, said: - -“‘Mr. Chairman, Ladies, and Gentlemen: Among the ancient Greeks and -Romans the laurel was the symbol of triumph; the laurel wreath was -second only to a kingly crown. Shafts of stone and marble and statues of -bronze commemorated the deeds of demigods, kings, and conquering heroes. -History teems with names and deeds of men who carved out a niche in the -Temple of Fame with a bloody sword. To raze a fair city, invade, -overwhelm, and destroy a smiling land, hew down and slaughter its -inhabitants, or drag them in chains to slavery, were the only deeds by -which Fame might be won. - -“‘In this fair land and enlightened age, he who makes two blades of -grass to grow where was one before; who links new cities with the old by -shining bands of steel; who masters the sea and brings the forces of -nature subservient to the will, the comfort, and the uses of his -fellow-man; who builds up, develops, and makes the land to abound in -plenty, while thousands of happy men and women rise up and call him -blessed--he it is for whom the laurel blooms, he it is who has builded -for himself a monument more enduring than brass and more lasting than -marble. We are gathered here to celebrate the natal day of such a man. - -“‘Sir, it is the pleasure of this committee, in behalf of the Commercial -and Industrial Association, of the people of Montgomery, and of Alabama, -to read in the presence of this audience and to present to you the -resolutions I have in my hands, and to wish for you many happy returns -of your birthday. - -“‘WHEREAS, The 28th day of October, 1895, has been set apart by the -Cotton States and International Exposition Company, of Atlanta, Georgia, -to do honor to H. B. Plant, the genius and controlling spirit of the two -great Southern enterprises--the Southern Express Company and the Plant -Investment Company; and - -“‘WHEREAS, We deem the time and occasion fit and opportune to unite with -other Southerners in paying homage to one so richly endowed with merit -and worth, yet so unpretentious; so eminently successful, yet -unassuming; who has, by his latest achievement on land and sea, given to -the three States of Alabama, Georgia, and Florida a system of railroads, -steamships, and palatial hotels in the interest of commerce, travel, and -internal development unsurpassed in the civilized world. Therefore, be -it - -“‘_Resolved_, That we, the members of the Commercial and Industrial -Association of the City of Montgomery, Alabama, by unanimous rising -vote, do most heartily congratulate Mr. Plant upon his continued health -and prosperity upon this his birthday; that we convey to him by these -resolutions tidings that his name and fame are dear to us and to all -Alabamians. - -“‘_Resolved_, That a copy of these resolutions be forwarded to Atlanta, -Georgia, to be publicly read and presented to Mr. Plant on October 28, -1895.’ [Applause and cheers.] - -“Colonel Hemphill:--‘I move these resolutions be adopted by a rising -vote. All in favor of the resolutions will stand.’ All present -responded. - -“On behalf of the Savannah Board of Trade, Judge Robert Falligant spoke -as follows: - -“‘Mr. Chairman: I was spending with my family a season of quiet and rest -amid the mountains of Georgia when we got news of this auspicious -occasion. In former years I had the pleasure of serving under the great -leader whose birthday we celebrate to-day, and I could not resist the -temptation of being present and adding my voice to the universal -acclaim, not only of Georgia, but of all Southern States. As I came in, -these resolutions were presented to me to read and I was requested to -make a few preliminary remarks. I really don’t know what I can say on -this occasion so replete with force and eloquence, both in speech and -resolutions, but my heart is impelled to say something in this -magnificent presence. I feel that not only Georgia is here, but the -entire South and the entire country. [Applause.] - -“‘I am proud to see that Atlanta has touched the high-water mark of -civilization in this illustrious display. I feel proud as a Georgian, -and, as the representative of Savannah, I bid her godspeed in the -magnificent tide of prosperity that awaits her. We have no envious -feeling upon the coast, but trust that her future may be as limitless -and as beautiful as the grand ocean that expands beyond her borders, the -image of infinity. - -“‘I say this is an occasion for patriotic emotions, and we should all -unite in doing honor to the citizen who has devoted himself to the -public good. Let us honor the man who plants his high purposes in his -native land, who knows no South, no East, no West, no North, but is an -American, heart and soul.’ [Great and continued applause and cheering.] - -“Then the following was read: - -“‘ATLANTA, GEORGIA, October 28, 1895. - -“‘MR. H. B. PLANT, Atlanta, Ga.--My dear Sir:--On behalf of the Savannah -Board of Trade I congratulate you most heartily upon this auspicious -occasion of your seventy-sixth birthday. You have, in the providence of -infinite power, been permitted to dwell among your fellows beyond the -allotted period of man, and it has also been your most favored privilege -in that period to bring to completion undertakings of vast magnitude for -the uplifting of the South especially, and for the whole country in -general, which will stand a monument to your foresight, zeal and -patriotic devotion to our common country long after the shaft or statues -of marble or bronze have lost their significance as finger posts -pointing to martial renown or the triumph of the forum. For your works, -engraven upon the hearts of your generation with the stylus of -commercial probity, will always be recalled with pleasant memory because -free from the painful associations of sanguinary fields or the bitter -words of fierce debates. May the mighty God, in His providence, as He -spares you for the years to come, continue to bless you with bodily -strength to pursue your active career of usefulness, until your eyes can -look upon the full fruition of the great works in the interests of -commerce, with which your name will ever be inseparably associated in -fruitful memory through the multiplying cycles of time. With profound -esteem, very truly and sincerely yours, - -“‘D. G. PURSE, -“‘President Savannah Board of Trade.’ - -“The resolutions were adopted by a rising vote. - -“The Plant System employees were represented by Hon. A. A. Wiley, who -spoke as follows: - -“‘Mr. President, Mr. Plant, Ladies, and Gentlemen: These men who wear -these badges to-day, whether they come from South Carolina, Florida, -Georgia, or Alabama, are the employees of the Plant System, consisting -of telegraph, express, railway, and steamship lines. They number perhaps -three thousand, but represent more than twelve thousand employees, and -have come from the smoke and the dust of the workshop, from the railway -car, from the locomotive, from express and law offices, to pay their -tribute of respect, and to manifest their love for our distinguished -chief, their admiration and appreciation of him. [Applause and cheers.] - -“‘This great day becomes a national day, because it is replete with -mighty consequences to both North and South. - -“‘Here we may forget our business cares and worldly contests, for the -soft hand of kindness, friendship, and hospitality smoothes down the -ruffled brow. A quarter of a century ago, ruthless and unpitying war, -with all the devastations that follow in its wake, swept with relentless -fury over our fair and fruitful fields. - -“‘When that fratricidal struggle was ended and the soldiers who survived -it returned to their desolated homes to find poverty and want at every -door, Mr. Henry B. Plant, a Union man, who, notwithstanding his loyalty -to the North, had been commissioned by President Davis, because of his -honesty and integrity, to go at will everywhere throughout Dixie, was -also true to the South. He recognized the fact that the war was over. He -had confidence in the reserved energy, loyalty, devotion, and -patriotism of the men who wore the gray. [Applause and cheers.] - -“‘He had faith in the magnificent possibilities of this land of golden -summers. He knew that we would never again renew hostilities against the -Union of our fathers; and he was right. - -“‘Mr. Plant began anew with us the battles of life. He poured out his -wealth like water, to build up and beautify our waste places. He put -activity and intelligent direction into the industrial life of the -South; and his confidence was not misplaced. He has built grandly and -well--wiser, perhaps, than he knew--and has rolled onward the car of -progress and prosperity. The whole South has felt the touch of his -magical hand, and recognized in him a potential factor in the -advancement of commerce and civilization. To-day about fifty thousand -people owe food, shelter, and raiment to his bounty and munificence. -[Applause and cheers.] - -“‘He has carried happiness and plenty to many a fireside, and poured the -sunshine of peace and gladness into many a weary heart. [Great cheering -and applause.] - -“‘We, his servants and employees, have now assembled here, not only to -do him honor on this, his birthday, but we desire to keep his name and -memory forever fresh and green in our heart of hearts; and no more -fitting method, it seems to me, can be devised, than by setting apart -the 27th day of October, in each succeeding year, as a memorial day, to -be commemorated by appropriate services and the planting of trees. With -this object in view, I offer the following resolutions, and move their -unanimous adoption by a rising vote: - -“‘WHEREAS, It is meet and proper that we, the employees of the Plant -System, should in some appropriate manner observe the birthday of Mr. -Plant, our worthy and honored President; therefore, be it. - -“‘_Resolved_, 1. That the 27th of October in each and every year -hereafter shall be set apart and observed and duly celebrated in honor -of the life and character of Mr. H. B. Plant. - -“‘_Resolved_, 2. That on said 27th day of October, water-oak trees shall -be planted at all station grounds and about all section houses on all -the lines of the Plant System, this tree being the favorite of our -much-loved chief. - -“‘_Resolved_, 3. That the general superintendent and the division -superintendents are hereby created a permanent board, with the request -that Mr. Plant’s birthday be honored as herein set out.’ - -“These resolutions were adopted unanimously by a rising vote and with -great enthusiasm. - -“The Tampa (Florida) Band then furnished music. - -“Mr. M. F. Plant addressed the crowds as follows: - -“‘Colonel Hemphill, Ladies and Gentlemen, and Members of our Family, the -Plant System [Great cheering and applause]: I desire to thank you in -behalf of my mother, of my wife, who is absent, and my boy, for the -great compliment you have paid my father. [Great applause.] It is, -indeed, a great treat to me to be here and to thank you for your -kindness, not only to my father, but to the name of the System which, by -your very careful, studious, and painstaking application to its -business, you have built up. Gentlemen, I thank you.’ [Great applause -and cheers.] - -“Mr. Hemphill announced that at 3 o’clock P. M. Mr. Plant would hold a -reception in the Plant System Building. - -“This reception was most pleasant. Mr. Plant sat beneath the tropical -foliage of the Plant Building display and shook hands with all his -employees, who passed him by the hundred. He was driven back to the -Aragon Hotel late in the afternoon.” - -[Illustration: text decoration] - - - - -[Illustration: text decoration] CHAPTER XVI. - - Banquet at the Aragon Hotel Ends the Festivities of the Day--Sketch - of the Southern Express Company--Distinguished Callers on President - Plant during the Day--Many Telegrams and Letters of Congratulation - Received--Many Press Notices of the Day, and many Tributes of - Respect and Esteem for him who Called it forth. - - -“The banquet at the Aragon last night,” says the Atlanta _Constitution_, -“given in honor of Mr. H. B. Plant, was a fitting climax to the day set -apart for the celebration of the seventy-sixth birthday of that -distinguished man. - -“The occasion was one that must have been gratifying to the honored -guest, in that he received the warmest assurances of the high esteem in -which he is held by the people of the South from the eloquent -representatives of many of the States. He was the toast of the evening, -and he bore the distinguished honors with his characteristic demeanor. - -“When Captain Evan P. Howell called upon the fifty prominent guests to -rise and drink to the health of the guest of honor, Mr. Plant, there was -an enthusiasm and love for the latter inspired in the heart of every -man around the banquet tables, which found vent in the many eloquent -speeches of tribute which followed. Upon Mr. Plant there was bestowed -the highest encomiums of praise, admiration, and love, and he was made -to feel the enthusiasm of the sentiment in the hearts of the speakers. - -“The dinner in honor of Mr. Plant was given by the Exposition directors. -It was the concluding honor bestowed upon the South’s benefactor in -connection with the great Plant System Day at the Exposition. About -fifty guests assembled to do honor to the occasion, and among them were -some of the best-known and most influential men of the country. The -South was represented by distinguished men from many States. - -“At the conclusion of the dinner, Captain Howell, who acted as -toast-master, arose and proposed a toast to the distinguished guest of -honor. At the request, every guest arose and drank to the health of Mr. -Plant in silence. - -“‘I have been offered many toasts and received some honors,’ said Mr. -Plant, in response, ‘but none has ever afforded me more pleasure than -this. I feel that I am among friends to-night, and it is useless to -assure you that I am deeply appreciative of this honor. I have had -something to say to you already to-day, and am almost talked out. There -is so much talent and so many men here to-night who can entertain you -with a ventilation of the English language, and I am so hoarse that I -will yield to them and not detain you. I thank you, Mr. Toast-master, -and gentlemen.’ - -“Captain Howell, in introducing the speakers of the evening, took -occasion to say many happy things about Mr. Plant and the guests around -the tables. He was in his happiest vein, and with wit, wisdom, and -story, he entertained the assemblage. Each effort of the toast-master -was received with applause. - -“‘We are indebted to the distinguished gentleman we have gathered -to-night to honor,’ said Captain Howell, ‘for one of the best exhibits -at our great Exposition. His is an exhibit of which we should feel -proud; one that reflects credit on his effort and the Exposition. He has -shown us loyalty, fidelity, and love for the South by the work he has -done for us. We are pleased and honored to have him among us, and to -call him one of us. This Southland owes to him much of gratitude. He has -benefited every section of the Southeast, and done work which will last -as a monument to his fame for years to come. - -“‘We regret that our zealous president, Mr. Collier, is unable to be -with us this evening to extend to Mr. Plant in person the welcome felt -by the Exposition Company, but in that absence we have a man to speak -for him who can do so fittingly. We ask Mr. Alexander W. Smith to -return to Mr. Plant the thanks of the Exposition Company for the -splendid exhibit he has sent us and for the good work he has done, not -only in our interest, but for the State and the entire South.’ - -“Mr. Smith paid a fitting tribute to the worth of Mr. Plant to the State -of Georgia, the South, and to the Exposition. He thanked him on behalf -of the Exposition Company for the complete and magnificent exhibit sent -by Mr. Plant, and warmly congratulated him on his birthday, which gave -occasion for such a great day as yesterday had been to the Exposition. -Colonel George W. Adair was called upon and he made one of his best -speeches. He entertained his hearers with stories and reminiscences of -his boyhood and manhood days, referring to the time when he first met -Mr. Plant. The speaker had assisted in forming the Southern Express -Company, and he proposed to share the honors with Mr. Plant, for the -evening at least. - -“Among the other speakers were Colonel H. S. Haines, Colonel A. A. -Wiley, of Alabama; Speaker Fleming, Major J. W. Thomas, of Nashville; -Judge Falligant, of Savannah; Hon. Fleming du Bignon, of Savannah; Dr. -Smyth, and several others. All of the speakers paid high tribute to Mr. -Plant and his work for the South. He was eulogized in the language of -highest praise, and declared to be a man worthy of all honors that -could be bestowed upon a citizen. - -“Some of the speakers referred to the esteem in which Mr. Plant is held -by his twelve thousand employees, and laid stress on that fact as being -the best evidence of the noble character of the man, one who treated all -men with justice, moderation, and kindness. Mr. Plant was made to feel -that the welcome extended him was sincere, and he left the banquet table -honored as perhaps no other man will be honored during the Exposition -period. To him was shown the appreciation of the Exposition Company of -his work, by setting aside a special day in his honor, something that -will not be accorded to any other individual. - -“The banquet was one of the most elaborate of the season, and reflected -credit on the committee in charge and Manager Dodge, of the Aragon, who -supervised it in person.” - - * * * * * - -With the banquet at the Aragon, tendered to President Plant by the -directors of the Exposition Company and the citizens of Atlanta, the -festivities directly incident to “Plant System Day” were brought to a -close. This history, however, would be incomplete without reference to -the Southern Express Company, to which Mr. Plant has been pleased to -allude as his “first love.” It numbers among its officers some of the -men whom Mr. Plant had in mind when he said on Sunday morning, October -27th, “I see here present those who were with me in troublous times and -bore with me the heat and burden of the fight,” and this may be -considered a fitting place to give a brief history of the company as -published in the _Constitution_ of October 29, 1895. - -From the Atlanta _Constitution_, Tuesday, October 29, 1895: - -“Among the thousands who gathered at the Exposition yesterday to do -honor to Mr. Henry B. Plant, the great ‘man of affairs,’ the officers -and employees of the Southern Express Company formed a notable group, -the central and most prominent figure of which was Mr. M. J. O’Brien, -the vice-president and general manager. It was fitting that this great -enterprise should be represented by its most prominent officials and a -large delegation of its employees on this day, for it was as an express -company employee that Mr. Plant began life, and the history of the -express business in the South is almost identical with Mr. Plant’s great -success. It was also appropriate that the representatives of the great -army of Southern Express Company employees should be headed by the man -whose master mind and admirable executive ability have contributed so -largely to every success of the mammoth enterprise over which he -presides with such marked distinction, for the history of the Southern -Express Company is not only the history of Mr. Plant but of Mr. O’Brien, -since the latter gentleman has been closely identified with the express -business of Mr. Plant for the past thirty-five years, and its -achievements have largely been his own. - - - “HISTORY OF THE SOUTHERN EXPRESS COMPANY. - -“On July 5, 1861, a charter was granted for the Southern Express Company -for fourteen years, with H. B. Plant as President; R. B. Bullock, -Superintendent of the Eastern Division; E. Hulbert, Superintendent of -the Central, and D. P. Ellwood, Superintendent of the Western Division, -who, however, shortly resigned, and was succeeded by A. B. Small, with -James Shuter as Assistant Superintendent. - -“As the Federal forces advanced into Dixie the Southern Express Company -abandoned its lines, which were immediately utilized by the Adams -Express Company. In fact, the Southern Express Company was operated -under difficulties throughout those belligerent times, arising from the -changing lines of armies, destructions of railroads, and from the -conscription acts, until express employees were exempted from service in -the army and navy. - -“At the close of the war another source of danger presented itself. -Gangs of disbanded soldiery and raiding parties, ever ready to -appropriate portable property wherever it could be found, in many cases -plundered the express offices, their horses being taken and nothing -valuable left. But it’s a long lane that has no turn. A reaction soon -set in, and the marvellous prosperity of the ‘Sunny South’ has been only -equalled by the growth and development of the Southern Express Company. -To-day its service extends from Richmond, Louisville, and St. Louis on -the North; Charleston and Savannah on the East; Springfield, Missouri, -and Houston, Texas, on the West, and New Orleans, Mobile, and Tampa, -Florida, on the South, reaching twelve States and embracing about three -thousand agencies, with a through line to New York and direct -communication with Cuba. - -“In 1875, a renewal of the company’s charter was applied for and -granted, and, in 1886, the Georgia Legislature granted the company a -charter for thirty years from December 21st of that year. The little -concern organized at Augusta, Georgia, in 1861, has now become one of -the strongest and most successful express companies in the United -States. - -“The _Constitution_ to-day publishes excellent portraits of General -Manager M. J. O’Brien, Assistant General Manager T. W. Leary, Traffic -Manager C. L. Loop, and Superintendent W. W. Hulbert, all of whom have -been intimately identified with the growth and development of the -Southern Express Company. - -“General Manager O’Brien began service with the Adams Express Company at -Memphis, in 1859. He next served as way-bill clerk and then as -messenger, being later promoted to the cashier’s office at New Orleans. -Evincing a remarkable aptitude for the express business, he was next -appointed agent at Montgomery, Alabama, and, in rapid order, -successively became President Plant’s secretary, secretary of the -Southern Express Company, general superintendent, general manager, and -vice-president and general manager. - -“Assistant General Manager Leary commenced as secretary to General -Superintendent O’Brien and for years was his faithful lieutenant. -Subsequently he was made assistant to the general manager and then -appointed assistant general manager. - -“Traffic Manager Loop began his express career as messenger in the Adams -Express Company’s service, and was particularly prominent in express -operations during the war. He was for many years auditor and cashier of -the western department of the Southern Express Company, and upon the -consolidation of the eastern and western departments was made general -auditor, succeeding from that position to his present office. - -“Superintendent Hulbert began service as local agent at West Point, -Georgia, in 1858, and with the exception of four years, during which -time he was in the war, has been continuously in the service of the -Southern Express Company ever since. - -“To give some idea of the magnitude of the Southern Express Company’s -business, it is only necessary to say that should their employees, with -their families and others dependent for their living upon services -rendered to this great enterprise, move to the State of Nevada, and the -present population of that State should leave it, Nevada would have a -much larger population than she has at present. In other words, the -officers and employees of the Southern Express Company who are in -Atlanta to-day represent a larger number of citizens of this country -than do the two United States Senators who represent the State of Nevada -in the upper House of Congress. Again, the amount of money invested in -horses, wagons, etc., is simply fabulous, while their stationery bill -for one year would make a man independently wealthy. - -“The business of the company must necessarily be enormous to support and -justify such an expense. It consists of forwarding freight, money, and -valuables of all descriptions by the fastest passenger trains, in charge -of special messengers. As forwarders of money, bonds, and valuables, -they successfully compete with the government mail service. Absolute -safety is guaranteed in all transactions, and in case of damage to, or -loss of goods, the delay, almost inevitable in government red tape, is -avoided. - -“THE HANDSOME EXHIBIT. - -“The Southern Express Company’s office on the Exposition grounds makes -one of the handsomest exhibits to be seen. It is not, however, -altogether for show, but the express business in all its branches is -conducted just as it is in the Atlanta office. The pretty, tasty little -office is doing a thriving business, if one can judge from the crowds -which are constantly about it. Mr. M. W. Wooding is in charge of the -Exposition office, and yesterday happily sustained the reputation which -he has earned of being a most delightful host. Mr. Wooding is an old -Atlanta boy, and has been with the Southern Express Company for the past -twelve years. - -“Among the well-known gentlemen who called yesterday at the express -office were: H. B. Plant, President, New York City, New York; M. J. -O’Brien, Vice-President and General Manager, New York City, New York; M. -F. Plant, Vice-President, New York City, New York; T. W. Leary, -Assistant General Manager, Chattanooga, Tennessee; C. L. Loop, Traffic -Manager, Chattanooga, Tennessee; G. H. Tilley, Secretary and Treasurer, -New York; F. J. Virgin, Auditor, Chattanooga, Tennessee; -Superintendents--H. Dempsey, Augusta, Georgia; C. T. Campbell, -Chattanooga, Tennessee; O. M. Sadler, Charlotte, North Carolina; H. C. -Fisher, Nashville, Tennessee; G. W. Agee, Memphis, Tennessee; W. J. -Crosswell, Wilmington, North Carolina; C. L. Myers, Jacksonville, -Florida; V. Spalding, Roanoke, Virginia; C. A. Pardue, New Orleans, -Louisiana; Assistant Superintendent Mark J. O’Brien, Chattanooga, -Tennessee; Route Agents--J. B. Hockaday, Greenville, South Carolina; K. -C. Barrett, Florence, South Carolina; S. R. Golibart, Suffolk, Virginia; -P. B. Wilkes, Monroe, North Carolina; J. Cronin, Waycross, Georgia; John -Lovette, Atlanta, Georgia; W. C. Agee, Memphis, Tennessee; Agents--F. L. -Cooper, Savannah, Georgia; W. A. Dewes, Chattanooga, Tennessee; W. M. -Shoemaker, Montgomery, Alabama; F. M. Folds, Messenger, Montgomery, -Alabama. - -“It would not do to close this article without giving due meed of praise -to Daniel Davis, the urbane colored boy who, under the direction of Mr. -Wooding, dispensed ‘the hospitalities of the house’ in the most approved -and satisfactory manner. - -“Were we to record herein the numerous telegrams and letters of -congratulation received by Mr. Plant from his many friends who were -unable personally to be present in Atlanta, we would have to publish a -second edition to retain a pamphlet form of this little volume. We must, -therefore, content ourselves with saying to one and all who so -thoughtfully remembered Mr. Plant on the occasion of his anniversary, -that their kindly sentiments were highly appreciated by him, and to each -and every one, through these columns, he returns his sincere thanks. - -“To our newspaper friends, who so kindly espoused our cause, prior to, -at the time of, and since the festivities in Atlanta, and who are always -ready to deal kindly by us, we return our thanks. To them we would most -heartily accord the space necessary in which to reprint all of the nice -things they have said of us, but for the same reason as given in the -foregoing paragraph, we must abbreviate. However, we feel that it is not -just to them or to ourselves entirely to ignore all quotations from -their columns, and with their permission we give below, in so far as our -limited edition will permit, some of the many pleasant references made -by our journalistic friends. - -“Among the many telegrams of congratulation received by Mr. H. B. Plant, -President of the Plant System, we give below two, together with copies -of Mr. Plant’s responses, which were omitted in our report of -proceedings in yesterday’s issue. - - -“‘MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA, Oct. 28, 1895. - -“‘HENRY B. PLANT, Atlanta, Georgia: - - “‘Montgomery Division, No. 98, Order of Railway Conductors, tenders - you its heartiest congratulations. It is the uniform hope of all - its members that you may live to see many more years of such - usefulness and happiness, and that your every wish may be realized. - -“‘JOHN C. ELLIOTT, -“‘CHAS. J. READ, -“‘_Committee_.’ - - - - -“‘ATLANTA, GEORGIA, Oct. 29, 1895. -“‘JNO. C. ELLIOTT and CHAS. J. READ, Committee, -No. 98, Order Railway Conductors, Montgomery, -Alabama: - - “‘Of the many telegrams of congratulation I have received, none are - appreciated more than the one from you, as representatives of the - Order of Railway Conductors, and my best efforts in the future, as - in the past, will be to deserve the commendation of all members of - your order. - -“‘H. B. PLANT.’ - - - - - -“‘TAMPA, FLORIDA, Oct. 27, 1895. - -“‘H. B. PLANT, Atlanta, Georgia: - - “‘Recognizing in you a friend of Tampa and of Florida, our city - congratulates you on this the anniversary of your birthday, and - indulges the hope that you may live to celebrate many others and to - reap the fruits of your labor and enterprise. - -“‘F. A. SALOMONSON, Mayor.’ - - - - - -“‘ATLANTA, GEORGIA, Oct. 28, 1895. - -“‘F. A. SALOMONSON, Mayor: - - “‘I thank you personally, and through you the good people of Tampa - and Florida, for your hearty congratulations and well wishes. I - shall hope to celebrate many more anniversaries of my birthday, and - as each milestone is passed I trust we may all look back and see - that I have contributed in a measure to the interests of the good - people of your State and city. - -“‘H. B. PLANT.’ - - - - “A REMARKABLE OVATION. - -“President H. B. Plant, of the Plant System, was a happy man yesterday -when he looked into three thousand smiling faces at the Exposition -Auditorium and saw among them about one thousand five hundred of his -faithful employees, who were assembled to celebrate his seventy-sixth -birthday. - -“It was a rare tribute to a great and a good man. Probably no railway -president in the world could have commanded such an ovation. - -“Mr. Plant was overwhelmed with graceful attentions from his employees, -the Exposition directors, and our citizens generally. The day at the -Exposition was a celebration in his honor, and at night the directors -entertained him at a banquet. - -“It goes without saying that this tribute is worth more to Mr. Plant -than presents of silver and gold. It will touch his heart as nothing -else could. That he may long hold his honored place among us is the -earnest wish of all who know him. - - - “MR. PLANT AND THE NEGROES. - -“In addition to what has been said of Mr. Plant and his great System, -the negroes are grateful for what he has done for them. There are over -two thousand negroes employed by Mr. Plant. A great number of them have -accumulated homes, educated their children, and have nice bank accounts, -and they all love him. He has contributed liberally to churches, -school-houses, and other negro enterprises; in fact, he has built -several institutions of learning for negroes. A number of negroes hold -positions of trust, with good pay attached, as is not the case with any -other system the size of his in the United States. - -“May the years of Mr. Plant’s usefulness in behalf of the South, colored -and white, be many more.”--Atlanta _Constitution_. - - “HONORS TO MR. PLANT. - -“Few men have done as much as Mr. H. B. Plant to develop the South, and -the _Journal_ joins heartily in the tributes which are being paid to him -to-day. - -“He has reached the age of seventy-six with a record which any man might -envy, and we trust is good for many more years of usefulness. Mr. Plant -is the head of great corporations which have been of incalculable value -to the South. They have been so, not because they are rich and powerful, -but because, under his direction, they have been conducted on broad and -liberal lines. Mr. Plant’s policy has been to build up. His career -presents a splendid contrast to those of the railroad wreckers who have -enriched themselves at the expense of thousands of individual victims -and of great regions of the country. - -“Mr. Plant has used his power nobly. He has made it beneficial to -multitudes of his fellow-citizens, and has contributed immensely to the -general development of the South. As the president of a great railroad -system, of steamship lines, and of the Southern Express Company, and the -Texas Express Company, Mr. Plant enjoys, not only the kind regards of a -host of employees, but the respect and admiration of the public as well. -The many evidences which he receives to-day of the good-will and esteem -of his fellow-men must be exceedingly gratifying to him, but we are -justified in saying that seldom have tributes been more richly -deserved. We extend to Mr. Plant our cordial congratulations on his -seventy-sixth birthday, and hope that we shall have the pleasure of -seeing his honored and useful career continued for many years to come. - -“Mrs. H. B. Plant, the wife of the distinguished president of the Plant -System, is at the Aragon. She is a beautiful, cultured, travelled woman, -and as such receives everywhere the most flattering social attentions. -She will be the conspicuous social figure of this week, and several -brilliant affairs will be given in her honor. Mrs. Plant is one of the -New York Commissioners, and has proven her interest in Atlanta’s -Exposition in many satisfactory and assuring ways.”--Atlanta _Journal_. - -“A splendid banquet was tendered by the Southern Express Company to its -superintendents, route agents, and agents attending the Cotton States -and International Exposition, last evening in the Kimball House. - -“The occasion was a most happy one. - -“The banquet was held in honor of Plant Day--Mr. Plant being president -of the Southern Express Company. - -“Mr. T. W. Leary, the popular and genial assistant general manager of -the Southern Express Company, presided and acted as toast-master. In -this capacity he distinguished himself, and made some of the happiest -hits of the evening. The speeches were of the happiest character, and -befitted the occasion which they commemorated--the birthday of the -venerable president of the express company, who has done so much towards -the building up of this rich and powerful transportation company. - -“Among those who spoke were the following: - -“Mr. C. L. Loop, traffic manager of the Southern Express Company; Mr. H. -Dempsey, superintendent; Mr. H. O. Fisher, superintendent; Mr. G. W. -Agee, superintendent; Mr. V. E. McBee, general agent Seaboard Air Line; -Mr. J. L. McCollum, superintendent Nashville, Chattanooga, and St. Louis -Railway; Mr. F. H. Richardson, editor Atlanta _Journal_; Mr. C. S. -Gadsden, superintendent of the Plant System. - -“The entire occasion was marked by the greatest enthusiasm, and it will -be long remembered by those present. The following is a list of the -guests: - -“J. S. B. Thompson, assistant general superintendent Southern Railway; -V. E. McBee, general agent Seaboard Air Line; W. R. Beauprie, -superintendent Southern Railway; J. L. McCollum, superintendent -Nashville, Chattanooga, and St. Louis Railway; D. E. Maxwell, general -manager Florida Central and Peninsular Railway; L. M. Weathers, Memphis, -Tennessee; F. de C. Sullivan, E. M. Williams, George E. Carter, New -York; B. R. Swoope, Virginia; F. H. Richardson, Atlanta _Journal_, and -G. W. Haines, H. A. Ford, C. O. Parker, C. S. Gadsden, W. B. Denham, -Judge Brawley, of the Plant System; M. F. Echols, agent Southern Express -Company, Atlanta, Georgia; W. A. Dewees, agent Southern Express Company, -Chattanooga, Tennessee; F. L. Cooper, agent Southern Express Company, -Savannah, Georgia, and H. M. McCulloch, W. E. McGill, G. A. Wilkinson, -J. A. Cleary and F. M. Folds; C. L. Loop, traffic manager Southern -Express Company; H. Dempsey, superintendent; H. C. Fisher, -superintendent; C. T. Campbell, superintendent; O. M. Sadler, -superintendent; W. J. Crosswell, superintendent; G. W. Agee, -superintendent; C. L. Myers, superintendent; W. W. Hulbert, -superintendent; V. Spalding, superintendent; C. A. Pardue, -superintendent; J. C. Arnold, route agent; S. R. Golibart, route agent; -P. B. Wilkes, route agent; W. C. Agee, route agent; J. Cronin, route -agent; K. C. Barrett, route agent; John Lovette, route agent; H. E. -Williamson, route agent; J. B. Hockaday, route agent; W. M. Shoemaker, -agent Southern Express Company, Montgomery, Alabama. - -“The Exposition was crowded to-day with the employees of the Plant -System and the friends of Mr. H. B. Plant, the president of that System, -for it was Plant Day. - -“There is perhaps no more interesting figure in American business life -to-day than H. B. Plant, and his employees have for him that feeling of -love that is so rarely held by the employees of a great corporation for -its head. As an evidence of that love and kindly feeling the employees -gathered to-day to do him honor.”--Atlanta _Journal_. - -“The _Chronicle_ publishes this morning an interesting sketch of Mr. -Henry B. Plant, by Mr. Clark Howell. The writer has a most excellent -subject for his theme, and he has handled it admirably. Than Mr. Henry -B. Plant there is not a better man to be found anywhere. Starting from -the plain people, unaided by the adventitious circumstances of birth or -wealth, he has, step by step, ascended the ladder of fame and fortune, -until he is now classed among the railroad magnates and the -multi-millionaires of the country. He has been the architect of his own -fortune, and he has done the work in the most artistic and substantial -manner. His work for Florida and the South cannot be exaggerated. He has -been one of the most potential factors in the upbuilding of this -section, and he is still full of hope and faith in the present and -future possibilities of the South. He knows thoroughly the advantages -which we possess, and he is enthusiastic for their full utilization. Mr. -Plant was for years a familiar figure in this community and a valued -citizen of Augusta. - -“Speaking of Mr. Plant yesterday, one of our prominent citizens observed -that he had the remarkable gift of always selecting the right man for -the right place. He is a capital judge of human nature. His life has -been a most exemplary and laborious one. He is the personification of -kindness and courtesy in his intercourse with his fellow-citizens, and -his consideration for his employees is most marked. - -“Monday was set apart by the Cotton States Exposition in honor of Mr. -Plant. This recognition of his services to the South is well deserved. -In his case it is an honor most worthily bestowed. At the age of -seventy-six, Mr. Plant possesses a sound mind in a sound body. Long may -he live to continue his good work for Florida and the South, and to -wield his influence for good among his fellow-men.”--Augusta -_Chronicle_. - -“The employees of the Plant System, who went to the Cotton States and -International Exposition on the invitation of President Plant, returned -yesterday very much gratified with their visit. And Mr. Plant was very -greatly pleased to meet them at the Exposition. The occasion was the -celebration of Mr. Plant’s seventy-sixth birthday. - -“Mr. Plant is still a very vigorous man. His mental faculties are as -bright and keen as they ever were. He looks back on a long life of great -activity and usefulness. He has built up a splendid monument to himself -in the Plant Railway and Steamship System. All his life he has been a -builder--never a wrecker. And the speech he delivered to his employees -on Monday shows that he has a just appreciation of the relations he -holds to the public. - -“No man has contributed more to the building up of the South than Mr. -Plant. The country tributary to his lines of railroad presents an -appearance vastly different from what it did a quarter of a century ago. -There are thousands of comfortable homes now where there was then only a -wilderness. Plant Day was a feature of the Exposition, as the Plant -System is a feature of the South.”--Savannah _Morning News_. - -“On this, the seventy-sixth anniversary of his birthday, we extend our -wishes to Mr. H. B. Plant, the head of the great system of railways -which bears his name. Long life and happiness to him.”--The _Bulletin_, -Savannah, Georgia. - -“The ceremonies attending the anniversary of Mr. Plant’s birthday -yesterday in Atlanta were very imposing. There was a large crowd on -hand, and Mr. Plant responded in a very feeling and appropriate speech. -There was a feeling and eloquent address by Judge Falligant. One of the -gems of the occasion was the excellent letter of Capt. D. G. -Purse.”--Savannah _Press_. - -“To-day is a great one in Atlanta. The Plant System celebration of the -birthday of its great founder is perhaps the most remarkable event of -its kind that ever occurred in this country. It marks the beginning of a -distinctive era in progress--when the men who are leaders in material -progress are recognized and honored as public benefactors. While Florida -is under vast obligations to statesmen of the past and present, to the -heroes of several wars, to the pioneers who redeemed its lands to the -plow and hoe--it is not too much to say that the present generation owes -fully as much to the group of men who, having acquired large means -elsewhere, are expending and investing them in developing the resources -and advertising the resources of the State. And it is not overstating -the case to say that to no one on this list belongs so much credit as to -Henry B. Plant. He was the first, as he is to-day the leader, to see the -good points of our soil and climate, and to bring them to the notice of -the world. To him, and to his unwavering attachment to Florida, is due, -to a preponderating extent, the surprising and persistent growth of the -State. No pretense is made that he has done it all, but he led the way -and set the pace, and it is a pleasure to the intelligent and -fair-minded people of Florida to hold him in high esteem, and to testify -to it. As long ago as 1853, Mr. Plant saw and appreciated Florida, and -from that day to this he has been its unflinching friend. He has been -the direct agency for the investment of many millions of dollars here, -and the indirect cause of its duplication by others. He deserves the -honors and compliments that are paid him, and more.”--Tampa _Times_. - -“The birthday of Henry B. Plant, head of the Plant Railway System and of -the Southern Express Company, was yesterday celebrated in fine and -appropriate style at the Atlanta Exposition. It was Plant System Day. -Mr. Plant deserves such recognition. He has done much for the South, the -section of his adoption. He has brought a great deal of capital and -enterprise into the section, and built up important conveniences that -have proven highly profitable to the Southern country and people. No one -man has done more for the advancement of the South’s material -development. He was seventy-six yesterday, but looks twenty years -younger, in spite of the big load of care and the big amount of work he -has done in the last fifty years. Long may he live to enjoy the fruits -and honors of his good works.”--_Daily Times_, Chattanooga. - -“The west coast of Florida, Alabama, and the portions of the country -around the Plant System in Georgia, sent thousands of people to the -Atlanta Exposition for the celebration of Plant System Day at the -Exposition. They have been coming on special trains since yesterday -morning. To-day Mr. H. B. Plant celebrated his seventy-sixth birthday, -and to-day is Plant System Day at the Exposition. Officials and -employees from all the railway, steamship, and express lines controlled -by Mr. Plant, and numbering nearly 5000 men, are here to celebrate the -day. The public exercises occurred in the Auditorium, and the Plant -System people were welcomed by Mayor King. Mr. Plant made a response to -the welcome.”--New Orleans _Times-Democrat_. - -“The following invitation for last Monday the _Marine Journal_ regretted -very much not having been able to accept: - -“‘The Cotton States and International Exposition, Atlanta, Ga., having -designated October 28, 1895, as Plant System Day, the officers and -employees of the system will meet there to commemorate the birthday of -their president, Mr. Henry B. Plant. You are invited to be present.’ - -“Advices from Atlanta since Monday announce that the event was a -brilliant success, as befitted such an occasion. Mr. Plant was weighed -down with congratulations, both personal, telegraphic, and by mail, and -presented himself in such an excellent state of health and enjoyment -that no one would have imagined he had so far passed the regulation -threescore years and ten as the day commemorated. Mr. Plant saw much -that must have deeply gratified him on the occasion, not only the result -of his own labor and enterprise, but in the encouraging presentation of -things that give evidence of such a restored measure of prosperity -throughout the South as only men like himself, who have worked so hard -to accomplish such a happy state of affairs, can thoroughly appreciate. -The recognition of the Plant System in such an auspicious manner by the -management of the Atlanta Exposition was a fitting testimonial to the -prominent part that the System is recognized to hold in conducing to the -well-being of the South, not only from a commercial point of view, but -from the excellent reputation among the best classes of people that must -necessarily attach to the places where the Plant hotels for winter -tourists are situated. Thus the day became a fitting compliment to the -true worth of the founder and president of the Plant System and an -additional ray in the glory with which his deeds crown him in the -fulness of his days. Long may he enjoy it.”--_Marine Journal_. - -“To-day the anniversary of the birth of Mr. H. B. Plant, President of -the Plant System of Railroads and Steamships, the Southern Express -Company and the Plant Investment Company, is being celebrated by the -officers and attaches of these companies and friends of Mr. Plant at -Atlanta--principally by the Plant System men. - -“H. B. Plant is a remarkable man, and though well advanced in years, he -is just as active in business to-day as he was a half-century ago. -Thousands of his employees to-day assemble to pay tribute to his worth -as a man; besides, thousands of acquaintances and admirers extend their -heartiest congratulations. - -“No better place or time for such celebration could be had than at the -Atlanta Exposition, where is another, and the latest, monument to Mr. -Plant’s worth as a developer and as a man of enterprise and genius. The -building and the exhibits there of the Plant System are similar to his -good works all over the country, and every Floridian, South Carolinian, -Georgian, and Alabamian must feel proud of these representatives of the -products and enterprise of their States collected and displayed to such -an advantage by the great System that benefits the States. - -“The best men in Florida acknowledge H. B. Plant as one of the State’s -truest friends, and willingly in heart, if not in person, join in doing -him honor on this, his seventy-sixth birthday, and all hope he may be -spared many more years to the grateful people.”--Jacksonville -_Metropolis_. - -“The reception given to the venerable president of the great Plant -System of hotels in Florida on Monday, October 28, at Atlanta, was a -deserved recognition of the work he has done in developing Florida and, -indirectly, the whole South.”--New York _Hotel Register_. - -“As a rule, men of large interests are charmingly simple and unaffected -in manner, and this is eminently true of H. B. Plant, President of the -famous Plant System Railway and Steamship Lines, a millionaire, and the -controlling power of three great hotels, the Tampa Bay, the Seminole at -Winter Park, and the Inn at Port Tampa, all in Florida. - -“Mr. Plant resides in New York much of the time, in an elegant home, but -is also to be found a good deal in Florida, while he takes trips to -Jamaica and other places where he has business to transact. - -“Personally, he is a delightful conversationalist, and remarkably young -for his years, which are not few. He is quite up to date in every way, -and never lets a business chance go by him. The magnitude of his orders -may be understood from the fact that he has recently given an order at -Newport News for the largest coastwise steamer ever built, 440 feet in -length, and having every comfort and modern arrangement for safety. He -is deeply interested in the Cotton States and International Exposition, -and has a building of his own at the grounds, with a comprehensive -exhibit.”--New Haven _Evening Register_. - - “THE ATLANTA EXPOSITION. - -“We hardly think the Northern Press has been as generous in its good -offices to the Southern Exposition as it might. We have just returned -from a visit to Atlanta, and were delighted with the beautiful landscape -order of the grounds, the large and elegant buildings, and, above all, -the wonderful exhibits they contained. The farm products will astonish -our Northern visitors. Canned fruits and garden produce are varied, -numerous, and luxuriant. The manufactures, especially of cotton, were -very fine, and their machinery equal to the best in the country--was so -pronounced by the Manufacturers’ Committee from the New England States. -The Art Building; is a model of artistic taste and elegance. The -Industrial Building, in which France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, -and other nations are represented would require an entire day to -explore. The minerals, fossils, photo plates, gold and silver ores, -coal, salts, lime, and peculiar clays found in the Southern States, will -repay close inspection. I saw beautiful china made from a white clay -found in Florida only four months ago; also great blocks of salt as they -were taken from the mine, that needed only to be crushed to fit them for -immediate use. - -“One of the things that has given a great uplift to the Cotton States -has been the improvement of its railroads. A quarter of a century ago -these were in a very depressed condition, crippled, bankrupt, and -unremunerative, and about this time, H. B. Plant, of New York, -interested Northern capitalists in them, bought, combined, reorganized, -and improved them in every way, adding steamboat lines to the West -Indies, and perfecting an express system unsurpassed in any part of the -country, for the whole South. This so increased travel to the South, -especially in the winter season, by health-seekers and pleasure-seekers, -that better hotel accommodations were demanded. These were soon -provided, at a large outlay, giving the South, especially Florida, the -finest hotels in the world. St. Augustine, Palm Beach, and Tampa Bay, -especially the latter, are unsurpassed for healthful, comfortable, and -luxuriant appointments. Hence, Plant Day was one of the great days of -the Exposition, when some two thousand of the more than twelve thousand -employees of the Plant System came to do honor to the man who had done -so much for the Southern section of our country. Receptions, addresses, -silver cup, compass, and flowers, and a grand banquet in the evening at -the Aragon Hotel, were cordially tendered to this benefactor of the -Cotton States. Labor and capital clasped hands in the most friendly -accord, and this problem of the age was here solved, where peace and -good-will abounded among these men. We saw the man of war, the admiral -of the fleet at Hampton Roads, pay his respects to this man of peace, -whose guest we were, and whose power for good has been so widely felt in -our land.”--AN EAST ORANGE DOMINIE, _East Orange Gazette_, East Orange, -New Jersey. - - “EXPOSITION ECHOES. - -“Mr. A. B. Wrenn, special agent of the Southern Pacific, who has been in -Atlanta for the past few days, returned to the city yesterday, and gives -a glowing account of the Exposition. He says that the number of people -who visited the great show on President’s Day was something over 78,000, -and that on Atlanta Day the number will be considerably more. - -“‘One of the prettiest sights I saw while in Atlanta,’ said Mr. Wrenn, -‘was that of the thousands of the employees of the Plant System, when -Plant Day was celebrated. Mr. H. B. Plant, president and owner of the -Plant System of railroads, gave the thousands of his employees, who -could possibly get off duty, a free trip to the Fair, and on Plant Day -there were several thousands of them present. A grand reception was -given, and section bosses, freight agents, clerks, and even negro -laborers who worked on the sections, were given an opportunity of -shaking hands with Mr. Plant, who is now an elderly gentleman. Mr. Plant -made a speech and expressed his satisfaction at meeting so many of his -men, and the affair passed off most pleasantly.’ - -“Mr. Wrenn says that the Exposition is well worth seeing.”--_Daily -Picayune_, New Orleans, Louisiana. - - “THE ATLANTA EXPOSITION. - - “BY THE REV. GEORGE H. SMYTH, D.D. - -“Coming so soon after the great Exposition at Chicago,--the greatest the -world has ever seen,--and considering the general depression of the -country, and the short time taken for preparation, the Exposition of the -Cotton States, at Atlanta, Georgia, is a marvel. The terraced ground, -selected and laid out with such beautiful landscape effect, the -architectural designs of the buildings, the artistic skill displayed in -locating them, together with the drives, walks, ponds, fountains, lawns, -and ornamentations of the whole Fair grounds, reflect great credit on -the committee of distinguished gentlemen who had the matter in charge, -and who spared neither pains nor expense to make the Exposition a great -success. Atlanta alone contributed $1,000,000 to the enterprise. - -“Plant Day was the great day of the Fair thus far. It was set apart by -the Committee of Management in honor of Henry B. Plant, who has done so -much for the progress, prosperity, and welfare of the Southern States. -More than a quarter of a century has passed since he began his -patriotic, not to say philanthropic, work of uplifting a prostrate -section of our country. Up to this time the railroads of the Cotton -States were poor, crippled, and some of them bankrupt. In 1879, Mr. -Plant interested other capitalists in purchasing, reorganizing, and -improving the railroads of the South. He organized and perfected an -express system, steamboat system, railroad system--until now, the Plant -System, as it is called, embraces nearly two thousand miles of railway -lines and over twelve hundred miles of steamship lines. Of course, the -facilities for comfortable travel to and through the South brought the -health-seeker, the pleasure-seeker, investor, and permanent settler to -the South; and this influx of population continues with increasing -numbers each year. ‘To-day, the South is universally acknowledged to be -the most prosperous portion of the great Union, and that portion over -which the Plant System ramifies itself is known as the garden-spot. Mr. -H. B. Plant is the mainspring that moved the whole, and he is, in every -sense, a public benefactor.’ This is only the briefest intimation of the -reasons for Plant Day at the Exposition. - -“Sunday, October 27th, was Mr. Plant’s seventy-sixth birthday. I had the -pleasure of being one of a party of friends that filled his private car -in going to the Exposition, and occupied one of the large and elegant -rooms of his suite at the Aragon Hotel, Atlanta. On the morning of that -day a few gentlemen--and they were gentlemen in every sense of the -term--representing the more than twelve thousand employees of the Plant -System, adroitly entertained their president in his own room, while the -others took possession of his parlor. When everything was in readiness, -Mr. Plant and his guests were invited into the parlor. He was most -cordially greeted and congratulated on the seventy-sixth return of his -birthday. Then written addresses, couched in choice language, were read -from the three different departments--railroad, express, and -steamboat--of the Plant System, followed by presentation of flowers, of -a silver compass, suggesting the straight and upright course of his -life, and a silver cup, large and massive,--a ‘loving-cup,’--‘filled, -Mr. Plant, with the esteem, affection, and best wishes of your -associates and employees, to whom you have been a benefactor and -friend.’ Mr. Plant’s response was beautiful, tender, and touching, as -kindly eyes looked through their tears at this grand old man whom they -esteemed as a father. - -“Next day, the reception given Mr. Plant in the Auditorium, by the -employees of the Plant System, where addresses and resolutions of -appreciation, esteem, and gratitude for what he had done for the South, -were presented to him, was grand beyond description. In the evening of -the same day a banquet was tendered him at the Aragon Hotel by the -managers of the Exposition. Judges, lawyers, merchants, the mayor of -Atlanta, and a large company of distinguished gentlemen sat down to a -sumptuous repast. But it was ‘the feast of reason and the flow of -soul’--the eloquent and patriotic sentiments expressed in the -after-dinner speeches that gave this choice chapter of Plant Day its -chief significance and greatest charm. Never was Southern eloquence more -eloquent or tongues more fluent in giving forth the overflow of heart. -‘No North, no South, but one united, happy country--the land of the free -and the home of the brave.’ - -“When, near the close, we were most unexpectedly called on for a speech, -what could we say but express the pleasure experienced in all we had -seen and enjoyed this whole day. We had witnessed the solution of the -greatest problem of the age, a problem that many say will never be -solved, that will yet bring on universal revolution. We had to-day seen -labor and capital--employer and employed--clasp hands in mutual sympathy -and most friendly accord. We had seen, everywhere we travelled in the -South, the Plant System men vie with each other in doing honor to their -chief. His presence was the signal for willing hands and happy faces in -any service they could render him. Men felt better for his presence. The -Czar of all the Russias might well envy this modest, quiet, Connecticut -man, the connecting link between North and South, the harmonizer of -differences, and the promoter of peace and good-will among men; and -around whom cluster the respect and manly affection of 12,000 employees -and many more thousands of invalids who find lost health travelling in -the luxuriant cars and dwelling in the luxuriant hotels of the Plant -System. Mr. Plant was first led to Florida in 1854 in search of health -for his invalid wife, whose life he believes was prolonged many years by -her residence in the soft, balmy air of this State. Travel then was so -uncomfortable, and hotel accommodations so poor, that he began to think -what could be done to improve both. Verily, ‘There is a divinity that -shapes our ends, rough hew them as we may,’ and well is it when our own -sufferings lead us to discover means of alleviating those of our -fellow-men.”--_The Christian Intelligencer_, New York. - - - - -[Illustration: text decoration] - -CHAPTER XVII. - - Some Changes that have Taken Place in the Configuration of the - Globe--Islands Born and Buried--French Revolution--Napoleon’s - Influence on Europe--England’s Long Wars--Barbarous Treatment of - Prisoners--Slavery Abolished--English Profanity and - Intemperance--Temperance Movements--Duelling--Penny - Postage--Expansion of the Press--Canals, Erie and Suez--Railroads - in England and the United States--First Steamer to Cross the - Atlantic--First Steamship Line. - - -The changes that have taken place on the globe itself, and in its -inhabitants during the life of Mr. Plant, are varied, numerous, and -wonderful. - -The configuration of the earth has altered to a degree incredible to any -but those observant of such changes. Winchell has tabulated some of -these undulatory movements that have taken place along the Atlantic -shore line of the American continent and elsewhere. “At St. Augustine, -in Florida, the stumps of cedar trees stand beneath the hard beach -shell-rock, immersed in water at the lowest tides. Some of the sounds -upon the coast of North Carolina, which have been navigable within the -memory of living sea-captains, are now impassable bars, or emerging -sand-flats. Along the coast of New Jersey the sea has encroached, within -sixty years, upon the sites of former habitations, and entire forests -have been prostrated by the inundation. In the harbor of Nantucket the -upright stumps of trees are found eight feet below the lowest tide, with -their roots still buried in their native soil.” Similar ruins of ancient -submarine forests occur on Martha’s Vineyard, and on the north side of -Cape Cod, and again at Portland. In the region of the Saint Croix River, -separating Maine from New Brunswick, the coast has been raised, carrying -deposits of recent shells and sea-weeds, in one instance, to the height -of twenty-eight feet above the present surface of the sea. The island of -Grand Manan, off the mouth of the Saint Croix River, is slowly rotating -on an axis, so that, while the south side is gradually dipping beneath -the waves, the north is lifted into high bluffs. Near the River St. John -is an area of twenty square miles containing marine shells and plants -recently elevated from the sea. One hundred and fifty miles east of this -place, the shore is experiencing a subsidence. - -The north side of Nova Scotia is sinking, while the south is rising, -insomuch that breakers now appear off the southern coast in places -safely navigable in years gone by. The ancient city of Louisburg, on the -island of Cape Breton, is another testimony to the uneasy condition of -the land. This place was once the stronghold of France in America, and -one of the finest harbors in the world. It was well fortified and had a -population of twenty thousand souls within its walls. - -It was destroyed during the French and Indian War, and the inhabitants -dispersed, but Nature had herself ordained its abandonment. The rock on -which the brave General Wolfe landed has nearly disappeared. The sea now -flows within the walls of the city, and sites once inhabited have become -the ocean’s bed. In 1822, the entire coast of Chili was elevated to a -height varying from two to seven feet, an area equal to that of New -England and New York, having been lifted up bodily. In 1831, an island, -since called Graham’s Island, sprang from the bed of the Mediterranean -between Sicily and the site of ancient Carthage. The island is now but a -sunken reef. Another island, as recently as 1866, rose from the bottom -of the Grecian Archipelago, before the very eyes of the American Consul, -Mr. Chanfield, bearing upon its slimy back fragments of wrecks that had -been sunken in the little harbor of Santorin. - -“An island in the Missouri River, broken into fragments and washed away, -was the unusual spectacle witnessed by the people of Atchison, Kansas. -For years an island of 600 or 700 acres has been one of the attractions -of Atchison. It was as fertile as a garden, and was known all over the -West for the excellence of the celery, asparagus, sweet potatoes and -melons it produced. It had the appearance of a veritable oasis in a -desert, and its green shrubbery, generous shade trees, velvet lawns, and -cool spring, were a perpetual joy. Upon this island a shooting club had -a home, and the base-ball enthusiasts had their grounds, and grandstand. -Altogether, it was a most pleasant resort. In a single night this island -was dissolved into fragments. - -“The big June rise in the Missouri River struck it, and to-day it is -only a reminiscence. What was Kansas’s loss, however, was Missouri’s -gain. With the obliteration of the island the current left the Missouri -shore and struck hard against the Kansas bluffs. The result of this is -that the Missouri banner has been planted a mile westward, and hundreds -of acres of rich bottom land have been added to its domain, while Kansas -mourns the loss of its green island and pleasant park.” - -The wonderful changes going on in the configuration of England are -recorded in a well-known London paper (_Tit-Bits_) in the following -words: - -“Is England disappearing? Readers may pucker up their lips and ejaculate -‘Absurd!’ but facts, nevertheless, remain and show pretty clearly that -England is positively disappearing, and may in years to come be marked -on the map as a vanished isle. - -“On the coast the sea is encroaching upon the land at an astonishing -rate. Seaside towns and villages, holiday resorts, are gradually being -eaten up and the inhabitants driven inland. In many parts the sea runs -up on a beach which was once far inland. In other cases churches which -were at one time far from the sea now stand at the edge of cliffs and -have the sea lapping almost at their doors. - -“The Goodwin sands, about five miles off the coast of Kent, were at one -time a portion of the mainland itself and the property of Earl Goodwin. -But the sea has swallowed them up. - -“The coast of Norfolk is minus three villages which it once -possessed--Shipden, Eccles, and Wimpwell--all of which have been taken -into the arms of the encroaching ocean. The Cromer of to-day stands -miles inland of the original Cromer. - -“Auburn and Harlburn, two Yorkshire villages, once promised to develop -into seaport towns of considerable importance; but, like the will of -Canute, the will of the inhabitants of these villages was ignored by the -rising sea, and Auburn and Harlburn now exist in mere names and -sand-banks. - -“Dunwich, on the coast of Suffolk, is gradually being swallowed up. -Every now and then the inhabitants move a distance inland, rebuild their -houses and shops and wait patiently and philosophically for the next -“notice to quit” from the sea. Many other seaside places have suffered -or are suffering a similar fate. - -“It may be argued, on the other hand, that some seaside towns are -gradually becoming inland towns by the failure of the sea to ‘come up to -the mark,’ and running out only to run in for a shorter distance. -Winchelsea, Sandwich, Rye, and Southport are all suffering in this way. -Winchelsea and Rye were originally two of our cinque ports, but the sea -has left them standing high and dry. Sandwich was once a highly -important seaport town. It now stands two or three miles inland. - -“The sea is leaving Southport quite in the lurch--so much so indeed that -the inhabitants have had to sink extensive lakes down on the beach to -keep the sea from running off altogether and leaving merely an ordinary -inland town. - -“But the extension of our island in this way is very much less than the -encroachment of the sea at other points, and while our land is certainly -becoming more extensive in one direction, it is contracting, and with -much greater rapidity, in some other. And the ultimate effect may be -that our mountain peaks may form small islands, and eventually be -pointed out by posterity as ‘the position in which Great Britain is -reputed to have stood.’” - -The nineteenth has been the most remarkable century in the world’s -history. It was the most destructive and wasteful of life and property -in the early part of its career, and in the latter half has been the -most constructive and uplifting to the human race of any of the past -centuries. The population of all Europe at the beginning of the century -numbered one hundred and seventy millions, of whom four millions were -engaged in the murderous work of war. The demoralization of society and -the miseries inflicted on the people by these wars are beyond the power -of pen to describe. France had an absolute monarchy. “The King held in -his hands the unquestioned right to dispose, at his will, of the lives -and property of the people. He was the sole legislator. His own pleasure -was his only rule. He levied taxes, asking no consent of those who had -to pay. He sent to prison men with no crime laid to their charge, and -kept them there, without trial, till they died.” Political corruption -was rampant. For sixty years the court of Louis XV. had festered in the -most filthy debauchery. Then followed the bloody Revolution, -unparalleled in history. The guillotine, worn out with its butchery of -more than a million lives stood idle, and peace--rather, the lull of an -unfinished storm, for a time rested upon unhappy France. Then the -tumultuous hurricane burst out anew in the wars of Napoleon, which -terminated only at Waterloo in 1815. - -“The influence which Napoleon exerted upon the course of human -affairs,” says McKenzie, “is without a parallel in history. Never before -had any man inflicted upon his fellows miseries so appalling; never -before did one man’s hand scatter seeds destined to produce a harvest of -change so vast and so beneficient. It was he who roused Italy from her -sleep of centuries and led her towards that free and united life which -she at length enjoys. It was he, who by destroying the innumerable petty -states of Germany, inspired the dream of unity which it has required -more than half a century to fulfil.” The progress made by these two -countries during the century, in liberty, education, and all that -conduces to the welfare of the individual and the strength of the -nation, has been great beyond precedent. - -England has perhaps outstripped all other nations in the advancement she -has made during this period of the world’s greatest progress. Her long -and terrible wars with France and her allies had wasted her people and -depleted her treasury. Taxes were enormous, food was high, wages low, -and work scarce. The introduction of machinery in some departments -reduced hand-labor a hundred-fold. The power loom threw thousands of -people out of employment. England was badly governed. The laws were all -made in the interests of the rich. Multitudes of the poor were famine -stricken, one in eight being fed on charity, and many died of -starvation. Hunger maddens men, and hence crime abounded. Laws, -numerous and terrible, were enacted for its prevention and punishment. -Capital offences numbered two hundred and twenty-three. Some of the -offences were ridiculous trifles. If a man appeared disguised in public, -cut down young trees, shot rabbits, or stole property worth a dollar and -a quarter, he was at once hanged. The treatment of prisoners was most -barbarous. Young and old of both sexes were huddled together like -cattle. Vermin, filth, and starvation were the common lot of all. John -Howard and Elizabeth Fry inaugurated reforms in the interests of the -prisoners that have since engaged the thought and effort of the best men -and women of the nation. - -War was carried on in the most cruel and brutal manner. Conscription and -the press gang forced men from their families, and from peaceful -occupation, and drove them to an unwilling military or naval, bloody -field-servitude. Five hundred lashes was no uncommon punishment for some -trifling offence. “The men who applied the torture were changed at short -intervals, lest the punishment should be at all mitigated by their -fatigue. The doctor stood by to say how much the victim could bear -without dying. When that point was reached, he was taken down and -carried to the hospital, to be brought back for the balance of his -punishment when his wounds were healed. There is record of a soldier -sentenced to one thousand lashes, seven hundred of which were actually -inflicted. In the Crimean war two thousand six hundred British soldiers -were killed, while eighteen thousand died in hospital of wounds and -disease.” - -Scientific skill directed by generous-hearted Christian philanthropy has -now mitigated these horrors, reducing them almost to a minimum. The same -may be said of the brutality endured by women and little children -working in mines from twelve to sixteen hours a day. - -Slavery, which was almost universal at the beginning of the century, has -been abolished. Forty millions in Russia, four millions in the United -States, and many more millions in other lands have been made free. - -Nor has this freedom been confined to the chattel slave. The courts of -Europe were debauched beyond description. Even in England among the -higher classes, “the supreme crowning evidence that an entertainment had -been successful was not given till the guests dropped one by one from -their chairs, to slumber peacefully on the floor till the servants -removed them.” - -The temperance movement belongs to our present century, and while it has -not yet accomplished all that could be desired, it has done much to -lessen some of the grossest evils of society, and is full of promise -for final triumph. The first temperance society was only eleven years -old when the subject of this biography was born. It was organized in -April, 1808, at Morean, Saratoga County, New York, with forty-three -members. The American Temperance Society was formed at Boston, February, -1826, and, in 1829, the New York State Temperance Society, which in less -than a year had one thousand local societies with a hundred thousand -members. Soon the movement extended to the Old World, and a society was -formed at New Ross, County Wexford, Ireland, and within a year sixty -other societies were formed in different parts of the country. The -Father Mathew crusade began in 1838, and it resulted in the enrollment -of one million eight hundred thousand men and women in the temperance -cause. The wave spread to Scotland, England, Wales, and the Continent. -The Washington movement, started at Baltimore in 1840, doubtless -advanced the cause of temperance in our country, half a million having -signed the pledge. The great progress made in this direction is seen not -so much in the number of temperance societies as in the fact that while -there is difference of opinion as to the moderate use of wines and -liquors, there is but one opinion among respectable people as to the -immoderate use, and any one indulging in orgies such as those to which -we have alluded would be excluded from all participation in decent -society. No man of standing in good society glories in the shame of -beastly intoxication; multitudes do not use liquor at all, and many -others use it only as a medicine or aid to health. - -The duel was made a legal way of settling disputes between gentlemen, -and even, “Fox, Pitt, Castlereagh, Canning, O’Connell, and Wellington, -had all attempted the slaughter of a foe.” - -Profanity was almost universal. “Erskine swore at the bar. Lord Thurlow -swore on the bench. The King swore incessantly. Ladies swore orally and -in their letters. The chaplain cursed the sailors, because it made them -listen more attentively to his admonition.” Obscene books were exposed -for sale by the side of bibles and prayer-books. - -Education was limited in its range and extent, and only the more wealthy -could enjoy its benefits. In 1818, more than one half the children in -England were without school advantages. In manufacturing districts, -forty per cent. of the men and sixty-five per cent. of the women could -not write their own names. - -Penny postage, first proposed by Rowland Hill in 1837, adopted by Act of -Parliament in 1839, and followed since then by every civilized country -in the world, has proved to be a great adjunct in the education of the -people. - -The freedom and expansion of the press during this century have also -been a great power for the enlightenment of mankind. True, it has not -been an unmixed good, but let us hope the good has been, and will -continue to be in the ascendant. - -Canals, before the days of railroads and steamships, did much for the -transportation of merchandise and intercommunication of the people. The -Erie Canal, 363 miles in length, commenced in 1817, and finished in -1825, is said to have been one of the first impulses given to New York -City in its ascendancy over every other city in the United States. On -account of its great cost many of the people were opposed to it; “but in -1866, it was ascertained that besides enlarging many of the principal -cities, and adding to the comfort and wealth of nearly all the people of -the State, it had returned into the public treasury $23,500,000 above -all its cost, including principle, interest, repairs, and -superintendence.” - -In this same year, 1825, New York City was first lighted, partially -only, with gas. - -The Suez Canal, opened in 1870, was used by only 486 vessels, with a -total net tonnage of 436,609, but its use was steadily increased, until -in 1891, it rose to 8,698,777. When the canal was opened, it had cost -$100,000,000, that is, $1,000,000 a mile, and since then $40,000,000 -more have been expended in improvements. These are large amounts, but -the canal pays annually from $4,000,000 to $5,000,000 over the interest -of its bonded debt. - -The introduction of railroads into England and the United States marks a -great era in the progress of these two nations, not to say that of the -whole world, though the event is of comparatively recent date, as the -following account taken from a recent issue of the New York _Tribune_ -goes to show: - -“The Chicago _Record_ says that Edward Entwistle who has lived in Des -Moines, Iowa, for forty years, ran the first passenger engine. He was -born at Tilsey’s Banks, Lancashire, England, in 1815, and was -apprenticed to the Duke of Bridgewater, who had large machine shops at -Manchester. The first railroad for general passenger and freight -business was completed in 1831, between Manchester and Liverpool, a -distance of thirty-one miles. The Rocket, the first locomotive or -passenger engine, was built under the direction and according to the -plans of George Stephenson, in the works where young Entwistle was -serving as an apprentice. Stephenson engaged Entwistle as his assistant -in the engine. The line being opened for general traffic, young -Entwistle was put in charge of the Rocket, and for two years made two -round trips every day between Liverpool and Manchester, one in the -forenoon and the other in the afternoon. He came to this country in -1837.” - -When Mr. Plant was nine years old, there were only three miles of -railroad in the United States. They were completed in 1827. Now there -are 173,453 miles, and the speed of trains has been increased from ten -miles an hour to more than seventy miles. The sleeping-and parlor-cars -have made travel one of the great luxuries of this most luxuriant -century. The first ocean steamer that crossed the Atlantic was the -_Savannah_, which made the trip to Europe in the year 1819, the year Mr. -Plant was born, and in 1838, the first regular line of Atlantic steamers -was established. - -[Illustration: text decoration] - - - - -[Illustration: text decoration] CHAPTER XVIII. - - Railroads Established--Engineering Progress--Steel, Iron - Steamships--Horse Railroad--Kerosene Oil in Use 1830--Sewing - Machines--Agricultural Implements 1831-51--Sanitary - Progress--Philanthropic and Christian Progress--Higher - Education--Medical Progress--Humane Care of the Insane--Sailors’ - and Seamen’s Home--World’s Fairs--Religious - Reciprocity--Arbitration--Numerous Inventions and - Discoveries--Concluding Remarks. - - -Engineering skill has greatly improved, and by its daring achievements -has added much to the progress of the world during the last forty years. -This is seen in the construction of railroads of vast dimensions, four -of which span our own continent, and stretch over vast prairies, deep -chasms, and great rivers, penetrating through the Rocky Mountains, -seemingly impassable as they rear their snow-capped peaks to the clouds. -The Mont Cenis Tunnel connecting the railways of France and Italy, on -the direct railway route from Paris to Turin, is a marvel of engineering -skill. It is seven miles, four and three fourths furlongs in length. -Fourteen years passed during its construction, and it cost about six -millions and a half of dollars. It was begun in 1857 and completed in -1871. The Saint Gothard Tunnel which runs through a section of the Alps -to Italy, six thousand feet below the top of these mountains, is another -great achievement of engineering daring. The work consumed ten years’ -time, the labor of over three thousand men daily, and cost over eleven -millions of dollars. The Sutro tunnel, in our own Rocky Mountains, was -another grand feat of mechanical progress during the last half of the -century. - -In 1830, the first steel pen was made and the first iron steamship was -built. One year before this, the first lucifer match was made; and nine -years afterwards, envelopes were first used. In 1826, the first -horse-railroad was built, and kerosene oil was first used for lighting -purposes. In 1846, Howe’s sewing-machine was given to the public, but it -took eight years’ hard work to convince the public that the new -invention was of any great value. Many other sewing-machines have since -come into use, but all are modifications of Howe’s. They have -revolutionized the whole “make up” of men’s and women’s wearing apparel, -not to mention horse harness, upholstering, and all departments of life -where fine stitching is called for. The delicate services of this -wonderful machine have increased certain industries a thousandfold, -though at first, like all other improved methods of work, it was -supposed to be the destroyer of these industries, and to bring untold -miseries upon all who lived by the needle. The manufacture of these -machines, sales, and repairs have employed tens of thousands of people, -and added millions to the wealth of a nation; to say nothing of the -comfort and betterment of the life of the people. - -Agriculture has made great strides during the last half century by -reason of the increasing use of scientific methods. Rotation of crops -and artificial manures have preserved the land from exhaustion and -maintained it at a high power of production. Machinery also has added -largely to the facilities for its cultivation. Ploughing, sowing, -reaping, threshing, and other machines have made it possible for the -farmer of comparatively limited means to produce immense quantities of -food for man and beast, so that starvation in almost any part of the -globe can be averted by the over-production in other parts. In 1855, at -a great trial of threshing-, reaping-, and mowing-machines in France, -the American machines gained a complete victory. In 1862, the United -States Government established the Agricultural Department at Washington. -Agricultural societies and colleges, in many of the States, have greatly -advanced this most important department of the nation’s strength. It is -as true now as when the wise Solomon spoke it, “The profit of the earth -is for all: the king himself is served by the field.” A better knowledge -of agricultural chemistry has contributed much to the more profitable -uses of the soil. The sanitary conditions of living have greatly -improved, especially among the poor, during the last half-century. -Underground sewerage in cities, drainage of swampy grounds, removal of -the cesspool which often poisoned the well which supplied the family for -cooking and drinking, and the introduction of pure water in abundance, -cleaner streets, and better homes for the working-classes, have lessened -the death rate about one half. From McKenzie we learn that “In 1842, the -average length of life among the gentry and professional men of London, -was forty-four years: in the laboring-class it was twenty-two years. -Filth and bad ventilation cost England more lives annually than she had -lost by death in battle or by wounds during the bloodiest year of her -history. The annual waste of adult life from causes which ought to be -removed was estimated at from thirty to forty thousand.” Food is -abundant and of great variety in our favored land, and the canning -industry supplies the luscious fruits of summer at low prices throughout -the entire year. - -One noteworthy feature of the progress of the last fifty years is that -it touches all classes; the workingman especially shares largely its -advantages. The general and rapid diffusion of knowledge, by means of -the greatly improved press, is one of the marvels of this most wonderful -age. The “Hoe” octuple press can print 96,000 copies of a newspaper per -hour, or 1600 every minute; the paper travels through the press at the -rate of 32½ miles an hour; is printed, pasted, cut, folded, counted, and -delivered in bundles of twenty-five, automatically. Three of these -presses would be able to print 748,000 eight-page sheets, equal to -forty-two tons per hour of printed matter. - -Mr. Plant might stand on the roof of his office at Twenty-third Street -in New York City, and say, “How changed is this city since I first saw -it when a boy.” It had no horse-cars, no trolley-cars, no cable-cars, no -elevated roads, no large hotels, no buildings of more than three stories -in height, few stores more than twenty-five feet wide. It had no -telegraph, telephone, phonograph, or electric lights,--only oil -lamps,--no asphalt pavements. No steam-cars, no photograph galleries, no -sewing-machines or type-writers, or bicycles, or horseless carriages, or -public baths. No time-lock safes, stem-winding watches. No submarine -cables, or Bessemer steel, or great suspension bridges. In 1820, the -population of New York City was only 123,706; now it is over a million -and a half. In the same time he has seen the population of the country -grow from 9,628,131, (of whom 1,528,064 were slaves) to upwards of -70,000,000, and he has seen the inauguration of nineteen of the -twenty-five Presidents of the United States. The territory of the United -States has nearly doubled during his lifetime, and its accumulated -wealth can hardly be measured during the same period. The development of -our coal mines, iron mines, gold and silver mines, oil wells, natural -gas stored up in the bowels of the earth--these, too, have made giant -strides. The great railroad industries of the country, furnishing work -for hundreds of thousands; the increase and enlargement of our -manufactories, the great cities that have been built, some of them -burned and rebuilt, as was the case with Boston, Portland, and Chicago; -all these have added to the enormous wealth of the nation. In 1831, a -dozen families around Fort Dearborn formed the nucleus of the present -city of Chicago. Minneapolis this summer removed its first house, built -in 1849, to a more convenient place, to be kept as an heirloom of that -city of phenomenal growth. With the increase of wealth, large fortunes -have been accumulated and have enabled their earners and owners to build -the large railroads which have done so much for the development and -progress of the country; to lay ocean cables, and work large mines, -providing work and wages for millions of men. - -The humane and philanthropic progress of this period is seen in the -reforms instituted in prisons. Up to the present century punishment for -crime seems to have been the leading idea of prison management. -Instruction in the common-school elementary branches of education was -introduced with encouraging results. Then libraries were established, -and moral and religious instruction tended greatly to the reformation of -the criminal. Wholesome rules and regulations were adopted. Various -kinds of work, adapted to the prisoners’ intelligence and strength, were -given. Rewards were apportioned for good behavior, which shortened the -period of confinement. Better classification was made of the inmates, -and generally just and kind treatment was instituted. All this had an -uplifting influence on the crushed and degraded men, and turned many -from being the enemies of society to be its friends, and to appreciate -the efforts made for their recovery from lives of vice. Reformatories -for youthful offenders caused their separation from old and hardened -criminals, and caused many of them to become useful members of society. -The first of these was “The House of Refuge” on Randal’s Island, in New -York City. - -The “Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals,” established by -Henry Bergh in New York, proved to be the seed from which germinated -hundreds of other similar societies throughout our country. Later, the -“Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children” has saved many an -unprotected child from inhuman treatment, often received from its own -parents. It is by far the best age of the world for children. Many -millions of dollars are invested in the manufacture of toys and in -preparation of books, papers, and magazines especially devoted to the -interests of children. Life-saving stations along the coast of dangerous -seas have rescued thousands of lives from a watery grave, and saved many -millions worth of property. Travel by sea and land has become one of the -greatest luxuries and means of education in this most enlightened -century. The circumnavigation of the globe is no longer the daring feat -of the skilled mariner. The human race is coming closer together, and is -massing into cities. Clubs are being formed for the discussion of -literary, scientific, æsthetic, historic, political, dramatic, musical, -and social topics, and admit to their membership young and old of both -sexes. - -It is also an age of conventions,--scientific, political, and religious. -Christianity is exerting a mighty influence in various forms. Throughout -the world this is shown by the multitudes it has lifted out of barbarism -in India, China, Japan, Australia, Africa, and made them law-abiding, -peace-loving, and self-governing Christian peoples. Cannibalism and -human sacrifice have now disappeared from the earth, with many other -practices too horrible to name. For the care of the poor and -unfortunate, New York City alone spends annually more than $6,000,000. -It has homes for the aged, for orphans and for half-orphaned children, -also for crippled, and the deformed. Poor women about to become mothers -may go to a suitable institute where medical attendance and trained -nursing are furnished free, or they may have both free in their own -homes. The advance in the higher education, as well as great improvement -in our common-school system, is a marked feature of our times. Most of -our colleges have greatly raised the course of study, and several have -become fully equipped universities, while other new universities have -been added to the number; one in Chicago, two in Washington City, one in -California, and one in Baltimore. Probably the most marked feature in -the education of our time is the throwing open the doors of so many -colleges and universities to women. These have flocked thither to take -equal stand with the men, who have had a monopoly of these privileges -since colleges and universities were founded: and they have entered the -learned professions of medicine, law, and divinity, professions once -thought to be forever barred against their sex. Co-education, the higher -education of women, and their aspiration to lead a professional life, -fifty years ago would have been considered the dream of fanatics only. -Some even now doubt the wisdom of the movement, but, good or bad, it is -here to stay, and will advance with ever increasing velocity. - -There are homes for incurables where their hopeless condition receives -such treatment as not unfrequently returns them to their homes restored -to a measure of health. The blind, deaf, and dumb are kindly cared for, -educated, and made useful members of society. That class once considered -hopeless, women fallen from virtue, are sought out, cared for, and -restored frequently to society, and often become rescuers of their own -sex from like degredation. Discharged criminals are looked after and -provided with temporary homes, and work is sought out for them. The -children of the street are taken up, taught, and placed in homes in the -West, away from the city temptations that were destroying them. For -young men, and now for young women, coming from the country to our large -cities, the Christian Associations find safe lodgings, work, schools, -and churches, and throw around them every safeguard. The reading-room, -gymnasium, lecture course, evening classes, and devotional meetings are -all intellectual and moral forces in character building, and in -preparation for the great work of life. - -The higher education of medical science has made rapid progress during -the last century, and especially during the last half of it. Health -boards have done much in the way of sanitation to prevent disease and -protect communities against epidemics and virulent plagues that have -scourged the world for centuries. The use of anæsthetics has saved an -incalculable amount of agony, and has greatly aided physicians in -improved methods of surgery. Operations are now performed, with almost -universal success, which would not have been thought of fifty years ago. -Improved medical apparatus and instruments for examining the body have -proved of great value in the treatment of bronchial and internal -affections. The Roentgen Ray, which can bring to light the whole inside -of a man, is the latest and greatest discovery of the period under -consideration. The discovery of disease-producing germs or microbes is -worthy of mention in this connection. Pasteur’s cure for hydrophobia has -lessened the dread of one of the most terrible maladies that has -afflicted the human family. - -It might be supposed that humane treatment of those most unfortunate -beings who have been deprived of their reason would be found even in the -least civilized period of the world’s history, but alas! the opposite -has been true. Until within a comparatively recent date it was customary -to confine these poor creatures in jail, along with the vilest -criminals, a custom still prevailing in some places. “In 1826, a young -clergyman, rendered insane by overwork, was found in the Bridewell -Prison of New York, herded with ruffians and murderers. At that time -there was in the prisons of Massachusetts thirty lunatics. One had been -in his cell nine years, had a wreath of rags around his body, and -another around his neck. This was all his clothing. He had no bed, -chair, or bench; a heap of filthy straw like the nest of a swine was in -the corner. He had built a bird’s-nest of mud in the iron grate of his -den.” Many were chained, kept in cages, “whipped, scourged, ironed, shut -in close cells, and left for years in filth, naked, hungry, exposed to -bitter cold, frozen,” had lost toes or feet, and suffered torture until -death ended their misery. All this is happily changed, and medical skill -and intelligent, humane care, have taken its place, with some exceptions -perhaps. Sailors were once the legitimate prey of the worst class of men -and women the world ever produced, when they landed in large cities, -often after most tempestuous voyages, and dangers most terrible to -contemplate. In so-called sailor’s boarding houses they were drugged, -robbed, stripped naked, and thrown out on the street at midnight to -groan and suffer and die. - -Seamen’s Friends Societies and Sailors’ Homes, with hospitals, -libraries, Christian ministry of godly men, and kindly care for the -sick, disabled, or aged sailor until he enters the haven of eternal -rest, is now in all Christian countries the provision made for this -brave man to whom the world owes so much. Similar provision is made for -the old or disabled soldier who has fought his country’s battles. The -“Soldier’s Home” is one of the institutions for which America has reason -to be proud. - -The World’s Fairs, first organized by Prince Albert in London in the -year 1851 and continued in different countries until the present time, -the last and greatest of them all held at Chicago in the United States -in 1893, have done much to stimulate progress in every department of -life, and to strengthen the spirit of friendly reciprocity that should -bind the human family closer together in mutual helpfulness and -good-will. The international congress of all religions held at the -Chicago Fair, the first and only congress of the kind ever held, was in -the line of the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man. - -The bitterness of the sectarian spirit among all Christian denominations -is happily passing away, and a desire for closer relations, even for a -union of all peoples of the Christian faiths, is fast taking its place. -The Roman Catholic Church through its head, Leo XIII., and the Episcopal -Church through its Bishops have both expressed their desire for the -union of all Christian peoples. Arbitration for the settlement of -disputes between labor and capital, and even between nations, is -advancing towards a blessed consummation, and the day cannot be far -distant when peace and good-will among men shall become universal, and -Jesus of Nazareth shall reign, Prince of Peace and King of Nations -through the whole world. Who knows but that the six hundred and one -thousand miles of telegraph in the United States and the one hundred and -sixty thousand miles of submarine telegraph in the world, shall soon -flash the news round the globe, “The Lord is come.” - -The following item taken by permission of Charles Scribner’s Sons from -_The Last Quarter of the Century_, by Andrews, is significant in this -connection: - - “During the great Electrical Exposition in New York City, May, - 1896, a message was transmitted round the world and back in - fifty-five minutes. It was dictated by Hon. Chauncey Depew, and - read--‘God creates, Nature treasures, Science utilizes electrical - power for the grandeur of nations and the peace of the world.’ - Starting at eight thirty-five these words sped over the land lines - to San Francisco, thence back to Canso, Nova Scotia, where they - plunged under the sea to London. A click of the key four minutes - later announced the completion of this part of the journey. - - “Cannon were fired in honor of the achievement, while the throng on - the floor of the Exhibition Building cheered. - - “Meantime, the general manager of the Western Union Company had - despatched the same message over his lines to Los Angeles, - Galveston, City of Mexico, Valparaiso, Buenos Ayres, Pernambuco, - across the Atlantic to Lisbon, and back to New York by way of - London, a journey of ten thousand miles, in eleven and one half - minutes. - - “At nine twenty-five, just fifty minutes from the start, the - receiving instrument clicked and Mr. Edison, for the nonce again a - simple telegraph operator as of yore, copied from it the Depew - message. - - “It had travelled from London to Lisbon, thence to Suez, Aden, - Bombay, Madras, Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Nagasaki, and - Tokio, returning by the same route to New York, having traversed a - distance of 27,500 miles.” - -We have thus tabulated, in the briefest manner, a few of the advances -made in various departments of life during the period covered by this -biography: and we have done so because Mr. Plant loves to recount the -progress of the human family. He has kept in touch with it all, enjoyed -it all, and has himself contributed no small share to its furtherance. -It enhances one’s estimate of the marvellous progress of the age in -which we are living when we think how much has been accomplished in the -comparatively brief period of one life. It gives ground for believing, -too, that the next decade will surpass any that has preceded it, and -that the twentieth century will outstrip the nineteenth as far as the -nineteenth has outstripped any of its predecessors. It inspires the -wish, also, that the subject of this biography may live to enjoy much of -the world’s era of peace and progress in science, art, industry, -philanthropy, and Christian alleviation and uplifting power. May this -very imperfect history of a very instructive life prove helpful to those -taking their place in the onward march of the race towards its great and -final destiny. - -The wish expressed above for the continued health and life of the -subject of this biography was written one year ago, and what follows -affords strong hope of its realization. - -The winter after the Atlanta Exposition found Mr. Plant with signs of -failing health, somewhat alleviated by his sojourn in the South; but on -his arrival in New York in the spring of 1896, he was taken violently -ill and was constantly under the doctor’s care for four or five months. -The next winter he passed in the South, resulting in marked evidences of -improved health. The next spring, however, another malady developed, -greatly impairing health and threatening life for several weeks. Early -in the spring he had so far recovered that he went by rail to San -Francisco, in his own private car, thence by ocean to Japan and China, -and, returning to Japan, spent a large part of the summer there, from -whence he sailed for San Francisco and returned to New York early in -November, nearly all evidences of past diseases having disappeared, and -he has passed his seventy-eight birthday in apparently good health. - -It is needless to say that honors, courtesies, and kindnesses were -liberally tendered him throughout his whole trip in the East, which he -enjoyed to the full. - -The following incident is one among many that occurred to Mr. Plant -during his very interesting tour in the land of the Rising Sun, and -shows how promptly he improved every opportunity that came in his way, -not only for learning all about the customs, manners, and ways of the -Japanese, but of recalling old acquaintances, and renewing old -friendships of his early boyhood in his native State, and town of -Branford. On his return voyage via the Hawaiian Islands, the steamer -stopped for a few hours at Honolulu. Mr. Plant at once set out to find a -Branford lady who had long been a resident in these islands. Soon his -search was rewarded by finding Mrs. Mary Parker, widow of a missionary -of that name, and now in the ninety-fourth year of her age. Mr. Plant -was present at the marriage of this good lady in Branford, Connecticut, -when only a boy of seven, and doubtless some of the happy boyhood -emotions of that occasion came back to him when he clasped the hand of -this aged woman so far away from their native Branford. - - HENRY B. PLANT IN WAR AND IN PEACE. - -Few men are more blessed with a peaceful disposition and an inborn -dislike of the antagonisms that arise so frequently between men and -nations than is the subject of this sketch. Nor has it fallen to the lot -of many to take such an important part in the two greatest wars of our -country. In the former chapters of this biography we have spoken of the -valuable services rendered to both sides of the contestants in our Civil -War by the Plant System, then only in its embryo state of development. -At the banquet given to Mr. Plant at the Atlanta Exposition we heard, -from some of the representative men of the South, patriotic speeches -full of native eloquence, that thrilled us in every fibre of our being. -“Mr. Plant,” said one of the distinguished speakers, “you have done more -to bring the North and South together than any other man living.” Mr. -Plant has been privileged to have a large part in the present conflict -that has completely cemented the whole nation as never before. This is -by no means the smallest benefit that has come to our country out of -this great conflict, for it is as true now as when it was uttered by one -of the greatest American statesmen, “United we stand, divided we fall.” -The following description of the facilities afforded for shipment at -Port Tampa is from the pen of one who is well acquainted with every -foot of land and water about which he writes. - -“The war with Spain directed attention more to Port Tampa than any one -place in the United States. This was for the reason that the largest -military expedition that ever left the shores of the United States was -loaded and sailed from the docks there. The work was done in a very -short time, considering the lack of experience of the government -officials in charge. - -“So much has been said and written about the loading of General -Shafter’s expedition, with its fleet of thirty-six steamships, that the -public will appreciate some detailed information about the immense -facilities which are found ready for use at Port Tampa. This was through -the foresight and business sagacity of the head of the Plant System, for -he built largely for the great business that must pass through that port -at no distant day. - -“The railroad yards of over thirty-six miles of track, at Port Tampa, -Port Tampa City, and Tampa, belong to the Plant System, and have a -capacity of over two thousand cars, leaving working room for all the -business that this number of cars would bring to the place. The tracks -are perfectly arranged, and experienced railroad men say that no -railroad yard in the South will compare with this for conveniences in -handling a big business. The business is in the hands of railroad men -of experience, and no delays were traceable to them. Between Tampa and -Port Tampa is a stretch of nine miles. To illustrate the perfect system -employed in handling the business, it is only necessary to say that from -six o’clock in the morning until 11:40 at night, twenty-six passenger -trains passed over this nine miles every day. Besides this, the freight -trains numbered more than this, comprising the various sections of -regular trains and the large number of troop and supply-trains for the -movement. There was no delay and not an accident. - -“Of the facilities at the docks, as much can be said. It is the only -port in the country where vessels drawing twenty-four feet of water can -come alongside and load in such numbers. There is room for twenty-four -vessels of that draught, three hundred and twenty feet long, to lie end -for end, and receive cargoes at the same time. These steamers are all -loaded from the railroad tracks, just twenty feet removed from the edge -of the pier, and nothing stands in the way of the quick work. Vessels of -less length make it possible to increase the number, and at one time -there were thirteen vessels loading end to end at one side of the pier. -According to this calculation, thirty-two vessels could be accommodated. -At these docks are to be found berths for phosphate vessels where their -cargoes are loaded from electric elevators, which are the latest -improved. Just across the slip is the government coal dock, and here are -electric elevators for handling this business. A large amount of coal is -now stored in these docks for the government. - -“It was not necessary to provide any of these facilities for the -especial purpose of handling the government war business. They were all -there and in use before the war, and the government used them in sending -off this fleet of thirty-six vessels, under convoy of a large number of -war vessels. It was one of the most imposing sights of the age to see -this great fleet steaming down the bay; flags flying and bands playing, -and sixteen thousand American soldiers cheering as they felt the vessels -move over the waters of Tampa Bay, all bound for a victorious campaign -against the enemy. - -“The Plant System has done well its part in the great modern war, and is -equally well prepared to do its part in carrying on the great commerce -between the United States, Cuba, the West India Islands, and all of the -South American countries.” - -The _Marine Journal_ of New York of July 9, 1898, has the following -editorial: - - “PORT TAMPA--Phœnix-like Rose and Met the Occasion--Over Thirty - Troop Ships Loaded and Departed from its Piers--The Largest War - Fleet ever Sent from One Port at One Time in the Nation’s - History--The Port’s Immense Facilities. - -“It would take the entire reading space of the _Marine Journal_ to -describe the great amount of work done at Port Tampa, Fla., in getting -Gen. Shafter’s army afloat, and the exhaustive facilities that were -found by the government to exist there available for this purpose; in -fact, only those who have visited the West coast of Florida within ten -years past have any idea of the extensive improvements that have been -made at Port Tampa by the Plant System with a view to bringing the -commerce of the United States within close communication with the Island -of Cuba, Jamaica, and other nearby Gulf ports. Millions of dollars have -been expended by Henry B. Plant and associates under the supervision of -the best known experts in railroad and harbor improvements that could be -obtained for this object, and the work was near completion when war was -declared with Spain, and the Island of Cuba became the base of -hostilities. - -“Fortunately the government was well informed as to the superior -facilities already in operation at Port Tampa, and the Quartermaster’s -Department of the Army was not slow in recommending this place for the -mobilization of troops and their preparation and embarkation to Cuba -therefrom. The vexatious delays caused by inexperience in handling such -a large body of men and munitions of war, reports of spook Spanish -fleets, etc., are more or less familiar to our readers, as well as the -detail of the fitting out and embarking of over 12,000 troops and their -supplies which were loaded on board over thirty transports at Port Tampa -in a very short space of time. The wharf facilities at some times -accommodated as many as thirteen of these troop ships strung along end -on. - -“Let the _Marine Journal_ readers imagine for a moment that the Florida -terminus of the Plant System of railroads at Port Tampa extends out into -the harbor nearly a mile on two solidly built piers of sheet piling, -earth, and rocks between which is a canal or basin with twenty-five feet -depth of water its entire length, where a fleet of ships can lie and -load or unload from or into cars night and day. The south pier is -seventy feet wide, and has three tracks laid upon it, twenty feet of -this width is set apart for working cargo from car to ship, and vice -versa, also a promenade its entire length, midway of which is the famous -“Inn,” built out over the water, where passengers in transit to Cuba and -Key West, as well as tourists, can enjoy a cool, delightful rest after a -trip by sea or land. One can hardly imagine the amount of transportation -facilities afforded at this immense terminus, with its mile in length -railroad-yard, and Port Tampa is but twenty-four hours sail from Havana -by steamers of fair average speed. The _Olivette_, of the Plant Line, -has frequently made the trip in nineteen and a half hours. - -“There is twenty feet of water on the shoalest part of the bar at the -entrance of the (thirty feet) harbor of Port Tampa, and a very small -expense in dredging, which is now being arranged for, will enable -vessels to enter drawing twenty-five feet. Outside of the harbor, in -Tampa Bay, is a roadstead where the entire naval and transport fleet of -the United States could ride safely at anchor in the fiercest hurricane, -thereby adding another valuable argument for Port Tampa as a naval as -well as an army base. - -“It is a well-known fact to mariners who are familiar with West Indian -and Gulf navigation, that after July 15th, it is necessary to keep an -eye to windward for hurricanes up to the middle of September; then more -or less heavy weather occurs until the middle of March. And here comes -in another great advantage in favor of Port Tampa as against all other -ports in the United States as regards safety from the elements. With the -present able weather bureau, and its complete arrangements for signaling -the conditions of the weather from all important points, there is not -the slightest danger of encountering a hurricane between Port Tampa and -Cuba. The weather reports available make it not only easy to avoid them -through reliable information of their coming, but enables the mariner to -prepare for them in the harbor of Port Tampa or Key West if there isn’t -time to reach Cuba. If the government is wise it will ship no more -troops to Cuba or Porto Rico this season from north or south of -Hatteras, as there is no need of subjecting them to the risk of -hurricanes. Our soldier boys should have as short and comfortable a sea -voyage as possible, and that is only obtainable in first-class shape -from Port Tampa, following down the west coast of Florida, always under -the lee of the land in case of an eastern gale or hurricane.” - -The caution contained in the above against storms, and the desire for a -safe and comfortable passage for our soldier boys, will find a tender -response in many hearts for him who facilitated the embarkation of the -brave men going from their native land to fight a foreign foe. - - - - TESTIMONIAL ACCOMPANYING A SILVER SERVICE PRESENTED - BY THE OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES OF THE - SOUTHERN EXPRESS COMPANY TO MR. AND MRS. H. B. - PLANT ON THE CELEBRATION OF THEIR TWENTY-FIFTH - WEDDING ANNIVERSARY. - -“NEW YORK, July 2d, 1898. - - “TO MR. AND MRS. H. B. PLANT. - - “_The following officers and employees of the Southern Express - Company ask that you accept this ‘SERVICE’ as an evidence of the - affectionate regard in which they hold their honored President and - his Wife._ - - “_It has appeared to them that upon a day commemorative of the - ceremony which twenty-five years ago united in affection your - lives, they should give some enduring expression of the esteem in - which they hold you both._ - - “_They gratefully recognize the wise direction, the patient - forbearance and the friendly counsel of their President, which has - done so much to guide and aid them, in their respective spheres of - duty, and they are equally sensible of the fact that under - advancing years, and multiplicity of duties, only the ceaseless - care and affectionate heed of a devoted Wife has made this - possible._ - - “_They beg that you accept the testimonial in the spirit which has - prompted it, and with the assurance that to your ‘wedded love’ is - indissolubly linked their respect, admiration and affection._ - - “H. Dempsey, J. Cronin, N. S. Woodward, W. J. Crosswell, C. A. - Pardue, Mark J. O’Brien, W. A. Dewees, W. W. Allen, F. G. du - Bignon, W. A. Blankenship, A. M. Richardson, H. E. Williamson, L. - H. Black, J. L. S. Albright, L. Spaulding, A. Montgomery, J. B. - Hockaday, G. C. Crom, F. de C. Sullivan, W. Buckner, W. E. McGill, - G. A. Wilkinson, S. C. Hargis, G. W. Bacot, G. Sadler, C. C. - Wolfe, P. B. Wilkes, W. J. Brown, F. R. Osborne, O. M. Sadler, C. - T. Campbell, V. Spalding, H. C. Fisher, M. F. Plant, F. J. Virgin, - C. Pink, C. L. Loop, W. C. Agee, F. Q. Brown, J. C. Stuart, L. - Minor, R. B. Smith, W. B. Menzies, John Lovette, E. J. Loughman, J. - T. James, W. H. Hendee, S. R. Golibart, E. M. Williams, J. C. - Barry, W. R. Twyman, E. C. Spence, L. Kuder, C. R. Smith, J. B. - Gartrell, M. Culliny, A. Welsh, G. W. Agee, C. L. Myers, W. K. - Haile, W. A. Mehegan, R. G. Erwin, C. H. Albright, W. M. Shoemaker, - H. C. Mendenhall, G. H. Tilley, A. McD. Mullings, J. W. Gaines, T. - W. Leary, C. G. McCormick, W. W. Hulbert, K. C. Barrett, M. F. - Loughman, E. F. Gary, J. J. Crosswell, E. J. Michelin, T. T. - Weltch, Thomas Grier, R. A. Buckner, H. M. Smith, M. J. O’Brien, W. - S. McFarland, E. G. Williams.” - - MR. AND MRS. PLANT’S ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF TESTIMONIAL - AND SERVICE. - - -“NEW YORK, July 2nd, 1898. - - “ESTEEMED FRIENDS AND ASSOCIATES: - - “_Twenty-five years ago, this second day of July, was a very happy - one for us, and, to-day, on our Silver Anniversary, we are most - pleasantly reminded of the occasion by the unexpected receipt of a - handsome token indicative of the affection in which we are held by - those who, during the last quarter of a century, have surrounded - us as friends as well as business associates._ - - “_The sentiments embodied in the testimonial accompanying the very - beautiful ‘Service’ are highly appreciated and accepted by us as an - evidence of the sincere feelings prompting your thoughtful - recollection of this memorable mile-stone in our lives._ - - “_In returning our deep gratitude for your remembrance and kind - expressions, we indulge the hope that we will have many years - together to enjoy the gift which your generosity has provided, and - that while life lasts we may have the friendship of those whose - acts in the past and present have brought them so near to us._ - -“_Very sincerely_, -“HENRY B. PLANT, -“MARGARET J. PLANT.” - - - - - - -[Illustration: text decoration] PLANT GENEALOGY - -PREPARED BY - -G. S. DICKERMAN - - THE PLANTS IN GENERAL - -There are many families of the Plant name. This will be seen on looking -into city directories and running the eye over lists there given. -Accounts show that these families have come from several progenitors who -arrived in this country at different times. - -Attention is paid here more particularly to the descendants of John -Plant, of Branford, Connecticut. But it may be of interest to glance at -certain other families. - -The Plants of St. Louis, Missouri, have occupied an honorable place in -the history of that city during the last fifty years. One of their -number[2] tells of having traced their ancestry back some three hundred -years to the County Palatine, of Chester, in England, where, about 1600, -were two brothers, Samuel Plant and John Plant. From the latter of these -they are descended in the following line: John,^{1} Thomas,^{2} -George,^{3} Samuel,^{4} who married Ann Haigh and lived in -Macclesfield, England, Samuel,^{5} who came to Boston, Massachusetts, -between 1790 and 1800, and married there Mary D. Poignaud, a Boston lady -of Huguenot ancestry. - -This Samuel^{5} Plant was sent out by his uncle, Mr. Haigh, a -manufacturer of woollen cloths at Leeds, to sell his goods, which he -did, with his headquarters at Boston, though he travelled extensively, -going once as far as Charleston, South Carolina. Some years later he -brought over from England plans for cotton machinery and built, in -1808-9, the first cotton factory in Worcester County, Massachusetts, at -Clinton. - -He was the father of six sons and six daughters. The sons were George -P.,^{6} Frederick William,^{6} Samuel,^{6} Alfred,^{6} William M.,^{6} -and Henry,^{6} who all removed to St. Louis, and have been identified -with the enterprise and development of that city since 1840. Of these -sons Mr. Alfred^{6} Plant is the only survivor. - -Another family has a representative[3] in Chicago, who writes that his -branch came from Ireland to Massachusetts early in this century. His -father’s name was Thomas Plant and he had an uncle Robert, who also -settled in Massachusetts. - -Again the name appears in the annals of Newbury, New Hampshire, where -the Rev. Matthias Plant was rector of Queen Anne’s Chapel from April, -1722, till his death on December 23, 1751, a period of twenty-nine -years.[4] Previous to his time the church had been weak, but under his -ministry its position became secure. St. Paul’s Church was built in -another part of the town from Queen Anne’s, and he officiated there -also. His wife was the youngest daughter of Samuel Bartlett, of Newbury. -No further knowledge of this family has been obtained. - -The name occurs twice in lists of persons embarking from England in -early times to settle in the colonies.[5] In one list William Plant is -reported to have died on a plantation in Virginia in 1624. In another -Matthew Plant, who was then twenty-three years old, was enrolled to sail -on the _Assurance_ from Gravesend for Virginia, July 24, 1635. Under the -term “Virginia,” in those times, were included the New England colonies -as well as those in the South, so that it is quite supposable that -Matthew Plant may have settled in New England. - - THE PLANT FAMILY - - OF BRANFORD, CONNECTICUT. - -John^{1} Plant, the progenitor of this family, was a soldier in the -Narragansett war. The Connecticut General Assembly, in October, 1696, -bestowed on the “English Volunteers” in this struggle a tract of -territory six miles square, to be divided among them, which was located -in New London County, and has since borne the name of Voluntown. In the -list of those receiving these grants John^{1} Plant was numbered 59 in -the drawing of “Cedar Swamp Lots.”[6] - -The Narragansett war ended in 1676. Soon after this the name of John^{1} -Plant appears on the records of the town of Branford, January 21, 1677, -when a lot of two acres was granted to him on condition that he should -build upon it within three years. It seems unlikely that he was at -Branford much before this date, for the reason that his name is not in -the lists of residents enrolled in January, 1676. Nor do we find any -others of the Plant name previous to this date. Subsequently his name -occurs a number of times in connection with grants of land.[7] - -He died about 1691, as evidenced by the inventory of his estate taken -June 4, 1691. The valuation of his property was £130 8_s._ 9_d._ - -The indications concerning his family are not altogether clear.[8] He -had a son John,^{2} concerning whom accounts are somewhat full. There -was a Martha Plant enrolled among the members of the church in 1704. She -may have been his daughter. There was also an Elizabeth Plant,[9] who -may have been another daughter. - - CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN - OF JOHN^{2} AND HANNAH (WHEDON) PLANT. - - | HANNAH PLANT |Reuben Whedon - | born July, 16, 1708 |William Whedon - | married |Noah Whedon - | ABRAHAM WHEDON |Hannah Whedon - | |Martha Whedon - | |Submit Whedon - | |Sarah Whedon - | |Deborah Whedon - +---------------------------+---------------- - | JOHN PLANT | - | born September 19, 1711 | - +---------------------------+---------------- - | JONATHAN PLANT | - | born July 29, 1714 | - --------------------------+---------------------------+---------------- - JOHN PLANT, JR. | JAMES PLANT |Solomon Plant - baptized March 3, 1678 | born November 4, 1716 |James Plant - died February 10, 1752 | died February 7, 1795 |Samuel Plant - married |married September 22, 1740 |Stephen Plant - HANNAH WHEDON | BATHSHEBA PAGE |Lois Plant - died Nov. 5, 1754, aged 69| |Ebenezer Plant - | |Sarah Plant - | |Moses Plant - --------------------------+---------------------------+---------------- - | ELIZABETH PLANT |Josiah Parrish - | born August 1, 1720 |Elizabeth Parrish - |married September 21, 1748 |Sibil Parrish - | JOSIAH PARRISH |Hannah Parrish - | |Mary Parrish - | |John Parrish - +---------------------------+---------------- - | TIMOTHY PLANT |Lucy Plant - | born April 6, 1724 |Hannah Plant - | married February 12, 1745 |Timothy Plant - | LUCY PARRISH |Joel Plant - | |Ithiel Plant - +---------------------------+---------------- - | ABRAHAM PLANT |Eli Plant - |baptized September 23, 1727|Electa Plant - | married (1) |Lydia Plant - | HANNAH HOADLEY |Abraham Plant - | married (2) |Anne Plant - | TAMAR FRISBIE |Hannah Plant - | |Elizabeth Plant - | |Rebecca Plant - | |Jason Plant - +---------------------------+---------------- - | BENJAMIN PLANT |Hannah Plant - | born 1732 |John Plant - | died August 11, 1808 |Benjamin Plant - | married (1) |Anderson Plant - | LORANA BECKWITH |Lorana Plant - | married (2) |Peggy Plant - | ABIGAIL PALMER |Samuel Plant - | married (3) |Elias Plant - | LOIS FRISBIE | - - -JOHN^{2} PLANT, JR.--HANNAH WHEDON. - -John^{2} Plant, Jr., son of John^{1} Plant, was baptized at Branford, -March 3, 1678; died February 10, 1752, aged seventy-four; married Hannah -Whedon, a daughter of Thomas and Hannah (Barnes) Whedon, who was born in -1686; died November 5, 1754, aged sixty-nine.[10] - -Their children were born in Branford, and were as follows: - -I. Hannah^{3} Plant, born July 16, 1708; baptized August 7, 1715; -married Abraham Whedon, who died about 1762.[11] - -II. John^{3} Plant, born September 19, 1711; baptized August 7, 1715; -died about 1788.[12] - -III. Jonathan^{3} Plant, born July 29, 1714; baptized August 7, 1715; -living in Branford May 29, 1753, as shown by the “ear mark” for his -cattle entered on the records, May 29, 1753; died before October 7, -1772.[13] - -IV. James^{3} Plant, born November 4, 1716; baptized November 18, 1716; -died February 7, 1795; married, September 22, 1740, Bathsheba Page, -daughter of Samuel and Mindwell Page, of Branford; born January 25, -1715-16; died, at Stratford, January 5, 1803. _Account continued on page -315._ - -V. Elizabeth^{3} Plant, born August 1, 1720; baptized August, 1720; -married, September 21, 1748, Josiah Parrish, son of John and Hannah -Parrish, of Branford.[14] - -1. Josiah^{4} Parrish, born April 6, 1749; married, December 25, 1770, -Thankful Plant, perhaps the widow of Samuel Plant. - -2. Elizabeth^{4} Parrish, born August 3, 1751. - -3. Sibil^{4} Parrish, born March 28, 1753. - -4. Hannah^{4} Parrish, born July 11, 1756. - -5. Mary^{4} Parrish, born June 7, 1759. - -6. John^{4} Parrish, born May 16. 1762. - -VI. Timothy^{3} Plant, born April 6, 1724; baptized May 17, 1724; -married, at Branford, Lucy Parrish. _Account continued on page 317._ - -VII. Abraham^{3} Plant, baptized September 23, 1727; married (1), May -(or March) 9, 1751, Hannah^{4} Hoadley, daughter of John^{3} and Lydia -(Rogers) Hoadley (John^{2}, William^{1}); born May 8, 1733; died April -4, 1755; married (2), January 12, 1763, Tamar Frisbie; born about 1740; -died 1793, aged 53. Children by second marriage, and born at Branford. - -1. Eli^{4} Plant, born August 4, 1763; married, July 8, 1787, Sarah -Stent. - -2. Electa^{4} Plant, born September 27, 1765. - -3. Lydia^{4} Plant, born December 20, 1767; baptized, with the younger -children, May 2, 1784. - -4. Abraham^{4} Plant, born August 3 or 4, 1770. - -5. Anne^{4} Plant, born August 3 or 4, 1770, twin with Abraham. - -6. Hannah^{4} Plant, born March 14, 1773. - -7. Elizabeth^{4} Plant, born October 12, 1775. - -8. Rebecca^{4} Plant, born March 7, 1777. - -9. Jason^{4} Plant, born August 11, 1782. - -VIII. Benjamin^{3} Plant, born about 1732; died August 11, 1808, aged -76; married (1), April 5, 1758, Lorana Beckwith, of Lyme; born about -1736; died March 16, 1789, aged 53; married (2), June 17, 1790, Abigail -Palmer; married (3), December 6, 1797, Lois Frisbie. _Account continued -on page 318._ - -_Authorities._--New Haven and Branford Town and Church Records; Probate -Records at New Haven, Branford, and Guilford; _Atwater’s History of New -Haven Colony_; Orcutt’s _History of Stratford_. - - JAMES^{3} PLANT--BATHSHEBA PAGE. - -James^{3} Plant, son of John^{2} and Hannah (Whedon) Plant (John^{1}); -born November 4, 1716; baptized November 18, 1716, at Branford; died -there February 7, 1795; married, September 22, 1740, Bathsheba Page, -daughter of Samuel and Mindwell Page, of Branford; born January 25, -1715-16; died January 5, 1803, at Stratford, Connecticut. _See page -313._ - -He had a farm near the head of Lake Saltonstall and raised a family, -most of whom left Branford. He was drowned while crossing the lake on -the ice, and his farm was sold by John and Samuel Plant to George -Townsend, of East Haven. His widow seems to have passed the closing -years of her life with their oldest son in the home he had made at -Stratford. - -I. Solomon^{4} Plant, born May 1, 1741; died May 20, 1822; married (1), -November 16, 1769, Sarah Bennett, of Stratford, who died September 15, -1815; married (2), November 19, 1816, Mrs. Esther (Frost) Botsford. -_Account continued on page 320._ - -II. James^{4} Plant, born September 10, 1742; living at Southington, -Connecticut, as late as June 15, 1813, when he deeded land to his son -Ebenezer^{5}; married, January 9, 1772, at New Haven, Lucy Judd, -daughter of Joseph and Ruth (Thompson) Judd, of that place. _Account -continued on page 321._ - -III. Samuel^{4} Plant, baptized February 10, 1745; married, July 2, -1769, Thankful Towner, of Branford. He was lost at sea. - -IV. Stephen^{4} Plant, baptized March 8, 1747; died before February 3, -1808, when his estate was admitted to probate in Litchfield, -Connecticut, and his widow was appointed administratrix. _Account -continued on page 322._ - -V. Lois^{4} Plant, baptized April 2, 1749; died April 21, 1833, aged 84, -at South Hill, Onondaga County, New York; married Obed Fellows, of -Canaan, Connecticut. Their son, Ephraim^{5} Fellows, was the father of -Lucy^{6} Fellows, who became the wife of William Agur^{6} Plant. _See -page 328._ - -VI. Ebenezer^{4} Plant, born October 26, 1751; baptized December 15, -1751; died April or May, 1796; married, August 17, 1774, Esther^{6} -Bassett, daughter of Lieutenant John^{5} and Naomi (Wooster) Bassett -(Samuel,^{6} Robert,^{3} Robert,^{2} John^{1}), residence, Derby, -Connecticut.[15] - -Captain Samuel^{5} Plant, his son, died at Norfolk, Virginia, in 1815. -His wife was Dorothy^{8} Gorham, daughter of Isaac^{7} and Sarah -(Atwater) Gorham (John,^{4} Isaac,^{5} Jabez,^{4} John,^{3} Ralph^{2}, -James^{1}), born February 22, 1775; died August 4, 1832, aged 57. Their -daughter, Sarah Atwater^{6} Plant (born December 4, 1800, died June 16, -1880), married Nathaniel Jocelyn, of New Haven (born January 31, 1796, -died January 18, 1881). - -VII. Sarah^{4} Plant, born May 6, 1754; baptized June 9, 1754. - -VIII. Moses^{4} Plant, born March 17, 1760; supposed to have settled at -Niagara, New York, and died there. He was in the Revolutionary War, -Sixth regiment, Connecticut line, Captain James Prentice, of New Haven; -enlisted, April 20, 1777, for eight months; discharged, January 1, 1778; -also enlisted, February 21, 1778, in the regiment of Artificers, from -Branford, for three years. - -_Authorities._--New Haven, Branford, Guilford, Litchfield, and -Southington Town and Probate Records; Branford Church Records; Orcutt’s -_History of Stratford_; Orcutt’s _History of Derby_; _The Tuttle -Family_; gravestones in Grove Street Cemetery at New Haven; private -records of Hon. Livingston W. Cleaveland, of New Haven, a grandson of -Mr. and Mrs. Nathaniel Jocelyn. - - TIMOTHY^{3} PLANT--LUCY PARRISH. - -Timothy^{3} Plant, son of John^{2} and Hannah (Whedon) Plant (John^{1}), -born April 6, 1724, at Branford; baptized May 17, 1724; married Lucy -Parrish, daughter of John and Hannah Parrish of that place. _See page -314._ - -I. Lucy^{4} Plant, born May 27, 1745; died February 26, 1825, aged 80, -at Saybrook, now Westbrook, Connecticut; married, December 24, 1764, -Daniel Dee, son of William Dee, of Saybrook; born about 1739; died -August 23, 1823, aged 84. Their gravestone is in the old cemetery at -Westbrook. - -II. Hannah^{4} Plant, born March 15, 1747; married, at Saybrook, Jared -Baldwin, son of Jerjah Baldwin, of Milford, where they afterward lived -and are mentioned in the records, November 30, 1819, as occupying their -house with their daughter, Hannah Bassett. _See The Baldwin Genealogy._ - -III. Timothy^{4} Plant, born July 4, 1750; married, 1770, Mary Ann -Colberth, who died about 1788, residence, Litchfield, Connecticut. -_Account continued on page 323._ - -IV. Joel^{4} Plant, born March 25, 1753. He is supposed to have died -young. - -V. Ithiel^{4} Plant, born in 1755; married, November 20, 1783, at -Saybrook, Connecticut, Hannah Denison, daughter of George and Jemima -(Post) Denison of that place; born October 25, 1758.[16] - -_Authorities._--Town and Probate Records at Deep River; gravestone at -Westbrook; _Early Connecticut Marriages_, by F. W. Bailey; _The Baldwin -Genealogy_; _Record of Connecticut Men in the War of the Revolution_; -United States Pension Records as given by Commissioner Evans. - - BENJAMIN^{3} PLANT--LORANA BECKWITH. - -Benjamin^{3} Plant, son of John^{2} and Hannah (Whedon) Plant -(John^{1}), born, about 1732, at Branford; died August 11, 1808, aged -76; married (1), April 5, 1758 (by Rev. Philemon Robbins), Lorana -Beckwith, of Lyme, Connecticut; born about 1736; died March 16, 1789, -aged 53; married (2), June 17, 1790, Abigail Palmer; married (3), -December 6, 1797, Lois Frisbie. He lived in Branford and his children -were born there. _See page 315._ - -I. Hannah^{4} Plant, born January 26, 1759; baptized April 25, 1759; -married, June 30, 1779, John Russell. - -II. John^{4} Plant, born December 1, 1761; baptized January 17, 1762; -removed to Seneca Lake, New York; was twice married but left no -children. - -III. Benjamin^{4} Plant, born October 1, 1763; died 1812; married, 1787, -Lucinda Potter, daughter of Captain Stephen and Sarah (Lindley) Potter; -born April 4, 1767, at Branford; died June 26, 1848. They removed to -Utica, New York, about 1795. - -1. Sally^{5} Plant, born 1790; died 1808. - -2. Stephen^{5} Plant, died 1793. - -3. Benjamin^{5} Plant, born April 28, 1794; died August 7, 1876; -married, April 7, 1823, Sarah Mason, daughter of Arnold and Mercy Mason, -1798-1879. - -4. James^{5} Plant, born June 16, 1798; died January 5, 1860; married, -November 27, 1833, Hannah A. Mason, daughter of Arnold and Mercy Mason; -born 1812. - -5. John^{5} Plant, born June 16, 1789; died young. - -6. Mary Eliza^{5} Plant, born June 9, 1800; died March 1, 1886; married, -September 9, 1820, Roswell Keeler, son of Timothy and Luranay (DeForest) -Keeler; 1791-1864. - -7. Frederick^{5} Plant, born April 27, 1810; died January 31, 1884. - -IV. Anderson^{4} Plant, born November 18, 1765; baptized November 24, -1765; was drowned in the Susquehanna River at the age of about 25.[17] - -V. Lorana^{4} Plant, baptized August 30, 1767; married Henry Garret and -went to Trenton Falls, New York. Their son Orrin Garret was a printer, -and one of the early missionaries to the Sandwich Islands. - -VI. Peggy^{4} Plant, born May 26, 1769; baptized June 4, 1769; married, -March 23, 1793, Jonathan Frisbie. - -VII. Samuel^{4} Plant, born April 1, 1772; baptized April 12, 1772; died -July 29, 1862, aged 90; married, February 11, 1795, Sarah Frisbie; born -May 15, 1774; died August 25, 1841, aged 67. _Account continued on page -324._ - -VIII. Elias^{4} Plant, baptized August 7, 1774; married (1), March 31, -1799, Ruhama Hall, daughter of Elias and Ruhama Hall, and widow of -Thomas Trowbridge; born January 16, 1776; married (2), November 10, -1843, Lydia Linsley. _Account continued on page 325._ - -_Authorities._--Town, Church, and Probate Records at Branford and -Guilford; _History and Genealogy of the Potter Family_, Part V., p. 6. - - SOLOMON^{4} PLANT--SARAH BENNETT. - -Solomon^{4} Plant, son of James^{3} and Bathsheba (Page) Plant -(John,^{2} John^{1}), born, May 1, 1741, at Branford; died, May 20, -1822, at Stratford; married (1), November 16, 1769, Sarah Bennett, of -Stratford, who died September 15, 1815; married (2), November 19, 1816, -Mrs. Esther (Frost) Botsford.[18] _See page 315._ - -I. Hannah^{5} Plant, born October 25, 1770; married, October 7, 1787, -Asa Benjamin; born December 2, 1763. - -II. Sarah^{5} Plant, born January 5, 1775; died August 14, 1857; -married, September 10, 1797, Daniel Judson; born November 24, 1763; died -October 4, 1847. - -III. Cata^{5} Plant, born December 30, 1777; died January 16, 1778. - -IV. David^{5} Plant, born March 29, 1783; died October 18, 1851; -married, December 5, 1810, Catharine^{6} Tomlinson; born October 9, -1787; died June 2, 1835. _Account continued on page 327._ - -_Authorities._--Rolls of Soldiers in the State of New York; Orcutt’s -_History of Stratford_. - - JAMES^{4} PLANT--LUCY JUDD. - -James^{4} Plant, son of James^{3} and Bathsheba (Page) Plant (John,^{2} -John^{1}), born September 10, 1742, at Branford; died May 16, 1814; -married, January 9, 1772, at New Haven, Lucy Judd, daughter of Joseph -and Ruth (Thompson) Judd; born 1742; died August 17, 1822. _See page -315._ - -I. Lucy^{5} Plant, born May 14, 1773; died May, 1863. - -II. Joseph^{5} Plant, born March 26, 1775; died March 30, 1803. - -III. Rebekah^{5} Plant, born February 6, 1778; died September, 1862. - -IV. James^{5} Plant, born February 16, 1781; died March 23, 1806; -residence, Harwinton. Litchfield records say that he left a wife, Nancy, -and an infant daughter, Laura. - -V. Sally^{5} Plant, born April 14, 1784; died May 23, 1874; married, -February 5, 1803, Zephi Brockett, son of Amos and Lucy (Dutton) -Brockett. _See “The Tuttle Family,” page 547._ - -VI. Ebenezer^{5} Plant, born January 10, 1787; died April 30, 1821, at -Southington, married, August 29, 1809, Lydia Neale, daughter of Jeremiah -and Anna (Fuller) Neale, of that place; born January 29, 1788; died -February 22, 1857. _Account continued on page 329._ - -VII. Vesta^{5} Plant, born March 23, 1791; died January 30, 1815. - -_Authorities._--Town and Probate Records at Branford, Guilford, New -Haven, and Southington; gravestones in Quinnipiack Cemetery at -Plantsville; Letter of Mr. F. H.^{7} Plant. - - STEPHEN^{4} PLANT--REBECCA ----. - -Stephen^{4} Plant, son of James^{3} and Bathsheba (Page) Plant -(John,^{2} John^{1}), baptized March 8, 1747, at Branford; died before -February 3, 1808, when his estate was admitted to Probate in Litchfield, -Connecticut, and his widow, Rebecca Plant, was appointed -administratrix.[19] _See page 316._ - -I. Naomi^{5} Plant, born September 2, 1776. - -II. Jerusha^{5} Plant, born May 17, 1778. - -III. Orpah^{5} Plant, born July 24, 1780. - -IV. Stephen^{5} Plant, born June 25, 1782. - -V. Ruel^{5} Plant, born March 21, 1785; married (1), September 18, 1807, -Phebe Spinyer; married (2), October 30, 1842, Hutsah Williams. Children -by the first marriage, and born in Litchfield. - -1. Isaac^{6} Plant, born August 13, 1808. - -2. Maryan^{6} Plant, born February 7, 1811. - -3. Hariot^{6} Plant, born March 10, 1814. - -4. Stephen^{6} Plant, born January 31, 1817. - -5. Jane^{6} Plant, born February 4, 1819. - -6. David^{6} Plant, born January 30, 1821. - -7. Phebe^{6} Plant, born September 1, 1823. - -8. Charlotte^{6} Plant, born July 1, 1826. - -9. Abigail^{6} Plant, born October 21, 1828. - -VI. Rebecca^{5} Plant, born May 21, 1787. - -VII. Ammi^{5} Plant, born November 5, 1789; married, December 7, 1820, -Mary Barney, of Litchfield, the service being by Rev. Isaac Jones, of -St. Michael’s Church. - -VIII. Isaac^{5} Plant, born March 31, 1793. - - TIMOTHY^{4} PLANT--MARY ANN COLBERTH. - -Timothy^{4} Plant, son of Timothy^{3} and Lucy (Parrish) Plant -(John,^{2} John^{1}), born July 4, 1750, at Branford; died about 1777; -married, 1770, Mary Ann Colberth.[20] _See page 317._ - -I. Margaret^{5} Plant, born December 11, 1771; married a Gleason. - -II. Timothy^{5} Plant, born January 3, 1773; died April 7, 1836, aged -63; married, January 3, 1795, Chloe Dickerman, of New Haven. _Account -continued on page 330._ - -III. Lucy Parrish^{5} Plant, born November 6, 1774; married a Dickinson -and went to the West. - -IV. Joel^{5} Plant, born August 22 (or 24), 1776; died 1853, at -Meridian, New York. _Account continued on page 332._ - -V. Avis^{5} Plant, born 1777; unmarried; resided in Richmond, Virginia, -for some years and died there. - -_Authorities._--Town and Probate Records at Litchfield; _Connecticut -Soldiers in the War of the Revolution_; Family Records and Traditions. - - SAMUEL^{4} PLANT--SARAH FRISBIE. - -Samuel^{4} Plant, son of Benjamin and Lorana (Beckwith) Plant, born -April 1, 1772; baptized April 12, 1772, at Branford; died July 29, 1862, -aged 90; married, February 11, 1795, Sarah^{6} Frisbie, daughter of -Joseph^{5} and Sarah (Rogers) Frisbie (Joseph,^{4} Joseph,^{3} John,^{2} -Edward^{1}); born May 15, 1774; died August 25, 1841, aged 67. They -lived at Branford. He served as a coastguard in the War of 1812. _See -page 320._ - -I. Anderson^{5} Plant, born January 2, 1796; died October 29, 1826, aged -30; married, December 23, 1818, Betsey Bradley, of Branford. _Account -continued on page 335._ - -II. Polly^{5} Plant, born October 16, 1798; died April 20, 1800. - -III. Sally^{5} Plant, born September 17, 1801; married Judah Frisbie, a -merchant in New Haven. - -IV. John^{5} Plant, born May 19, 1806; died May 22, 1881; married -Angelina Beach, daughter of Asher S. and Statira (Baldwin) Beach; born -October 9, 1807; died January 13, 1883. He was a deacon of the church. - -1. Mary E.^{6} Plant, born October 13, 1826; died September 19, 1879; -married, November 9, 1852, William Norton. - -2. Anderson W.^{6} Plant, born March 21, 1829; died June 22, 1847. - -3. Sarah J.^{6} Plant, born July 24, 1831; died May 30, 1846. - -4. George W.^{6} Plant, born March 12, 1833; married, October 6, 1857, -Eliza E. Lane, of New Haven; born November 16, 1832; she died March 17, -1895. - -5. John B.^{6} Plant, born May 5, 1836; died December 28, 1836. - -6. Angelina B.^{6} Plant, born December 24, 1838; died July 20, 1841. - -7. Angelina B.^{6} Plant, married, October 5, 1858, Henry T. Swift. - -8. Emily S.^{6} Plant, born August 9, 1842; died June 11, 1856. - -9. Elizabeth R.^{6} Plant, baptized August 9, 1846; married, July 12, -1871, Edward A. Anketelle. - -10. John A.^{6} Plant, born April 7, 1848; died September 16, 1852. - -V. Mary R.^{5} Plant, born October 9, 1808; died October 1, 1825, aged -17. - -VI. Samuel Orin^{5} Plant, born June 24, 1815; married, February 26, -1839, Mary Ann Blackstone, daughter of Captain James Blackstone. - -1. Ellen Blackstone^{6} Plant. - -2. Sarah Frisbie^{6} Plant, married Hon. Lynde Harrison, residence, New -Haven. - -_Authorities._--Town and Church Records at Branford; gravestones at -Branford; Family Records; _Baldwin Genealogy_; Rokeby’s _History of New -Haven County_. - - ELIAS^{4} PLANT--RUHAMAH HALL. - -Elias^{4} Plant, son of Benjamin^{3} and Lorana (Beckwith) Plant -(John,^{2} John^{1}), baptized August 7, 1774, at Branford; married (1), -March 31, 1799, Ruhamah Hall, daughter of Elias and Ruhamah Hall,[21] -and widow of Thomas Trowbridge; born January 16, 1776; married (2), -November 10, 1843, Lydia Linsley. The children were by the first -marriage. _See page 320._ - -I. William^{5} Plant, born January 4, 1800; baptized with the four -younger children, September 30, 1810, at Branford; married Polly Beach, -daughter of Asher S. and Statira (Baldwin) Beach. Children born at -Branford. - -1. Anna Louisa^{6} Plant, born February 14, 1832. - -2. Alonzo Austin^{6} Plant, born October 27, 1834; married, July 2, -1857, Elizabeth Mary Hough, of New Haven. - -3. Edwin Ezra^{6} Plant, born February 6, 1837. - -4. Margaret^{6} Plant. - -5. Lucerne^{6} Plant. - -6. William^{6} Plant. - -7. Albert E.^{6} Plant married Bessie Upson, of East Haven, and had two -children, Albert C. Plant and Mabel M. Plant. - -II. Mary^{5} Plant, born September 3, 1801. - -III. Thomas^{5} Plant, born April 14, 1804; died about 1873; married -Sarah Chidsey. His will, dated April 4, 1867, proved June 26, 1873, -appoints his brother James executor, and bequeaths all his estate to his -sister, Jane Maria^{5} Plant; residence, Guilford. - -IV. Edward^{5} Plant, born September 8, 1806; married, September 13, -1831, Harriette Jennette^{7} Street, daughter of Elnathan^{6} and -Clarissa (Morris) Street (Nicholas,^{5} Elnathan,^{4} Samuel,^{3} -Samuel,^{2} Nicholas^{1}); born July 8, 1807; died June 14, 1866. - -1. De Forest Edward^{6} Plant, born June 27, 1832; died March 7, 1875; -married, June 16, 1857, (by Rev. H. W. Beecher at Plymouth Church in -Brooklyn), Harriet Ely, daughter of C. H. Ely, of Hanover, New Jersey. - -2. Harriet Evelina^{6} Plant, born January 18, 1834; died January 13, -1837. - -3. Marian Albertina^{6} Plant, born April 1, 1839; died November, 1863; -married James La Hon. - -4. Ella Alexina^{6} Plant, born July 29, 1849; died 1864. - -V. Jane^{5} Plant, born March 1, 1808. - -VI. James^{5} Plant, baptized April 28, 1811. - -VII. Harriet^{5} Plant, baptized May 23, 1813; married, February 28, -1839, James Morris. - -VIII. Julianna^{5} Plant, baptized July 22, 1815; married, August 6, -1839, James T. Leete. - -IX. Elias^{5} Plant, baptized June 27, 1817; married, December 31, 1848, -Delia E. Beach. He died, and she married, November 24, 1874, Henry -Doolittle. - -1. Jane Frances^{6} Plant, baptized September 3, 1851. - -X. Jane Maria^{5} Plant, baptized July 4, 1819. - -_Authorities._--Town and Probate Records; _The Trowbridge Family_; _Hall -Family Record_; _The Street Genealogy_. - - DAVID^{5} PLANT--CATHARINE TOMLINSON. - -David^{5} Plant, son of Solomon^{4} and Sarah (Bennett) Plant -(James,^{3} John,^{2} John^{1}), born March 29, 1783, at Stratford; died -October 18, 1851; married, December 5, 1810, Catharine^{6} Tomlinson, -daughter of Dr. William Agur^{5} and Phebe (Lewis) Tomlinson (Agur,^{4} -Zechariah,^{3} Agur,^{2} Henry^{1}); born October 9, 1787; died June 2, -1835.[22] _See page 321._ - -I. William Agur^{6} Plant, born November 21, 1811, at Stratford; died -January 29, 1898, aged 86, at Syracuse, New York; married (1), April 29, -1832, Lucy Fellows, daughter of Ephraim Fellows, and granddaughter of -Obed and Lois (Plant) Fellows; she died in 1883, after a married life of -over fifty-one years, and he married (2), September 5, 1886, Abbie -Healey.[23] - -II. Catharine Tomlinson^{6} Plant, married John W. Sterling, son of -David and Deborah (Strong) Sterling, residence, Stratford, Connecticut. - -III. Sarah Elizabeth^{6} Plant, married Lauren Beach, residence, -Marcellus, New York. - -IV. Henry^{6} Plant, married Eudocia ----. He was prominent as a business -man in Minneapolis, Minnesota. - -V. John David^{6} Plant, died February 29, 1860, at St. Anthony, -Minnesota, where he was in business. - -_Authorities._--Orcutt’s _History of Stratford_; _The Syracuse Press_; -Letter of Mrs. W. T. Plant, of Syracuse. - - -EBENEZER^{5} PLANT--LYDIA NEALE. - -Ebenezer^{5} Plant, son of James^{4} and Lucy (Judd) Plant (James,^{3} -John,^{2} John^{1}), born January 10, 1787; died April 30, 1821, at -Southington; married, August 29, 1809, Lydia Neale, daughter of Jeremiah -and Anna (Fuller) Neale, of that place; born January 29, 1788; died -February 22, 1857. _See page 321._ - -I. Harriett^{6} Plant, born May 29, 1810; died September 30, 1816. - -II. Laura Ann^{6} Plant, born April 20, 1812; died January 4, 1871; -married, June 28, 1831, Alfred A. Hotchkiss. - -1. Edwin P.^{7} Hotchkiss, a manufacturer at Plantsville. - -III. Amzi Perrin^{6} Plant, born July 2, 1816; died July 24, 1874; -married (1), A. E. Shipman, who died April 3, 1849; married (2), March, -1850, Cornelia Dakin. - -1. Adelia^{7} Plant, born June 22, 1843; died July 1, 1846. - -2. Emily C.^{7} Plant, born May 4, 1853; died April 18, 1867. - -3. William Perrin^{7} Plant, born February 8, 1857. - -IV. Ebenezer Howard^{6} Plant, born February 25, 1821; died January 12, -1891; married, September 28, 1843, Hannah K. Ives, daughter of Samuel -and Abigail (Moss) Ives; born January 6, 1823; died August 17, 1873. - -1. Frederick Howard^{7} Plant, born November 15, 1859. - -Messrs. Amzi Perrin^{6} Plant and Ebenezer Howard^{6} Plant engaged in -manufactures in the southern part of Southington, which developed into -large industries, giving employment to many people. The village growing -up about these establishments received their name, and is known as -Plantsville. - -_Authorities._--Southington Town and Probate Records; gravestones in -Southington; Trumbull’s _History of Hartford County_. - - - - TIMOTHY^{5} PLANT--CHLOE DICKERMAN. - -Timothy^{5} Plant, son of Timothy^{4} and Mary Ann (Colberth) Plant -(Timothy,^{3} John,^{2} John^{1}), born January 3, 1773, at Litchfield, -Connecticut; died April 7, 1836, aged 63, at New Haven; married, January -3, 1795, Chloe^{5} Dickerman, of New Haven, daughter of Stephen^{4} and -Eunice (Tuttle) Dickerman (Isaac,^{3} Abraham,^{2} Thomas^{1}); born -July 7, 1773; died May 17, 1850; residence, Litchfield and New Haven. -_See page 323._ - -I. Mary Ann^{6} Plant, born February 17, 1796; died 1852; married, May -19, 1816, Samuel Westcott, of Providence, Rhode Island, died January 28, -1824. - -1. Susan^{7} Westcott. - -2. Mary Ann^{7} Westcott. - -3. Henry P.^{7} Westcott. - -4. George^{7} Westcott. - -II. Benjamin Dickerman^{6} Plant, born February 8, 1798; married, -November 6, 1828, Maria Kaigler, of South Carolina; born December 27, -1805. He was a bookseller in Columbia, South Carolina. - -1. Caroline Elizabeth^{7} Plant, married Samuel Rumph; residence, -Marshallville, Georgia. - -2. George Benjamin^{7} Plant, married Lætitia McGehee; residence, -Marshallville. - -3. Emily Maria^{7} Plant, married William I. Greene; residence, Fort -Valley, Georgia. - -III. Susan^{6} Plant, born September 19, 1800; died August 30, 1801. - -IV. Susan^{6} Plant, born October 21, 1802; died January 20, 1831; -married, November 6, 1828, Timothy McCarthy. - -V. Caroline^{6} Plant, born January 27, 1806; died July 14, 1879; -married, February 21, 1830, Fordyce Wrigley, son of Edward Wrigley, of -England; born January 25, 1803; died October 1, 1846; residence, Macon, -Georgia. - -1. Benjamin Henry^{7} Wrigley, married, January 12, 1864, Lucy Knott. - -2. Julia^{7} Wrigley, married, May 10, 1866, D. H. Peden; residence, -Griffin, Georgia. - -3. Lucia^{7} Wrigley, married, October 31, 1888, A. W. Blake. - -4. William^{7} Wrigley, married (1), November, 1866, Annie Mellard; -married (2), Ida McPherson. - -VI. Timothy Henry^{6} Plant, born February 1, 1808; died January 4, -1871; married, August 28, 1834, Sarah Maria Peck, of Kensington, -Connecticut, born September 14, 1814. He and his brother, Increase -Cook^{6} Plant, were together at Columbia in the store of their older -brother, and from there went to Augusta, Georgia, and established a book -business under the firm name of “T. H. & I. C. Plant.” - -1. Augusta M.^{7} Plant, residence, Macon, Georgia. - -VII. Ebenezer^{6} Plant, born April 28, 1810; died November 26, 1876; -married Adeline Gibbs Nye, of New Bedford, Massachusetts. - -1. Ida^{7} Plant. - -2. Lucy^{7} Plant. - -3. Annie^{7} Plant. - -VIII. A child born April 8, 1812, died young. - -IX. Increase Cook^{6} Plant, born February 27, 1814; died November 16, -1892; married (1), July 24, 1838, Charlotte Walker; married (2), -October 2, 1843, Elizabeth Mary Hazlehurst. _Account continued on page -335._ - -X. A daughter, twin of Increase Cook^{6} Plant, died young. - -_Authorities._--_Families of Dickerman Ancestry;_ Private family -records. - - - - JOEL^{5} PLANT--MARY JORDAN. - -Joel^{5} Plant, born August 24, 1776, in Connecticut; died in 1853, at -Meridian, New York; married, November 27, 1800, at Litchfield, -Connecticut, Mary Jordan, of Woodstock; born December 4, 1776; died in -1846, at Peru, New York.[24] _See page 324._ - -I. John^{6} Plant, born June 26, 1801; married twice; a physician at -Hyde Park, Pennsylvania. - -II. Lorenzo^{6} Plant, born April 17, 1803; died July 2, 1836, at -Orwell, Vermont; married (1), October 7, 1829, Louisa Hall, who died May -9, 1830, aged 21; married (2), October 11, 1831, Harriet M. Cook; born -December 29, 1812; died March 11, 1888, at Georgia, Vermont. (She -married (2), February 13, 1844, Noah R. Parker.) - -1. Azro Melvin^{7} Plant, born May 25, 1835; married, November 29, 1864, -Annie Fairchild, of Milton, Vermont, born March 27, 1846. He was -Assistant Surgeon, 14th Regiment, Vermont Volunteers in the war, and -served in hospitals at Washington, after which he was a druggist at St. -Albans, Vermont. Residence, in 1898, Milton. - -III. Alanson^{6} Plant, born March 28, 1805; died in 1844; married -Betsey Hiscock, of Onondaga Hill, New York; residence, Kenyonville, New -York. - -IV. Althea Mariah^{6} Plant, born May 7, 1807; died June 27, 1862; -married William M. Taylor (died December, 1850), who had previously -married her sister Mary, who died; residence, Dudley, Massachusetts. - -1. Mary P.^{7} Taylor, born August 11, 1839; died July 2, 1843. - -2. William A.^{7} Taylor, born about 1841; died July 20, 1864. - -3. Martha O.^{7} Taylor, born January 15, 1843; died August 2, 1848. - -4. Mary A.^{7} Taylor, born November 2, 1844; married, October 19, -1871, ---- Prentice, Norwich, Connecticut. - -5. Helen^{7} Taylor, born July 27, 1846; married Henry Holt; residence, -Hartford, Connecticut. - -6. Hyram^{7} Taylor, born July 27, 1846; died July 22, 1863. - -7. Annie Maria^{7} Taylor, born November 2, 1847; died July 19, 1849. - -8. Lorenzo P.^{7} Taylor, born December, 1850; died March 30, 1851. - -V. Almira^{6} Plant, born April 30, 1809; died December, 1891; married -A. G. Wheeler. - -VI. Mary^{6} Plant, born March 8, 1811; died 1837, at New Boston, -Connecticut; married William M. Taylor. - -VII. Lucy^{6} Plant, born June 26, 1813; died 1843, at Peru, New York. - -VIII. A. Joel^{6} Plant, born May 15, 1815; died 1872, in Cortland -County, New York; married, 1845, Margaret Phillips, of Locke, New York. - -1. Adin^{7} Plant, residence, Binghamton, New York. - -2. Leona^{7} Plant, residence, Binghamton, New York. - -IX. Lauren P.^{6} Plant, born March 7, 1817, in Rutland County, Vermont; -died at Cicero, New York, January 29, 1898; married, February 25, 1836, -Mrs. Sarah R. Smiley, of that place, who died there December 5, 1877. He -was a Republican in politics and held the offices, at different times, -of Town Clerk, Constable, and Deputy Sheriff. - -1. Byron^{7} Plant, born April 29, 1839; married, September 25, 1861, -Minerva Saunders. - -2. Mary Elizabeth^{7} Plant, born January 18, 1842, at Sullivan, New -York; died February 25, 1891; married, April 11, 1867, Job Fuller, of -Syracuse. - -3. Almira^{7} Plant, born September 2, 1844, at Cicero; married, October -6, 1886, John S. Botsford, of Clay, New York. - -X. Arunah H.^{6} Plant, born October 25, 1819; died September 5, 1873; -married, April 19, 1848, at Maumee, Ohio, Mrs. Amelia Lane. In 1866 he -wrote to his niece in Vermont, “I have not accumulated much of this -world’s goods, but have a pleasant home and am contented.” - -1. Mary Sedate^{7} Plant, born December 31, 1848; married, January, -1885, J. M. McCann, of Toledo, Ohio. - -2. Helen M.^{7} Plant, born September 12, 1850; married, September 1, -1880, Elijah Lee Jaquis. - -_Authorities._--Letters from members of the family. - - - ANDERSON^{5} PLANT--BETSEY BRADLEY. - -Anderson^{5} Plant, son of Samuel^{4} and Sarah (Frisbie) Plant -(Benjamin,^{3} John,^{2} John^{1}), born January 2, 1796, at Branford; -died there October 29, 1826[25]; married, December 23, 1818, Betsey^{6} -Bradley, daughter of Levi^{5} and Lydia (Beach) Bradley (Timothy,^{4} -Daniel,^{3} Isaac,^{2} Francis^{1}), born August 28, 1799; died January -20, 1886, at New Haven. She married (2), Philemon Hoadley, born March -31, 1797, at Southampton, Massachusetts; died January 28, 1862, at New -Haven. _See page 324._ - -I. Henry Bradley^{6} Plant, born October 27, 1819; married (1), -September 25, 1843, Ellen E. Blackstone, who died February 28, 1861; -married (2), July 2, 1873, Margaret Josephine Loughman, only daughter of -Martin Loughman of New York City. _Account continued on page 336._ - -II. Eliza Ann^{6} Plant, baptized September 26, 1824, died young. - -_Authorities._--Branford and Guilford Town and Probate Records; _The -Hoadley Family_. - - - INCREASE COOK^{6} PLANT--MARY E. HAZLEHURST. - -Increase Cook^{6} Plant, son of Timothy^{5} and Chloe (Dickerman) Plant -(Timothy,^{4} Timothy,^{3} John,^{2} John^{1}), born February 27, 1814, -at New Haven; died July 23, 1883, at Macon, Georgia; married (1), July -24, 1838, Charlotte Walker, of Leamingston, Vermont, who died March 12, -1839; married (2), October 2, 1843, Elizabeth Mary^{5} Hazlehurst, -daughter of Robert^{4} and Elizabeth Pettingale (Wilson) Hazlehurst -(Robert,^{3} Isaac,^{2} Robert^{1}), born April 20, 1819, at Brunswick, -Georgia; died July 23, 1883, at Macon. - -Beginning business in a bookstore with his brother at Augusta, Georgia, -he soon entered upon a banking business, which he followed at Columbus -and Brunswick, and finally at Macon, where his name is held in honor not -only as a banker but as an influential, public-spirited citizen. _See -page 331._ - -I. Mary Hazlehurst^{7} Plant, married, October 6, 1875, Marshall de -Graffenried; residence, Atlanta, Georgia. - -II. Robert Hazlehurst^{7} Plant, born December 21, 1847; married, July -25, 1871, Margaret Redding Ross, daughter of John Bennett and Martha -(Redding) Ross, of Macon. He succeeded his father in the banking -business, and has engaged in other enterpises, insurance and -manufacturing, which are highly prosperous. - -III. George Henry^{7} Plant, married Minnie Leila Wood; residence, -Macon, where he is engaged in banking in the firm with his brother. - -IV. Elizabeth Wilson^{7} Plant, married Alonzo D. Schofield; residence, -Macon. - - - HENRY BRADLEY^{6} PLANT--{ELLEN E. BLACKSTONE. - {MARGARET J. LOUGHMAN. - -Henry Bradley^{6} Plant, son of Anderson^{5} and Betsey (Bradley) Plant -(Samuel,^{4} Benjamin,^{3} John,^{2} John^{1}), born October 27, 1819, -at Branford; married (1), September 25, 1843, Ellen E.^{7} Blackstone, -daughter of Captain James^{6} and Sarah (Beach) Blackstone (Timothy,^{5} -John,^{4} John,^{3} John,^{2} Rev. W. T.^{1}); born February 21, 1821; -died February 28, 1861; married (2), July 2, 1873, Margaret Josephine -Loughman, only daughter of Martin Loughman, of New York City. _See page -335._ - -I. A boy; ----, born ----, died June 17, 1846, aged 17 mo., 4 days. - -II. Morton F.^{7} Plant, born August 18, 1852; married Nellie^{7} -Capron, daughter of Col. F. B.^{6}; Capron, of Baltimore, Md. They have -a son, Henry Bradley^{8} Plant, Jr., born May 18, 1895. - -Banfield^{1} Capron, born in Chester, England, in 1640. In 1654 he came -to America, to Barrington, Mass.; married a lady named Callender, of -Rehoboth, Mass. They had twelve children, six sons and six daughters. He -died August 20, 1752; gravestone in Attleboro. - -Jonathan^{2} Capron, farmer, sixth son, of Attleboro, Mass., born March -11, 1705; married Rebecca Morse, who died August 29, 1772. (See -gravestone, Attleboro.) They had eight children. - -Elisha^{3} Capron, third son, married Abigail Makepeace, of Norton, -Mass., and resided at Attleboro, Mass.; had nine children. - -Seth^{4} Capron, first son, born September 23, 1762; married Eunice -Mann, of Attleboro, Mass., daughter of Jesse Brown, of Cumberland, R. I. -They had six children. Fought in the Revolutionary War; died at Walden, -Orange County, N. Y., September 4, 1835. - -Newton Mann^{5} Capron, first son, born August 24, 1791, at Cumberland, -R. I.; married Maria Brown, May 29, 1815; had two children. - -Francis Brown^{6} Capron, first son, born May 17, 1816; married Olivia -Royston at Baltimore, Md., and had three children. - -Nellie^{7} Capron, first daughter; married Morton Freeman^{7} Plant, -June 23, 1887. - -[Illustration: text decoration] - - - - -[Illustration: text decoration] INDEX. - - -Adams Express Company, organized March, 1853, and April, 1854; - list of shareholders, 52; - in 1861 this company sold and transferred its entire interests in - the South to H. B. Plant, 54 - -Atlanta Exposition of 1895, object of, 157; - Mr. Plant’s interest in, and exhibit at, said Exposition, 157, 158; - “Plant Day” at the Exposition; - Mr. Plant’s seventy-eighth birthday; - importance of “Plant Day,” 159; - Plant System described, 160; - opening up of Florida by this System, 161; - purchase of railroads; - extending the System; - Plant Investment Company, 161, 162; - purchase of railroads and establishment of steamboat lines, 161-163; - steamship line to Canada, 164; - Exposition described by the press; - various newspaper accounts, 221-263; - Atlanta Exposition’s recognition of Mr. Plant’s services to - the Exposition, 253; - he is appreciated, feasted, and honored, 254; - Florida’s truest friend, 254 - - -Blackstone family: William Blaxton - only one in State of Massachusetts; - lived in wilderness among wild beasts and savage men; - Boston Common; - Blackstone’s beautiful character, 23; - Captain Blackstone was father of Mr. Plant’s first wife; - his son Timothy’s gift of a library (memorial to his father); - his education and successful career, 26, 27; - history of Blackstone family in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, - and Branford, Connecticut, 29, 30; - five generations lived and died on the old family farm in Branford; - James a strong character in politics and patriotic service; - Timothy, his son, donor of library, 31-33; - Ellen Elizabeth, second daughter of James Blackstone, married - Henry B. Plant; - Sir William Blackstone, author of _Law Commentaries_, was fifth - cousin of James Blackstone, 34 - -Board of Trade, Savannah, resolutions, 221; - Mr. Wiley’s address, 222; - Mr. Plant’s acknowledgment, 226 - -Branford, Connecticut, purchased from Indians in 1638; - first settled, 1644, by people from New Haven, 15; - first church; - danger from Indians; - records of; - colony from, 16; - John Plum first town clerk; - resembles Harlem, N. Y., in customs, 2; - second church built, its architecture, seating, etc., 17; - its pulpit; - foot stoves, 18; - Rev. Timothy Gillett, its pastor, taught an academy also; - strained relations with his congregation, 19; - he and wife buried at Branford, 20; - this -town rendered patriotic service in Revolution, 20, 21; - once shipbuilding flourished; - seaport town; - seat of colonial governor, 22 - -Bullock, Ex-Governor: description of H. B. Plant, 99-101 - - -Canals: Erie; - Suez, 276 - -Changes that have taken place in the configuration of the globe - during Mr. Plant’s lifetime, 264-269 - -Cotton States, development due largely to H. B. Plant, 165, 248-251 - -Cuba: scenery; - architecture, Moorish, Saxon, and Doric; - Morro Castle; - Santa Catalina warehouses; - mail service by the Plant line of steamers, 114-116 - - -Duelling once legalized, 275 - - -Engineering skill, great achievements of, 279 - -England’s bad laws; - favored the rich; - severe in punishing crime; - cruel treatment of prisoners, 271, 272; - war barbarities, inhuman treatment of soldiers, 272, 273; - educational progress, 275 - - -Frisbee family, sketch of; - Edward Ebenezer; - Elisha; - Professor Levi; - James; - Richard; - John; - Joseph; - President Edward S., of Wells College; - O. L. Frisbee, 4-7 - - -Nineteenth century: demonstration at its beginning, 269, 270; - political and social condition of France, 270; - Napoleon’s bad and good influence on Europe, 271 - - -Penny postage originated, 275 - -Plant, A. P., his industry, religion, and success in life, 1-2 - -Plant, David, 2; - education and career, 3 - -Plant, Henry Bradley: birth and parentage, 1; - descended from J. Frisbee, a major in Washington’s army, 4; - right to join the “Sons of the American Revolution,” 13; - the Plants settled in Branford over two hundred years ago; - their descendants still own the lands of the first settlers; - Anderson Plant, father of Henry B., 35; - died when Henry was six years old, 36; - death of father’s sister, and also Henry’s sister; - Henry’s first recollections of his mother, 36; - enduring and tender impressions of an hour; - poem, 37; - poet’s mother, 38; - the boy Henry’s first day at school, 38; - his courage fails him, 39; - diffident all his life, 39; - his mother’s second marriage, 40; - moved from Branford to Martinsburg; - lived part of the time there with mother and stepfather, - and part with grandmother Plant at Branford, 40; - here he was thrown from a plow horse and badly injured, 40, 41; - testimony of A. P. B., “one of the noblest and best of men,” 41; - parents moved to New Haven, 41; - declined grandmother’s offer of a course in Yale College, 41; - studies under Rev. Gillett and John E. Lovell, 42; - his first attempts at business did not succeed, 42; - in 1837 began as captain’s boy on New York and New Haven - line of steamers, 42; - manly boy, 42, 43; - first experiences in express business, 43; - it was hard at first, but improved after a time, 44; - his development of Southern Express, 44; - enlargement of responsibility by addition of railroads, - steamship lines, and hotels, 45; - Captain Stone’s fondness for young Plant, 45; - marries Miss Blackstone in 1842; - first child died, aged eighteen months; - second son, Morton Freeman, -now associated with his father, 45; - removes from New Haven to New York; - is employed by Beecher Express Co., 46; - next by Adams Express Co., 46; - his mother banked his savings, 46; - bought some New Haven bank stock, which he still owns, 46; - buys a pew in a new church, 46; - stepfather died at New Haven in 1862 or 1863; - failure of his wife’s health takes him to Florida in 1853; - the journey took eight days by three different steamers, 47; - Mrs. Plant’s improved health and return to New York, 47; - landing at Jacksonville, and romantic experiences while in Florida, 48; - lost their way in the woods five miles from boarding-house; - sail in a “dug-out,” 48; - drive in a buggy; - Indian girl, 49; - boarding at the Judson Hotel, New York; - Captain Stone leaves his son in Mr. Plant’s care; - Plant returns South on account of wife’s failing health; - appointed superintendent of Harnden’s Express, at Savannah, 51; - appointed superintendent of Adams Express Company, 1854, 52; - large development of the company under his superintendence; - difficulty of the work, 53; - extent of business of the Southern and Texas Express Companies, - of which Mr. Plant is president, 54; - formed, and became president of, Southern Express Co. in 1861, 55; - death of wife at Augusta, Ga., February 28, 1861; - remains afterward removed to Branford, Conn., 55; - buys a slave, who proves a good nurse to Mr. Plant, 58; - impaired health, and change of climate ordered by doctor; - pass from President Davis to pass through Confederate lines - at any point, 59; - goes to Bermuda, Halifax, and Montreal; - son Morton brought to him; - visits his mother at New Haven, Conn.; - in fall sails for Liverpool; - a stranger in a strange land, 59; - goes to Paris; - courtesy of French officials in passport; - visits Rome, Naples, Leghorn, Barcelona, Milan, and Venice, 60; - travelled in Switzerland, 60, 61; - returned by way of Canada, and was in New York when President - Lincoln was assassinated, 61; - his second marriage and trip to Europe in 1873, accompanied by - his wife, mother, and son, 61; - his third visit to Europe, 1889; - represented the United States as juror in Class Six, at the - Paris Exposition, 61; - medals for Plant System, diploma to Mr. Plant, and many - courtesies extended, 61; - his busy life in Augusta; - difficulties of express work caused by the war; - bravely met and adjusted, 62; - hotel life in Augusta; letter of a friend, 63; - his health fails, 64; - rewards a kindness done to his wife and child thirty-six years ago 65; - his second wife Miss Loughman; - her ancestors; - her interest and impress on some achievements of the System, 67; - Mr. Plant’s intuitive knowledge and keen insight illustrated, 68, 69; - after-dinner speeches, Tampa Board of Trade banquet, 70-72; - Florida Mr. Plant’s hobby; - banquet given him at Ocala, in 1896, at Ocala Hotel, 87, 88; - his reply to many addresses of welcome on the subject, - “The Plant System,” 88-94; - reception, excursion, and banquet given Mr. Plant and - friends by the mayor and leading citizens of Leesburg, 95; - reception next day at Eustis, 95; - his words of cheer to the people who had suffered great - loss from the freeze of the previous winter destroying - their orange groves, 96; - their grateful appreciation of his visit, 96; - honesty, importance of; - testimonies to this quality of his character, 97, 98; - his power and influence over employees and associates, 99; - Ex-Gov. Bullock’s description of Mr. Plant’s ability, - fidelity, and gentlemanly character, 99, 100; - industry and power of endurance, 102-104; - character and manner of answering his large mail, 102-104; - missionary letter from Japan, 103; - his private car; - comfort, elegance of, 103; - old darkie “shining up 100,” 104; - keen intuition, and great power of self-control, 105; - calm, quiet spirit, kindly nature, and efficient performance - of all he does, 105; - testimony of an employee, of respect and appreciation of - Mr. Plant’s character and work for the South, 105, 106; - his calm and kindly spirit saved him the consuming force - of friction which grinds some men, 106; - not a pessimist or recluse; - loves music and social life, 107; - medical benefactor, 107, 108; - much pain saved by medical progress, 108; - Mr. Plant’s share in alleviating suffering, 109; - testimony of physicians to healthfulness of Florida for invalids, 110; - Mr. Plant facilitates travel, and provides hotels healthful - and luxurious, 111-113; - furnishes comfortable transit from Florida to Cuba and Jamaica; - press notices of Mr. Plant and his philanthropic work for - the South in railroads, steamship lines, hotels, etc., 121, 122; - promoted orange-growing by the facilities afforded for getting - the fruit soon and safe to market, 123; - railroads induced many people to settle in the South, 124; - various railroads bought, built, and combined in the Plant System, 126; - steamer _Mascotte_, elegant and comfortable, 127; - railroad topics; - notes, characteristics, and success of his life, 128; - largely a pioneer in his work of opening up the South, 131; - the Plant Investment Company’s president, 132; - his palatial residence in New York City, 132; - never speculates in Wall Street, 133; - analysis of his disposition, temper, spirit, and pleasant manner, 133, 134; - _Home Journal_; - Ocala _Evening Star_; - similar descriptions, 134-140; - his close and constant contact with the Plant System, 141; - notes of his voyage from New York to Key West, 142-146; - also from Port Tampa to Jamaica; - attentions of distinguished people, 146; - Lady Blake’s garden party at King’s House on February 1st, 146, 147; - entertainment and enjoyment at Jamaica, 147-149; - his economical management of the Plant System, 150; - riding in a baggage-car saw expressman handle carelessly - a box marked “glass,” etc.; - gentle rebuke; - saved the man from discharge by superior officer, 152, 153; - generous treatment of an honored employee, 153; - horrors of strikes contrasted with “Plant Day” at Atlanta - Exposition in 1896, 153; - spent over forty years of his life in developing the South, 166; - eulogies on his character and work, 166-168; - “Loving Cup” and other presentations, 169-178; - Mr. Plant’s response, 178-181; - programme of “Plant Day” at Atlanta Exposition, 204, 205; - ringing of the “Liberty Bell,” 206; - services at the Auditorium; - enthusiastic reception, 207; - music and speeches, 208-210; - Mayor King and others, 210-212; - Mr. Plant’s response, 212-217; - resolutions, complimentary, - 217-220; - Judge Falligant’s speech, 220-221 - -Profanity and drunkenness lessened, 275 - - -Railroads: waste of railroad strikes, 150; - losses to employers and employed, 150, 151; - damage to commerce, demoralization of labor, inconvenience - and losses to the public, 151; - no strikes on Plant System, 151; - due to President Plant, 152; - strikes contrasted with “Plant Day” at Atlanta Exposition, 153; - “Plant Day” as described by employees of the System, 154; - introduction to this description, 154-156; - railroads, introduction of in England, and United States, 277; - Edward Entwistle ran the first train in England, came to this country, 277; - railroad mileage in the United States increased from three - miles to 173, 453 in Mr. Plant’s lifetime, 278; - first steamship that crossed the Atlantic; - first regular line established, 278 - - -Southern Express Company formed, 1861, 54, 55; - its relations to and services for the Southern Confederacy; - given the custody of all government funds, it collected - tariffs, and had soldiers detailed for its service, 56; - President Davis’ proclamation for all non-citizens of - Confederacy to leave its bounds; - permission given Mr. Plant to remain and conduct express business, 57: - generous service of the company to soldiers in the war, 65-66; - presentation of silver service by the company to its president, 66; - Southern development due largely to H. B. Plant, 165; - history of the company, 233-236; - the company’s building and exhibit on the fair grounds, 236; - reception in this building to Mr. Plant and friends, 237, 238; - thanks tendered the press, 239; - telegrams and congratulations, 239-241; - honors to Mr. Plant, 243; - list of employees present, 245; - sketch of Mr. Plant published in Atlanta _Chronicle_, 247-248; - slavery abolished, 273 - - -Tampa, progress of, 70-72; - speech of Mr. Plant, 73, 74; - growth of Tampa, Mr. Plant’s share in its growth, 74, 75; - cigar-making industry, 76; - phosphate mines, 76; - the town as Mr. Plant found it in 1885, 77; - description of the great hotel, 78; - grounds, 80; - description of Tampa, streets, buildings, water supply, brickmaking, 81; - population, character of; - Spaniards, Cubans, colored, Americans, 81-82; - Ybor City, its tobacco factories, 82-83; - rapid increase of population and wealth, 83; - colored people thrifty and well-to-do, 84; - own their homes, have schools, churches, and are respected - by their white neighbors, 85; - Port Tampa, its inn, or hotel, open all the year, 85; - good fishing, bass, tarpon or silver king, 85; - Tampa’s boards of trade, health, and education, 86; - Tampa Bay Hotel,--described by W. C. Prime, 183-186; - also by Henry G. Parker, 187-192 - -Tampa Bay, De Soto’s dream, Aladdin’s Lamp, 192-195; - description of the Palace Hotel, architecture, furniture, 196-203 - -Tampa’s historical interest: De Soto landed here on May 25, 1539, - discovers the Mississippi River afterwards, 191; - Navarez obtains grant of land from Charles V. of Spain, 191 - -Temperance societies formed, 273-275 - -Tunnels, 279, 280 - - -Varied progress: steel pens, steamships, iron, lucifer matches, - kerosene oil used, machine sewing, agriculture, 280; - Mr. Plant on roof of office in New York noting progress, 283; - sanitary progress, life lengthened by it, 282; - territorial extension of our country, increase of wealth, rapid - growth of cities, 283-284; - philanthropic and Christian progress; - higher education, better care of the insane, aged, orphans, - sailors, neglected children, seamen, and others by societies, 285, 286; - conventions for mutual counsel in reform and charitable work, - clubs multiplied, social, scientific, 286, 287; - female education, co-education, 287; - homes for all classes of dependent human beings, 288; - progress of medical science, lessening disease and suffering, 288-290 - - -World’s Fairs, International, 291; - arbitration; - better Christian spirit, among all who bear the name, 291; - Electrical Exposition, 292; - message round the world in 55 minutes, 292, 293 - -[Illustration: text decoration] - - -FOOTNOTES: - - [1] George Frisbie Hoar. - - [2] Mr. Alfred Plant, of Webster Grove, Missouri, in a letter of - December 11, 1897. - - [3] Mr. George D. Plant, Principal of the Seward School in Chicago. - - [4] _New Eng. Hist. and Gen. Reg._, April 1886. - - [5] _Lists of Emigrants_, by J. C. Hotten. - - [6] _Soldiers in King Philip’s War_, by George M. Bodge, page 442. - - [7] His name appears, November 6, 1677, as a witness on the record of - a payment. On February 20, 1683, he was given six acres on Mulliner’s - Hill, below the road, on condition of his improving it within two - years. On February 4, 1688, he was given six acres more “on the way - hill,” that is, half way to the iron works at the outlet of the lake. - He was sworn in as a freeman at Branford, April 8, 1690. His lot - was laid out below the path, bounded on the west corner by a great - white-oak-tree, on the north corner by a small walnut-, on the east by - a black-oak-, and by a walnut-tree at the south. - - The original home of the Plants seems to have been near George Plant’s - present residence. The old Plant house was once used as a hotel and - again as a store. A tornado once tore down a fine orchard behind the - house, and overthrew a cider mill near it. John^{2} Plant, Jr., sold - the part of Mulliner’s Hill, which had formerly belonged to Thomas - Goodsell, to Deacon John Rose, July 13, 1713, and bought of John - Goodsell, in 1727, three acres at Mulliner’s Neck. - - [8] Orcutt’s _History of Stratford_ says that John Plant’s wife - was Betty Roundkettle, and that he was probably of the Saltonstall - company, but the authority is not stated. - - [9] Elizabeth Plant married, July 23, 1712, John Coach, also of - Branford, who died about 1728, as evidenced by the Probate Records. - She was appointed administrator, June 14, 1728. The inventory - exhibited June 26th following gives the valuation of his property at - £118 14_s._ 4_d._ The children are named, Sarah, about twelve years of - age, James, ten, Elizabeth, eight, Mary, five, John, three. - - Sarah Coach married, September 20, 1738, Eleazer Stent. - - Elizabeth Coach married, March 9, 1736, Jacob Carter. - - [10] Thomas Whedon, the grandfather of Hannah Whedon, came to New - Haven with John Meigs, who, in 1648, bought the lot on the corner - of Chapel and Church Streets, where the Cutler building now stands. - Before leaving England Thomas Whedon had been bound to Meigs as an - apprentice to learn his art of tanner. He took the oath of fidelity - in 1657; married, May 24, 1651, Ann Harvey, at New Haven; moved to - Branford, and his name appears on the lists of proprietors, January - 17, 1676, as having five children, and an estate valued at £96; he - died in 1691, leaving a wife and five children. Their son, Thomas - Whedon, Jr., was born May 31, 1663, at New Haven, and died in 1692; - his wife, Hannah Barnes, was the eldest daughter of John and Mercy - (Betts) Barnes, and was born December 23, 1670. - - John^{2} Plant became a member of the church at Branford, September 2, - 1716, and Hannah Plant, September 21, 1729. His will is in the Probate - Records at Guilford, Connecticut, dated February 29, 1752, proved - July 7, 1752. It names his wife, Hannah Plant, who was appointed - administratrix, daughters Hannah Whedon and Elizabeth Plant, and sons - John, Jonathan, James, Timothy, and Abraham. The inventory of the - estate places the valuation at £1007 6_s._ 1¼_d._ whereof £891 8_s._ - 11¼_d._ was real estate, of which one hundred acres of land was in - Litchfield. In the distribution, which was made December 19, 1752, - Elizabeth is called the wife of Josiah Parrish. - - The will of Hannah Plant is also to be seen at Guilford, dated - November 31, 1752, proved December 18, 1753, presented by John Plant, - executor. It names sons John, Jonathan, James, Timothy, Abraham, and - Benjamin, and daughters Hannah Whedon and Elizabeth Parrish. The - distribution occurred February 18, 1754, when Hannah was called the - wife of Abraham Whedon, and Elizabeth the wife of Josiah Parrish. - - Benjamin’s name occurs in his mother’s will, but is omitted in his - father’s. - - [11] His will, dated December 22, 1761, proved September 7, 1762, - names wife Hannah Whedon, sons Reuben, William, and Noah, daughters - Hannah, Martha, Submit, Sarah, and “youngest daughter Deborah, that - still lives with me.” William and Noah were minors, and chose their - mother guardian. - - Reuben Whedon’s will, signed March 20, 1806, proved September 23, - 1806, names wife Rachel, son Abraham, of Bolton, grandson Daniel, - son of Abraham. The court appoints Captain William Whedon one of two - commissioners to divide the estate. - - William Whedon’s will, dated February 6, 1821, names daughter Polly - Page, son Captain Ozias Whedon, grandsons William N., Charles R., and - Amaziah H., also five grandchildren, John, Catharine, Andrew, Noah, - and George, children of son Edward Whedon. - - Guardian’s records of Amos Seward, January 20, 1822, and June 14, - 1824, name Charles R. Whedon, minor son of Captain Noah Whedon, of - New Haven, and grandson of Captain William Whedon, with his brother - William N. Whedon, and Lucretia, the widow of Captain Noah Whedon. - - [12] His will, signed at Branford, March 4, 1755, proved March 25, - 1788, names his brother Benjamin executor and sole legatee. - - [13] The deed of Timothy^{3} Plant to his son Timothy^{4} (page 313) - names “heirs of Samuel Baker, deceased, assignee of my late brother - Jonathan Plant, deceased.” - - [14] The will of John Parrish, the father of Josiah and also of Lucy - Parrish, the wife of Timothy^{3} Plant, dated April 5, 1748, proved - April 14, 1748, names wife Hannah Parrish, son Josiah, two younger - sons, Gideon and Joel, and three daughters, Hannah, Lucia, and - Abigail. In the inventory his estate was valued at £471 10_s._ 8_d._ - - [15] On December 25, 1780, he was appointed by the town of Derby to - collect the assessments to raise recruits for the Continental army. - - His will, dated April 1, 1796, proved July 3, 1796, names widow Esther - Plant, two sons, Samuel and David, daughters Lucy, Polly, and Sally. - The estate was appraised at £313 4_s._ 11_d._ and includes seventy - acres of land with a house and barn, in the parish of Great Hills. - - [16] Ethan Plant, of Saybrook, is recorded as in the Revolutionary - army, from May 8, 1775, to December 18, of the same year. - - Ethel Plant is also enrolled as enlisting at New London, May 24, 1778, - in the Third troop of light dragoons, and is described as “a cooper, - stature, 5 feet 8½ inches, complexion light, eyes light, hair dark.” - - On June 5, 1813, Ethel Plant made application for a pension, being - at that time 63 years of age, and a resident of Delhi, New York. The - pension was allowed for six years’ actual service in the Connecticut - troops in the Revolutionary War. - - The town clerk of Delhi writes, January 26, 1898, that no traces of - such a person are now to be found there. - - His marriage was by the name of Ethiel Plant. The various spellings - were no doubt due to the unusualness of the name. - - The home of this family seems to have passed from Branford to Saybrook - soon after the marriage of the elder daughter, devolving on her the - care of her younger sister and brothers. In a similar way, after the - marriage of Hannah Plant to Mr. Baldwin, her home in Milford may have - become a place of frequent resort for her brothers. This would account - in a measure for the marriage of Timothy to a person who seems to - have been of a Milford family, probably that of Humphrey and Margaret - Colebreath. - - [17] Anderson Plant, of Branford, bought three acres of land in - Southington, October 3, 1787, and sold the same to Thomas Stow of - Middletown, April 7, 1788. Witnessed by John Plant.--_Southington Land - Records_, Vol. ii., pp. 302-321. - - [18] He was a soldier in the French and Indian War, enlisted at the - age of 19, April 10, 1760, under Captain Jonathan Baker, in Suffolk - County, “from Brandford, New England, wheelwright.” He served in - Captain David Mulford’s company. On returning from the war he settled - in Stratford, where his children were born. - - [19] On May 5, 1770, he, with John Smith, also of Branford, bought - of Joseph Pickett forty acres of land in Litchfield, for which they - paid £45. Soon after this he removed to Litchfield, and on July 13 - following the land was divided, and he took the north half. Here he - seems to have lived and reared his family. - - [20] He removed to Litchfield, Connecticut, about 1772, the occasion - for which was as follows: On June 26, 1734, his grandfather, - John^{2} Plant, bought of Josiah Rogers, of Branford, a tract of - one hundred acres of land in Litchfield on the west side of the - Waterbury River. This land remained undivided at the settlement of - John^{2} Plant’s estate, and passed in this manner to his six sons. - Of these, Timothy^{3} Plant sold his share of one sixth to his son - Timothy,^{4} October 7, 1772, for £17. A little later, January 13, - 1773, Timothy^{4} Plant, Jr., bought also the share of his uncle - James, which had been previously sold to David Wooster. Then, May - 23, 1774, he bought of Asa and Harris Hopkins two thirds of another - tract of one hundred acres. He afterward sold both of these tracts - at a considerable advance on their cost. But having made his home in - Litchfield, the family remained there. - - In the Revolutionary War he entered the army, March 2, 1777, in the - Fifth regiment, Connecticut line, Captain J. A. Wright’s company, and - was reported missing at Germantown, October 4, 1777. Tradition says - that he was drafted, and that in the battle he was taken prisoner - and confined in “the old sugar house” at New York, or in “the prison - ship,” and died there, no word having ever come from him to his - family. The births of his children are registered in Litchfield, - except of the youngest, who must have been born after he went to the - war. - - [21] Elias^{5} Hall was the eldest child of John^{4} and Abigail - (Russell) Hall; (John,^{3} John,^{2} John^{1}). Ruhamah was the only - child of his second wife, who died at her daughter’s birth. He served - in the French and Indian War in Colonel Whiting’s regiment, under Lord - Amherst, and was on duty at Ticonderoga and Crown Point until 1759. - He settled in Cheshire, Connecticut; removed in 1784 to Pittsford, - Vermont, and died October 30, 1821, at the house of his son Elias, at - Williston, Vermont. - - [22] “He prepared himself for college at the Cheshire Academy, and - was graduated at Yale College in 1804, after which he studied law at - the Litchfield Law School. He was a classmate and friend of John C. - Calhoun, who was not only with him in college but also studied law at - Litchfield. In 1819 and 1820 Mr. Plant was Speaker of the Connecticut - House of Representatives, and in 1821 was elected to the Senate, - after which he was twice re-elected. He was Lieutenant-Governor from - 1823 to 1827, and from 1827 to 1829 was a member of the United States - Congress. In politics he was a staunch Whig. Calhoun when Secretary - of State offered him, for friendship’s sake, any position within his - gift, but he declined to hold office under the dominant party. He was - one of the most influential men of his day in political circles of the - State of Connecticut.” - - [23] For several years of his early life he was in mercantile business - in New York City. At the age of twenty he removed to Marcellus, New - York, and engaged in farming until 1872, when he made his home in - Syracuse, where he became a prominent member of the Brown Memorial M. - E. Church. - - “He was a man of strong character, honorable and upright, with clear - intellect and much originality, fond of books, and well informed on - the events transpiring in his country and throughout the world.” - - There were six children by his first marriage, two of whom were - Charles H.^{7} Plant and Mrs. W. R. Knowles, who died before him. The - four others are Dr. William T.^{7} Plant, Alfred D.^{7} Plant, and - Miss Ailda^{7} Plant, of Syracuse, and Mrs. I. W. Davey, of Marcellus. - - William Tomlinson^{7} Plant, the eldest of these, was graduated from - the University of Michigan in 1860, and began practice as a physician - in Ithaca, New York. Early in the war he entered the United States - Navy as surgeon, and continued till October, 1865, when he resigned, - and in 1866 began the practice of medicine in Syracuse. This he - followed till about 1894, when paralysis compelled him to retire from - active life. He has filled many positions of honor and responsibility; - has been on the medical staff of a large hospital, doing duty there - four months in the year; was one of the founders of the Medical - College of Syracuse, in which he held the chair of Jurisprudence and - Pediatrics, and has contributed much to medical journals, having been - the editor of one such periodical. - - He has one son, John W.^{8} Plant, who is in the graduating class of - Syracuse Medical College for 1898. - - [24] A tradition represents him to have been the son of Joel^{4} - Plant, the brother of Timothy,^{4} but no records confirm this view, - while a number of points in his story seem to identify him with - Joel,^{5} the son of Timothy,^{4} born at Litchfield, according to - one entry there, August 22, 1776, and according to another, August - 24, 1776. The following account is from his son, Mr. Lauren Plant, of - Cicero, New York, December 25, 1897. - - “Timothy, the son of John Plant, married Lucy Parrish, settled in New - Haven, and was in the bookbinding business. Among their children were - two sons, Timothy, born July 4, 1750, who subsequently settled in - Litchfield; and Joel, born March 25, 1753, who was a soldier in the - Revolutionary War, and died, or was killed, on Long Island in 1779, - leaving a wife and two children in New Haven. A daughter, Margaret, - afterward married Benoni Gleson and went to Vermont. Joel was born - August 24, 1776; his mother died when he was twelve years old, and at - the age of fourteen he was bound out to work in the bookbindery that - his grandfather had established long before. Not liking the business, - he ran away, at the age of seventeen, and went west to the banks of - the Susquehanna River, where he remained two seasons, returning to his - Uncle Tim’s in Litchfield and attending school in the winter, where he - made the acquaintance of Mary Jordan, whom he married. They lived two - or three years in Worthington, Massachusetts, then moved to Benson, - Rutland County, Vermont, and, in 1837, to Onondaga County, New York.” - - [25] Anderson Plant’s estate was in probate, June 13, 1827. Mr. Samuel - Plant was chosen and appointed guardian of Henry Bradley Plant, who - with his mother, Mrs. Betsey Plant, were the only heirs. - - - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Life of Henry Bradley Plant, by -G. 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Hutchinson Smyth. -</title> -<style type="text/css"> - p {margin-top:.2em;text-align:justify;margin-bottom:.2em;text-indent:4%;} - -.lftbrd {border-left:1px solid black;padding-left:.3em;text-align:left;} -.bdr {border-right:1px solid black;padding-right:.3em;} - -.bdrlft {border-left:1px solid black;padding-left:.3em;} - -.c {text-align:center;text-indent:0%;margin:1em auto 1em auto;} - -.cb {text-align:center;text-indent:0%;font-weight:bold;} - -.eng {font-family: "Old English Text MT",fantasy,sans-serif;} - -.hang {text-indent:-2%;margin-left:2%;} - -.indd {margin-left:1em;} - -.lftspc {margin-left:.25em;} - -.letra {font-size:250%;float:left;margin-top:-1%;} - @media print, handheld - { .letra - {font-size:150%;} - } - -.nind {text-indent:0%;} - -.r {text-align:right;margin-right: 5%;} - -.rt {text-align:right;} - -small {font-size: 70%;} - -big {font-size: 130%;} - - h1 {margin-top:5%;text-align:center;clear:both;} - - h2 {margin-top:4%;margin-bottom:2%;text-align:center;clear:both; - font-size:120%;} - - h3 {margin:4% auto 2% auto;text-align:center;clear:both;} - - hr {width:90%;margin:2em auto 2em auto;clear:both;color:black;} - - hr.full {width: 60%;margin:2% auto 2% auto;border-top:1px solid black; -padding:.1em;border-bottom:1px solid black;border-left:none;border-right:none;} - - table {margin-top:2%;margin-bottom:2%;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto;border:none;} - - body{margin-left:4%;margin-right:6%;background:#ffffff;color:black;font-family:"Times New Roman", serif;font-size:medium;} - -a:link {background-color:#ffffff;color:blue;text-decoration:none;} - - link {background-color:#ffffff;color:blue;text-decoration:none;} - -a:visited {background-color:#ffffff;color:purple;text-decoration:none;} - -a:hover {background-color:#ffffff;color:#FF0000;text-decoration:underline;} - -.smcap {font-variant:small-caps;font-size:100%;} - - img {border:none;} - -.blockquot {margin-top:2%;margin-bottom:2%;} - -.blockquott {margin-top:2%;margin-bottom:2%; -font-size:85%;} - - sup {font-size:75%;vertical-align:top;} - -.caption {font-weight:bold;} - -.figcenter {margin-top:3%;margin-bottom:3%;clear:both; -margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto;text-align:center;text-indent:0%;} - @media print, handheld - {.figcenter - {page-break-before: avoid;} - } - -.red {color:red;} - -.footnotes {border:dotted 3px gray;margin-top:5%;clear:both;} - -.footnote {width:95%;margin:auto 3% 1% auto;font-size:0.9em;position:relative;} - -.label {position:relative;left:-.5em;top:0;text-align:left;font-size:.8em;} - -.fnanchor {vertical-align:30%;font-size:.8em;} - -div.poetry {text-align:center;} -div.poem {font-size:90%;margin:auto auto;text-indent:0%; -display: inline-block; text-align: left;} -.poem .stanza {margin-top: 1em;margin-bottom:1em;} -.poem span.i0 {display: block; margin-left: 0em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} -.poem span.i1 {display: block; margin-left: .45em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} -.poem span.i2 {display: block; margin-left: 1em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} -.poem span.iq {display: block; margin-left: -.45em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} - -.pagenum {font-style:normal;position:absolute; -left:95%;font-size:55%;text-align:right;color:gray; -background-color:#ffffff;font-variant:normal;font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;text-indent:0em;} -@media print, handheld -{.pagenum - {display: none;} - } - -</style> - </head> -<body> - - -<pre> - -Project Gutenberg's The Life of Henry Bradley Plant, by G. Hutchinson Smyth - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: The Life of Henry Bradley Plant - -Author: G. Hutchinson Smyth - -Release Date: April 17, 2017 [EBook #54558] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LIFE OF HENRY BRADLEY PLANT *** - - - - -Produced by Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images available at The Internet Archive) - - - - - - -</pre> - -<hr class="full" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/cover.jpg" width="298" height="500" alt="Book's cover" /> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_009_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_009.jpg" width="500" height="464" alt="Portrait -of Henry Bradley Plant" /></a> -</div> - -<p class="cb"><span class="red"><i>Henry Bradley Plant.</i></span></p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="" -style="border: 2px black solid;margin:auto auto;max-width:50%; -padding:1%;"> -<tr><td> - -<p class="c"><a href="#CONTENTS">Contents.</a><br /> -<a href="#INDEX">Index:</a> -<a href="#A">A</a>, -<a href="#B">B</a>, -<a href="#C">C</a>, -<a href="#D">D</a>, -<a href="#E">E</a>, -<a href="#F">F</a>, -<a href="#N">N</a>, -<a href="#P">P</a>, -<a href="#R">R</a>, -<a href="#S">S</a>, -<a href="#T">T</a>,</p> -</td></tr> -</table> - -<h1> -THE LIFE OF<br /> -HENRY BRADLEY PLANT</h1> - -<p class="cb">FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT OF THE PLANT SYSTEM<br /> -OF RAILROADS AND STEAMSHIPS AND ALSO<br /> -OF THE SOUTHERN EXPRESS COMPANY<br /> -<br /><br /> -<small>BY</small><br /> -G. HUTCHINSON SMYTH, D.D.<br /> -<br /> -<img src="images/colophon.png" width="26" -alt="" title="" /> -<br /> -<br /> -G. P. PUTNAM’S SONS<br /> -NEW YORK AND LONDON<br /> -<span class="eng">The Knickerbocker Press</span><br /> -1898</p> - -<hr /> - -<p class="c"> -<i>Compliments of<br /> -The Author.</i><br /> -<br /><small> -<span class="smcap">Copyright, 1898</span><br /> -BY<br /> -G. P. PUTNAM’S SONS<br /> -Entered at Stationers’ Hall, London<br /> -<br /> -<span class="eng">The Knickerbocker Press, New York</span></small> -</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_iii" id="page_iii"></a>{iii}</span></p> - -<h2> -<img src="images/ill_014.jpg" width="450" height="123" alt="" title="" /> -<br /><br /> -PREFACE.</h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">I</span>F it be asked why another biography is added to the almost endless -number now in our bookstores and libraries, an answer is found in the -countless distinctions of individual character, and in the varied -experiences which come to men in different walks of life. The botanist -says that of all leaves in the forests of the world, no two can be found -alike in every particular. The phrenologist says the same of the various -forms of the human head, and the psychologist affirms it of the -intellects and dispositions of men and women. Hence each life has its -own peculiar experience to record for the pleasure or profit of others.</p> - -<p>Biography is the most universally interesting and instructive branch of -literature; hence the power of the novel and drama, which are merely -biographies pictured and acted before us. A study of history shows that -the nations’ great movements are the work of individual men and women. -In illustration of this fact it is needful to mention such<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_iv" id="page_iv"></a>{iv}</span> names only -as Abraham, Joseph, Esther, Joan of Arc, Napoleon, and Washington.</p> - -<p>The commercial and industrial occupations from which a nation now -derives its strength should be honored as truly as the military exploit, -or the scientific achievement. The record of a noble life which, in its -sphere of quiet duty, has accomplished much for the good of others, is a -lesson in patriotism and a legacy to posterity. The best period of the -history of the Cotton States could only be written by taking into -account the share which the subject of this biography has had in their -development.</p> - -<p>It is rare to find a man who has had dealings with so many of his -fellows, and who, at the same time, has won the esteem and affection of -his associates and employés, as has Henry Bradley Plant in every -department of his great railroad system.</p> - -<p>The writing of this biography is undertaken in the belief that there are -many general readers to whom the record of such a life will be as -welcome as it must be to those to whom, in his manifold activities, he -has proved a benefactor and a friend.</p> - -<p class="r"> -G. H. S.<br /> -</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_v" id="page_v"></a>{v}</span></p> - -<h2><img src="images/ill_016.jpg" alt="[text decoration not available.]" /><br /> -<a name="CONTENTS" id="CONTENTS"></a></h2> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary="" -style="margin:auto;max-width:80%;font-size:90%;"> - -<tr><th colspan="2"><a href="#CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td> </td><td class="rt"><small>PAGE</small></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="hang" valign="top">The Plant Family—Birth of Henry Bradley Plant—Mr. Plant’s -Parents—Ancestors Came from England in 1639—David -Plant Occupied Many Positions of Honor and Trust—A. -P. Plant’s Successful Business Career—H. B. Plant on his -Mother’s Side is Descended from Joseph Frisbee, a Major -in Washington’s Army—Reverend Levi Frisbee, Father of -Professor Levi Frisbee of Harvard College—Connection -with Sir William Pepperell, Bart.—The Historian of the -Frisbee Family—Richard of the Second Generation Went -from Virginia to Connecticut, and Settled at Branford, 1644—Sketch -of Oliver Libby Frisbee, Historian of his Family—Senator -Hoar’s Relations to the Frisbee Family—Frisbee -Patriotism and Services to their Country—They Were Good, -Church-going People, mostly of the Puritan Belief—Probability -that the Frisbees Came from Wales</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_001">1-14</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th colspan="2"><a href="#CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td class="hang" valign="top">Branford, Connecticut, Purchased by the New Haven Colonists -from the Totokett Indians in 1638—First Settlements Were -Made in 1644—First Church of Logs Surrounded by Stockade -to Protect from Indians—Guards at the Gate during Service—Church -and Town Records Preserved at Branford—John -Plum, the First Town Clerk—Style of the Second Church -Building and Character of its Services—Rev. Timothy Gillett -its Pastor—He Taught an Academy in Addition to his -Pastoral Work—Prominent Families of Branford—Intelligent -Character of the People—De Tocqueville’s High Estimate -of this “Leetle State”—Branford in 1779<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_vi" id="page_vi"></a>{vi}</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_015">15-22</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th colspan="2"><a href="#CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td class="hang" valign="top">The Blackstone Family—The Ancestor Came from England before -1630—His Name Was William Blaxton—Settled first -in Massachusetts, afterwards Went to Rhode Island—His -Beautiful Character and Numerous Descendants—Origin -of Yale College of Branford—The Blackstone Memorial -Library</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_023">23-34</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th colspan="2"><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td class="hang" valign="top">The Plants Came from England to Branford, between Two -Hundred and Three Hundred Years ago—Still Own the -Lands first Acquired—Henry’s Father Died of Typhus -Fever when Henry Was about Six Years Old—His Tender -Recollection of his Mother—Henry’s First Day at School—His -Natural Diffidence—Mr. Plant’s After-dinner Speeches—His -Mother’s Second Marriage—Stepfather Kind to Henry—Thrown -by a Plough Horse and nearly Killed—Attended -School at Branford—Engaged on Steamboat Line Running -between New Haven and New York—On Leaving, Promised -a Captaincy—Marriage—Express Business—Leaves New -Haven and Goes to New York—Romantic Experience in -Florida</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_035">35-50</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th colspan="2"><a href="#CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td class="hang" valign="top">Mr. Plant Goes from New Haven to New York—Captain Stone’s -Friendship—Mrs. Plant’s Health Fails again—Returns to the -South—Is Appointed Superintendent of Adams Express -Company—His Great Executive Ability—The Civil War—Mrs. -Plant’s Death—Mr. Plant Buys out the Adams Express -Company</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_051">51-55</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th colspan="2"><a href="#CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td class="hang" valign="top">Relations to the Confederate Government—Jefferson Davis -Gives him Charge of Confederate Funds—Mr. Plant Buys a -Slave, who afterward Nursed him through a Severe Sickness—Impaired -Health—Goes to Bermuda, New York, Canada, -and Europe—Second Marriage<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_vii" id="page_vii"></a>{vii}</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_056">56-67</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th colspan="2"><a href="#CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td class="hang" valign="top">Education from Books and from Experience—Keen Intuitions—Abreast -of the Progress—Mr. Plant’s After-dinner Speech -at Tampa Banquet Given him by Tampa Board of Trade, -March 18, 1886—Location of Tampa—In Territorial Days -Had a Military Reservation—In 1884 Population about Seven -Hundred—Its Cosmopolitan Population now—Many Cubans -and Spaniards in Tampa—Tobacco Industry—Phosphate -Abounds in this Part of the State—Much of it Shipped to -the North and to Europe—Plant System Gives Impetus to -the Prosperity of the Place—Its Progress the Last Five or -Six Years</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_068">68-86</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th colspan="2"><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td class="hang" valign="top">Florida Mr. Plant’s Hobby—Banquet at Ocala—Mr. Plant’s -Speech—Sail on Lakes Harrison and Griffin—Banquet at -Leesburg—Visit to Eustis—Cheering Words to a Young -Editor—Make the Best of the Frost—It may be a Blessing -in Disguise—Must Cultivate Other Fruits (and Cereals) besides -Oranges—Importance of Honesty—Sense of Justice—Consideration -for the Workmen—Unconscious Moulding-Power -over Associates and Employees—Letter of Honorable -Rufus B. Bullock</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_087">87-101</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th colspan="2"><a href="#CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td class="hang" valign="top">Mr. Plant’s Industry and Power to Endure Continuous Strain—Labor -of Examining and Answering his Enormous Mail—Letter -from Japan—Mail Delivered Regularly to him at -Home and Abroad—His Private Car, its Style, Structure, -Hospitality, and Cheering Presence—Numerous Calls—The -Secret of his Endurance—The Esteem and Love of the -Southern Express Company for its President—Mr. Plant -Enjoys Social Life—He is a Great Lover of almost all Kinds -of Music—Mr. Plant a Medical Benefactor—Some of the -Progress Made in the Healing Art—Bishop of Winchester’s -High Estimate of the Value of Health—Dr. Long’s Opinion -of the Gulf Coast as a Health Restorer—Unrecognized Medicines<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_viii" id="page_viii"></a>{viii}</span> -in Restoring Lost Health—Nervousness among the -American People—The Soothing and Strengthening Effect -of Florida Climate—Mr. Plant’s Part in Facilitating Travel -and Providing Comfortable Accommodations for the Invalid</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_102">102-116</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th colspan="2"><a href="#CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td class="hang" valign="top">Reason for Submitting Press Sketches of Mr. Plant—<i>Descriptive -America</i>, December, 1886—<i>City Items</i>, December, 1886—<i>Railroad -Topics</i>—<i>Home Journal</i>, New York, March, 1896—F. -G. De Fontain in same Journal—Ocala <i>Evening Times</i>, -June, 1896—<i>Express Gazette</i></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_117">117-140</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th colspan="2"><a href="#CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td class="hang" valign="top">Mr. Plant’s Close and Constant Contact with the Great System -as Seen in the Following Letters—Letter Written on Board -the Steamer <i>Comal</i>—Letters on Trip to Jamaica, West -Indies, March 15, 1893, and Published in the <i>Home Journal</i></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_141">141-149</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th colspan="2"><a href="#CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td class="hang" valign="top">MANAGEMENT OF THE GREAT PLANT SYSTEM -WORTHY OF ADMIRATION AND IMITATION</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_150">150-156</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th colspan="2"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td class="hang" valign="top">Plant Day at the Cotton States and International Exposition of -1895 at Atlanta, Georgia—Preparations for its Celebration—Impressive -Observances of Mr. Plant’s Birthday at the -Aragon Hotel—Mr. Plant’s Remarks in Acknowledging -Presentation of Gifts<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_ix" id="page_ix"></a>{ix}</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_157">157-182</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th colspan="2"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">CHAPTER XIV.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td class="hang" valign="top">Tampa Bay Hotel, One of the Modern Wonders of the World—Its -Architecture, Furniture, Works of Art, Decorations, -Tapestries, Paintings, Inlaid Table and Three Ebony and -Gold Cabinets from the Tuileries, a Sofa and Two Chairs -once Owned by Marie Antoinette—The Dream of De Soto -Realized—A Palace of Art for the Delight and Joy of Those -who are in Health, and an Elysium for the Sad and Sorrowful</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_183">183-203</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th colspan="2"><a href="#CHAPTER_XV">CHAPTER XV.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td class="hang" valign="top">Programme of Plant Day Ceremonies—Ringing of the Liberty -Bell—Presentation of Addresses to Mr. Plant in the Great -Auditorium—His Reply—Resolutions from the Different -Departments of the System, from the Savannah Board of -Trade, etc.—Mr. Morton F. Plant’s Acknowledgments</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_204">204-226</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th colspan="2"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVI">CHAPTER XVI.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td class="hang" valign="top">Banquet at the Aragon Hotel Ends the Festivities of the Day—Sketch -of the Southern Express Company—Distinguished -Callers on President Plant during the Day—Many Telegrams -and Letters of Congratulation Received—Many -Press Notices of the Day, and many Tributes of Respect and -Esteem for him who Called it forth</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_227">227-263</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th colspan="2"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVII">CHAPTER XVII.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td class="hang" valign="top">Some Changes that have Taken Place in the Configuration of -the Globe—Islands Born and Buried—French Revolution—Napoleon’s -Influence on Europe—England’s Long Wars—Barbarous -Treatment of Prisoners—Slavery Abolished—English -Profanity and Intemperance—Temperance Movements—Duelling—Penny -Postage—Expansion of the Press—Canals, -Erie and Suez—Railroads in England and the -United States—First Steamer to Cross the Atlantic—First -Steamship Line<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_x" id="page_x"></a>{x}</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_264">264-278</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th colspan="2"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVIII">CHAPTER XVIII.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td class="hang" valign="top">Railroads Established—Engineering Progress—Steel, Iron Steamships—Horse -Railroad—Kerosene Oil in Use 1830—Sewing -Machines—Agricultural Implements 1831-51—Sanitary -Progress—Philanthropic and Christian Progress—Higher -Education—Medical Progress—Humane Care of the Insane—Sailors’ -and Seamen’s Home—World’s Fairs—Religious -Reciprocity—Arbitration—Numerous Inventions and Discoveries—Henry -B. Plant in War and in Peace—Testimonial -Presented to Mr. and Mrs. Plant on the Twenty-fifth -Anniversary of their Wedding</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_279">279-306</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="hang" valign="top"><a href="#PLANT_GENEALOGY"><span class="smcap">Plant Genealogy</span></a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_307">307-337</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="hang" valign="top"><a href="#INDEX"><span class="smcap">Index:</span></a> -<a href="#A">A</a>, -<a href="#B">B</a>, -<a href="#C">C</a>, -<a href="#D">D</a>, -<a href="#E">E</a>, -<a href="#F">F</a>, -<a href="#N">N</a>, -<a href="#P">P</a>, -<a href="#R">R</a>, -<a href="#S">S</a>, -<a href="#T">T</a>, - -<a href="#W">W</a>.</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_339">339-344</a></td></tr> -</table> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_xi" id="page_xi"></a>{xi}</span></p> - -<p class="c"><img src="images/ill_021.jpg" alt="[text decoration not available.]" /><br /> -</p> - -<h2><a name="ACKNOWLEDGMENTS" id="ACKNOWLEDGMENTS"></a>ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.</h2> - -<p>The author takes pleasure in acknowledging his indebtedness to many of -the Southern Express and “Plant System” officials for their prompt and -valuable assistance in the preparation of a biography of their able and -esteemed President. Chief among those to whom thanks are due may be -mentioned Messrs. A. P. C. Ryan, M. J. O’ Brien, D. F. Jack, B. W. -Wrenn, and G. H. Tilley. The last named furnished not only much material -in manuscript and print, but many valuable suggestions as to their use. -The letter of Ex-Governor Bullock of Georgia, published in the volume -reveals the noble nature which penned it, far more eloquently than any -words which can be written here, and is alike honorable to its -distinguished subject and its eminent author.</p> - -<p>Acknowledgment is due also to the papers from which extracts have been -taken.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_001" id="page_001"></a>{1}</span></p> - -<h1><img src="images/ill_024.jpg" alt="[text decoration not available.]" /><br /> -<br /><br /> -THE LIFE OF<br /> -HENRY BRADLEY PLANT.</h1> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I.</h2> - -<div class="blockquott"><p class="hang">The Plant Family—Birth of Henry Bradley Plant—Mr. Plant’s -Parents—Ancestors Came from England in 1639—David Plant Occupied -Many Positions of Honor and Trust—A. P. Plant’s Successful -Business Career—H. B. Plant on his Mother’s Side is Descended from -Joseph Frisbee, a Major in Washington’s Army—Reverend Levi -Frisbee, Father of Professor Levi Frisbee of Harvard -College—Connection with Sir William Pepperell, Bart.—The -Historian of the Frisbee Family—Richard of the Second Generation -Went from Virginia to Connecticut, and Settled at Branford, -1644—Sketch of Oliver Libby Frisbee, Historian of his -Family—Senator Hoar’s Relations to the Frisbee Family—Frisbee -Patriotism and Services to their Country—They Were Good -Church-Going People, Mostly of the Puritan Belief—Probability that -the Frisbees Came from Wales.</p></div> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">H</span>ENRY BRADLEY PLANT was born October 27, 1819, at Branford, Connecticut. -His paternal great-grandfather was attached to Washington’s army as a -private, when Washington was at Newburg, and he was one of the guard of -the unfortunate Major André at the time of his execution.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_002" id="page_002"></a>{2}</span> His -great-grandfather on his grandmother Plant’s side was a major in General -Washington’s army at the same time.</p> - -<p>Mr. Plant’s father was Anderson Plant and his mother was Betsey Bradley. -They were married December 23, 1818, and were of good old Puritan -ancestry who came from England about two hundred and sixty years ago. -According to a genealogical table at the end of this volume, it will be -seen that John Plant was in Hartford, Connecticut, in the year -1639,—some give the date three years earlier,—and his son, John Plant, -is granted a tract of land at Branford in 1667. These people possessed -the characteristics that distinguished their race. They loved freedom, -were thrifty, energetic, self-reliant, patriotic, and devoutly -religious. Many of them were officers, and most of them members in the -Congregational Church, which was the only church in the town for the -first hundred years of its history.</p> - -<p>Some of them occupied positions of honor and responsibility in the State -and country.</p> - -<p>David Plant was born at Stratford, prepared for college at the Cheshire -Academy, graduated at Yale College in 1804, studied law at the -Litchfield Law School, and was a classmate of John C. Calhoun. In 1819 -and 1820, he was Speaker of the House of Representatives, and in 1821 -was elected to the State Senate and twice re-elected. He was -Lieutenant-Governor<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_003" id="page_003"></a>{3}</span> of the State from 1823 to 1827, and from 1827 to -1829 he was a member of the United States Congress. In politics he was a -staunch Whig. He was an influential man in the political circles of his -day in the State of Connecticut, and Calhoun, when Secretary of State, -offered him any position within his gift; but he refused to hold office -under the dominant party.</p> - -<p>Another successful man of the Plant family was A. P. Plant, son of -Ebenezer and Lydia (Neal) Plant, born at Southington in the year 1816.</p> - -<p>Early in life he began to earn his own living, and by industry, economy, -and business tact he became in time the head of a large manufacturing -establishment. He settled in that part of the town known as the -“Corner,” a part which rapidly increased in population and soon grew -into a prosperous village. It bears the name of Plantsville in honor of -A. P. Plant and his brother E. H. Plant. His biographer says: “He made a -profession of religion in 1833; and from that time was an influential -member of the Baptist Church. In 1850, he was elected a deacon of the -church in Southington, and held the office until 1872, when he -transferred his relations to the new enterprise started in his own -village. To this church he gave liberally, and left it a legacy in his -will.” He is described as a most faithful and consistent Christian, an -esteemed officer in the church,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_004" id="page_004"></a>{4}</span> and a firm believer in the presence of -the Holy Spirit in the heart of the Christian.</p> - -<p>Henry Bradley Plant, on his grandmother’s side, is a direct descendant -of Joseph Frisbee, a major in Washington’s army. The Frisbees were a -numerous family, and many of them occupied positions of honor and -influence in the history of the country. One of them writing to Mr. -Plant says:</p> - -<p>“I suppose you have often wondered what has become of my history of the -Frisbee family. I have been diligently at work on it since you heard -from me. It has grown from a very small beginning to be quite an affair, -namely, from looking up my ancestors so that I could join the hereditary -societies of the United States, to writing a history of over one -thousand of the lineal descendants of Edward Frisbee, the first settler. -I find them a noble race, worthy of history. I have also looked up my -maternal ancestors and can trace them back to 1497, thirteen -generations, among them Sir William Pepperell.”</p> - -<p>The fitness of the writer, Oliver L. Frisbee, for his task of searching -the records of his long line of progenitors may be gathered from another -paragraph in the same letter where he says: “My Alma Mater, Bates -College, gave me the degree of Master of Arts, last Commencement, for -eminent success in business and proficiency in the studies of genealogy, -heraldry, and colonial history.”<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_005" id="page_005"></a>{5}</span></p> - -<p>The following sketch, with some slight corrections, is taken from a -carefully prepared account, by the same writer, of the descendants of -Richard Frisbee, the first-named ancestor of this family.</p> - -<p>“Richard Frisbee came from England to Virginia, in 1619, when he was -twenty-four years old. In 1642, the Governor of Virginia ordered all -those who would not join the Church of England to leave the Colony, and -hundreds went to Eastern Virginia, now the State of Maryland. Among -these refugees were Richard Frisbee and his two sons, James and William. -They purchased plantations in Cecil County and resided on Kent Island, -the northern part of Chesapeake Bay.</p> - -<p>“At first the Governor of Virginia claimed this island; later, Lord -Baltimore and afterwards, William Penn. The latter wrote to James -Frisbee, from London, in 1681, instructing him to pay no tax to Lord -Baltimore. James Frisbee was a member of the House of Representatives of -Maryland, and held other important positions in the State. In addressing -a petition to His Majesty, in 1688, he, with others, began their -petition thus: ‘We the undersigned Englishmen though born in America,’ -etc. James went back to England, the land of his birth, in his old age.</p> - -<p>“Richard, son of Richard the emigrant, came from Virginia to -Connecticut, and settled at Branford in<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_006" id="page_006"></a>{6}</span> 1644, when his brothers went to -Maryland. His son John had several children, among them Edward and -Joseph. The former was the ancestor of Major Philip Frisbee, of Albany -County, New York. He was in the War of the Revolution, and his grandsons -belonged to the Sons of the American Revolution, of the State of New -York. President Edward S. Frisbee of Wells College, in New York State, -is his descendant. The latter, Joseph, your ancestor [referring to Mr. -Plant], married September 14, 1712, had a son Joseph who married Sarah -Bishop, August 25, 1742. Their son Joseph married Sarah Rogers, March -11, 1773. Their eldest child, Sarah, born May 15, 1774, was your -grandmother.</p> - -<p>“The name Joseph has been in our branch of the family a long time. My -father’s name was Joseph. I had a brother Joseph, and my son born this -summer is also named Joseph.</p> - -<p>“The youngest child of the first Edward was Ebenezer, my ancestor, -brother to John, your ancestor. He had two sons, Ebenezer and Elisha. -The latter was the father of the Rev. Levi Frisbee who settled at -Ipswich, Massachusetts, and was the father of Professor Levi Frisbee of -Harvard College, who died in 1820, one of the most talented men that -ever passed through that institution. Senator Hoar was named for him, -George Frisbie Hoar. Ebenezer’s son James, born in 1722, was lieutenant -with Captain<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_007" id="page_007"></a>{7}</span> Paul Jones, and was killed one hundred and fifteen years -ago to-day, September 23d, in the engagement between the <i>Bonne Homme -Richard</i> and <i>Serapis</i> in the English Channel. This was my -great-grandfather and by right of descent from him I joined the Sons of -the American Revolution. His son Darius (born in 1769), my grandfather, -settled in Kittery, Maine, and married Dorothy Gerrish, a -great-granddaughter of Colonel William Pepperell, a well-known merchant -and the father of Sir William Pepperell, Bart., the hero of Louisburg. -Dorothy Gerrish was also related to some of the most distinguished -colonial families in New England.”</p> - -<p>The subjoined letters from John B. Frisbee and Senator Hoar will be of -interest in this connection.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="r"> -“<span class="smcap">Lakewood, N. J.</span>, December 16, 1894.<br /> -</p> - -<p class="nind"> -“<span class="smcap">My dear Mr. Plant</span>:<br /> -</p> - -<p>“This tardy reply to your favor of the 6th inst. is occasioned by -illness since its receipt, and which prompted my coming to this -place to recruit. I am now rapidly recovering from quite a severe -attack of grippe, and hope to be able to leave for Mexico this -week.</p> - -<p>“Referring to the subject of your letter, I can only give you -meagre information. My great-grandfather, Philip Frisbie, was a -major in the New York Militia and served under Washington, and I -have no doubt<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_008" id="page_008"></a>{8}</span> was closely related to the Joseph Frisbie you -mention.</p> - -<p>“I have a first cousin, Mrs. Farman, the wife of Judge Farman, -formerly United States Consul-General in Egypt, who has devoted -much time and research in obtaining an accurate history of our -family. Recently, she went to Europe for the purpose of educating -her children in the French and German languages.</p> - -<p>“I have written to her, requesting her to advise you directly in -regard to the information you desire, hence I feel assured that you -will in due time receive a letter from her upon the subject.</p> - -<p>“Since we last met I have visited New York several times, and upon -each occasion you have been absent from the city, thus depriving me -of the coveted pleasure of paying my respects to Mrs. Plant and -your good self; with best regards to both, I remain,</p> - -<p class="r"> -“Yours very sincerely,<br /> - -“<span class="smcap">John B. Frisbie</span>.”<br /> -</p></div> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="r"> -“<span class="smcap">United States Senate.</span>,<br /> -“<span class="smcap">Washington, D. C.</span>, January 26, 1895.<br /> -</p> - -<p class="nind">“<span class="smcap">My dear Sir</span>:<br /> -</p> - -<p>“I know very little about the Frisbie family in this country. I -have no relatives of that name. I was myself named for a very -intimate friend of my father, Prof. Levi Frisbie, who was an -eminent scholar in<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_009" id="page_009"></a>{9}</span> his time, a graduate at Harvard in 1802, and -afterwards filled two professorships there. His writings, as I dare -say you know, were collected with a brief memoir and are -occasionally to be found in bookstores. He was son of the Rev. Levi -Frisbie, of Ipswich, who delivered several addresses that have been -published. Prof. Frisbie wrote some articles for the <i>North -American Review</i> which you will find referred to in Cushing’s lists -of the articles. Dr. Holmes wrote me some years ago an account of -Prof. Frisbie’s personal appearance, which I suppose I can find -when I am at home in Worcester, if you desire. Prof. Frisbie was -nearly blind and instructed his classes and pursued his studies -without being able to read</p> - -<p class="r"> -“I am faithfully yours,<br /> - -“<span class="smcap">Geo.</span> F. Hoar.<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a><br /> -</p></div> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang"> -“To <span class="smcap">O. L. Frisbie</span>,<br /> -“Portsmouth, N. H.”<br /> -</p> - -<p>The Frisbee family was patriotic and promptly responded to the call -of freedom and independence. There were thirty-five of them from -Connecticut in the War of the Revolution. Eleven of them spelled -their names Frisbee; seventeen, Frisbie; and seven, Frisby. They -continued in the service of their country from the Lexington alarm, -April 19, 1776,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_010" id="page_010"></a>{10}</span> until the disbanding of the army, by Washington, -on the Hudson in 1783. A regiment marched from Connecticut towns, -in 1775, to the relief of Boston. John Frisbee, son of Titus -Ebenezer, represented Branford in the Legislature from 1690 to -1692. O. L. Frisbee writes to Mr. Plant: “Your ancestor was a good -churchman. From him, there is a long list of Frisbees in the -records of the church of Branford. In 1700, the annals of Branford -say that among the families prominently identified with the church, -town, and business from 1700 to 1800, the Frisbees, Bands, and -Plants head a long list in the order in which I have written their -names. This religious element seems to have been with the Frisbees. -Rev. Levi Frisbee, father of Professor Levi of Harvard College, was -a very pious man.</p> - -<p>“He was invited to deliver an oration on Washington at his death. -My grandfather was a very pious man; he founded a church at -Kittery, Maine. My father, Joseph Frisbee, was a deacon in the -church. He and Caleb Frisbee were in the regiment from Branford. I -found Noah and Edward Frisbee were members of the company that -marched to the relief of Fort William Henry, August, 1757, from -Connecticut. I found your ancestor Joseph Foote Frisbee was in the -Revolutionary War. He lived to be ninety-eight years of age. About -1700, Samuel Baker and Samuel Frisbee, Jr., bought land for a<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_011" id="page_011"></a>{11}</span> -wharf at Dutch House Point, from Joseph Foote at Branford. Joseph -Foote Frisbee might have been named for this man.</p> - -<p>“In the church records of Branford there is a great deal about -Joseph Frisbee, in connection with the church from 1743 to 1746. I -find all the Frisbees good church (Congregational) people, from the -first Edward who settled at Branford, July 7, 1644. He and his wife -Abigail joined the Congregational church soon after settling in -Branford. I should say the Frisbees were good fighters in war, and -good church and law-abiding people, with Puritanic principles that -helped to build the nation.”</p> - -<p>In a history of the Wolcotts of Connecticut, it is stated that John -Frisbee and Abigail Culpepper, his wife, came from Wales. This may -be correct, although in the genealogical sketch already given it is -stated that the first of the family, Richard Frisbee, came from -England to Virginia in 1619, but the same sketch says that in 1642 -the Governor of Virginia ordered all who would not join the Church -of England to leave the Colony, and that hundreds went to Eastern -Virginia, now called Maryland, and that among them was Richard -Frisbee, who with his sons settled in Cecil County, living on Kent -Island, the northern part of Chesapeake Bay. Now it is quite -common, in the early accounts of immigration to America, to -describe the people as English, or as<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_012" id="page_012"></a>{12}</span> coming from England, when in -fact they were Scotch or Irish. But coming from any of the British -Islands they were often called English. This would be more likely -to be the case with those coming from Wales, which is, -geographically speaking, a part of the island of Great Britain. Be -this as it may, it is not of great importance. The spirit of -dissent from the Established Church was just as strong in England -as in Wales. The name Frisbee or Frisby, as its terminal denotes, -is of English origin, but it is quite possible that the family came -from one of the border countries.</p> - -<p>Whether this family came from Wales or England may be only a matter -of historic accuracy and personal interest; certain it is the -Frisbees are a people who have done honor to their country both in -war and in peace. They bore a prominent part in the victorious -struggle for the freedom and independence of the American Colonies. -They have been the promoters of education, peace, piety, and “the -righteousness that exalteth a nation.” We have given this account -of this people, for four reasons. First, because the historian of -the family, with a commendable pride, has collected and preserved -the family record of his people, from which the material for this -brief notice was placed at our disposal. Secondly, because the -family histories of the people who have combined to form the -American nation<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_013" id="page_013"></a>{13}</span> are only beginning to receive a slight part of the -attention which they justly merit. Thirdly, because a knowledge of -the numerous and varied races that have formed the nation is -essential to a correct understanding of the American people. -Fourthly, because in the present case, owing to the early death of -Mr. Plant’s father, the widowed mother was especially dear to him, -and is still cherished in his memory with the most tender and -affectionate regard.</p> - -<p>Mr. Plant’s connection with Washington’s army during the -Revolutionary War was one of the family traditions, but he was not -the man to accept honors unless he knew they rightly belonged to -him. So after an extensive correspondence, and a thorough -investigation of the military register in several States, and at -the national capital, he received the following communication, -which I have carefully copied from the original.</p> - -<p>“Records and Pension Office, War Department, Washington, November -15, 1895. Respectfully returned to Mr. Oliver L. Frisbee, A.M., -Portsmouth, New Hampshire. It appears from the records of this -office, that Joseph Frisbee was enlisted September 3, 1780, and -served as a private in Lieutenant-Colonel Sherman’s Company (also -designated as Captain Sylvanus Brown’s and Lieutenant Joseph Hait’s -Company), Eighth Connecticut Regiment, Revolutionary<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_014" id="page_014"></a>{14}</span> War, and was -also discharged October 29, 1780.” On transmitting the above to Mr. -Plant, Mr. O. Frisbee writes from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, -December 24, 1895: “Enclosed please find the record from Washington -of the service of your grandmother’s father, Joseph Frisbee, in the -Revolutionary War. He was born August 17, 1745; married, March 11, -1773, Sarah Rogers; had a daughter Sarah, born May 15, 1774, -married Samuel Plant, February 11, 1795. These records will enable -you and your sons to join in ‘The Sons of the American Revolution.’</p> - -<p class="r"> -“<span class="smcap">O. L. Frisbee.</span>”<br /> -</p></div> - -<p class="c"><img src="images/ill_037.jpg" alt="[text decoration not available.]" /><br /> -</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_015" id="page_015"></a>{15}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a><img src="images/ill_038.jpg" alt="[text decoration not available.]" /><br /> -CHAPTER II.</h2> - -<div class="blockquott"><p class="hang">Branford, Connecticut, Purchased by the New Haven Colonists from -the Totokett Indians in 1638—First Settlements were Made -1644—First Church of Logs Surrounded by Stockade to Protect from -Indians—Guards at the Gate during Service—Church and Town Records -Preserved at Branford—John Plum the First Town Clerk—Style of the -Second Church Building and Character of its Services—Rev. Timothy -Gillett its Pastor—He Taught an Academy in Addition to his -Pastoral Work—Prominent Families of Branford—Intelligent -Character of the People—De Tocqueville’s High Estimate of this -“Leetle State”—Branford in 1779.</p></div> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">S</span>OON after New Haven was settled, the people negotiated with the Indians -for an additional tract of land, some ten miles in length from north to -south. It extended eight or ten miles east of the Quinnipiac River. The -purchase of this land occurred in December, 1638. It was bought from an -Indian sachem named Sorsheog of Mattabeseck. The territory included the -land on which the town of Branford was built, and its Indian name was -Totokett. It was several years before the purchasers went to live at -Totokett. It was early in the year 1644 when the first settlers located -upon their lands<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_016" id="page_016"></a>{16}</span> at Branford. By the first of October of that year, the -society was so far organized that their minister could gather them for -regular service. The people soon built him a house and a meeting-house, -or church. This latter stood in the front of the old burying-ground; it -was built of logs and had a thatched roof, and was surrounded by a -cedar-wood stockade twelve feet high. A cedar-wood vase made from the -wood of this stockade is still in the possession of Mrs. Samuel O. -Plant.</p> - -<p>During the hours of worship, one or more of the men stood guard near the -entrance of the stockade. All carried firearms to church, or when going -any distance from home. They were not afraid of the Totokett Indians, -but of raiding bands of other Indian tribes who attacked both the whites -and Indians. The fierce Mohawks from the neighborhood of the Hudson were -often the assailants. The first thing that appears on the ancient -records of Branford is the division of lands among the first settlers in -the month of June, 1645. It has been said, and often repeated, that in -1666, when so many people went from Branford to settle at Newark, New -Jersey, they took the records of Branford with them. These in some way -were burned, and thus much valuable history was lost. But such was not -the fact.</p> - -<p>The town and church records have always</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_042_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_042.jpg" width="500" height="379" alt="Old Homestead of the Plant Family. -Branford, Connecticut. -Birthplace of Henry Bradley Plant." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption"><i>Old Homestead of the Plant Family. -<br /> -<small>Branford, Connecticut.<br /> - -Birthplace of Henry Bradley Plant.</small></i></span> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_017" id="page_017"></a>{17}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">remained at Branford. They are quite full and in a reasonably good state -of preservation. In a manuscript history of Branford from which the -above account is taken, the name of the first town clerk, John Plum, in -1645, and a list of his successors, are given with the date of their -service. It is interesting to note how much alike are the ways and -customs of this old Puritan town to those of the town of Harlem, built -by the Dutch a little later and now part of New York City. In both -places the history of the town and the history of the church are one. -They are so interwoven that they can hardly be separated. The division -of the meadow-lands is the same; mutual protection from the Indians, and -the manner of defence are also alike. The official appointment, by the -town, of a man to gather in all the cows of the settlers, take them out -to graze in the morning, and bring them back at the proper time to be -milked, and many other such customs, are very much alike in both -settlements.</p> - -<p>The second church, or meeting-house, was built on the common, of wood, -and was succeeded by the present house of worship, which is built of -brick. Mr. Plant remembers the high galleries in the old church where -the seats were arranged in slips, the boys on one side, and the girls on -the other; neither could see the minister, and it is very doubtful -whether any of them heard him. There were no<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_018" id="page_018"></a>{18}</span> children’s sermons in -those days. The babes, of whom Paul writes, were not fed on milk, but on -strong meat, which even the rigorous doctrinal appetites of the fathers -sometimes found hard to digest. Some of the modern church movements, -such as women preaching, and Salvation Army barracks, would have -sufficiently alarmed those good orthodox people to make them call for a -day of fasting and prayer. Nevertheless they were a noble race, among -whom misappropriation and embezzlement of funds, trust swindling and -corporation stealing and political corruption were unknown.</p> - -<p>The pulpit was the old-fashioned barrel-shaped structure, and, like some -of the sermons, was high above the heads of the people. There was a -great sounding-board over the head of the preacher, and it used to be a -subject of calculation with the boys, whether this board would not some -day fall on the devoted head of the speaker and stop the sound -altogether. This church had the old family square pew, and in front of -the pulpit was a bench for the deacons. The people were classified in -their pews according to age, and the oldest, perhaps on account of their -difficulty in hearing, occupied the seats nearest the pulpit. The church -building was not warmed, save by the fervid sermons of those grand old -Puritan divines. That, however, reached only the head and heart, hence, -for the feet, they made stoves of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_019" id="page_019"></a>{19}</span> sheet iron, over which was a -perforated tin casing, and over this a hardwood casing. Coals from -corncobs, or seasoned hickory, as being the most durable, were placed in -this stove, which was carried in the bottom of carriage or sleigh to -church, where its heat would last all forenoon. At the close of the -forenoon service, the people went to the neighboring church house, which -was warmed by a log fire. Here they ate their luncheon, and then -returned to the church for another two hours’ devotion.</p> - -<p>The Rev. Timothy P. Gillett was pastor of this church in Mr. Plant’s -boyhood. He taught an academy—Mr. Plant being a scholar for several -terms—in addition to his ministerial duties of preaching, visiting, and -catechising the church people. He was a sober, solemn, orthodox -clergyman of the old school, scholarly and dignified both in and out of -the pulpit. It is only a hint of the changes that time brings, and no -reflection on this good man’s charity to say that, had he seen one of -the modern ministers visiting his flock on a bicycle, he would have had -him deposed from the sacred office. Some unfortunate misunderstanding -came between him and his congregation in the latter part of his -ministry, so that his wife refused to have his remains interred in the -church burying-ground. She afterwards relented, was herself buried in -the church cemetery, and left in her will two thousand dollars<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_020" id="page_020"></a>{20}</span> to -defray the cost of removing her husband’s remains thither, and for -erecting a suitable monument to his memory. The sacred dust of both -pastor and wife rests, as it should, among the people to whom they -ministered for some fifty years or more. The town of Branford was -composed of an intelligent, industrious, and religious people, mostly -farmers and well-to-do citizens. The academy presided over by the Rev. -Timothy P. Gillett constituted a centre of intellectual, moral, and -spiritual development that inspired the life and elevated the character -of the people.</p> - -<p>The following account from, the <i>Branford Annals</i> is only one of the -many testimonies that might be recorded of the patriotism and courage of -this people:</p> - -<p>“No town in New Haven County was more important during the war of -independence than old Branford. Her citizens proved very patriotic. She -had a few royalists who were somewhat troublesome. But most of her -people were self-sacrificing in a special degree in sustaining the -federal cause. No town surpassed her in furnishing men and means. Most -all of her able-bodied men were in the army, responding promptly at -every call. Col. William Douglass’ regiment, which did most effective -service, was largely recruited from Branford. The coasts and harbors of -Branford exposed her to visits from<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_021" id="page_021"></a>{21}</span> the vessels of the enemy. -Coast-guards were needed, and were kept night and day at Stony Creek, -Indian Neck, Town Neck, and at Branford Point. At the approach of the -enemy, two reports of a cannon were to call out all the people to repel -invasion. Expresses were kept in readiness to hasten to the remote parts -of the town with the alarming news. When New Haven was invaded, patriots -from Branford were quickly on hand to help. A company of her men were in -the battle at Milford Hill. Two Branford men, Goodrich and Baldwin, were -killed, and several others wounded at that battle. The attack of the -British on the east side of New Haven harbor was repelled by the -Branford home guard mostly. Those from Branford were supported by men -from Guilford, who hastened to the rescue.</p> - -<p>“At that time a new vessel, a brig named the <i>New Defence</i>, was at -Branford wharf almost ready to sail against the enemy. She had been -built and manned at Branford. Her future history was tragical. At the -first alarm of the landing at New Haven the guns of this vessel were -taken out and hurried over the hills to East Haven. There mounted and -vigorously used and well supported by the brave minute-men with their -muskets, the invaders were compelled to hasten a retreat. One of the -reports made by the British officers speaks of the strong force and -‘great guns’ encountered in that direction. There is an<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_022" id="page_022"></a>{22}</span> old record at -Branford showing that Mason Hobart, of that place, was paid £5 for -carting two cannon to East Haven from the brig <i>New Defence</i>, July 5, -1779.”</p> - -<p>Connecticut, though one of the smaller States of the Union, has ever -maintained a high standard of patriotism, education, and moral power in -the progress of the country. De Tocqueville was in the habit of saying, -“All de great men in Amerique comed from dat leetle State dey call -Connecti-coot.” Branford is an old seaport town. Its shipbuilding, -fisheries, West India trade, two hundred years ago, were quite extensive -for that day. It is also a seaside resort in summer, being half-way -between Boston and New York.</p> - -<p>Branford was for many years the Governor’s seat of the colonial -government of Connecticut. The house of Governor Saltonstall is still -standing. Many of the useful and prominent men of the country were born -and reared in this quiet yet enterprising little town, founded more than -two and a half centuries ago by the Puritans of old England. Among its -noted and worthy families were those of the Plants and Blackstones, of -whom we shall speak in the following chapter, as the two families became -connected by marriage, and are still warmly attached to their native -town.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_023" id="page_023"></a>{23}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a><img src="images/ill_050.jpg" alt="[text decoration not available.]" /><br /> - CHAPTER III.</h2> - -<div class="blockquott"><p class="hang">The Blackstone Family—The Ancestor Came from England before -1630—His Name was William Blaxton—Settled First in Massachusetts, -afterwards Went to Rhode Island—His Beautiful Character and -Numerous Descendants—Origin of Yale College of Branford—The -Blackstone Memorial Library.</p></div> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">F</span>ROM a pamphlet history of the Blackstone family, in which the name is -spelled Blaxton, we gather the following interesting account:</p> - -<p>“For several years before Winthrop came, in 1630, William Blaxton -constituted the entire population of this peninsula [Massachusetts, of -which the present Boston Common was then a part], at that time an -unbroken wilderness of woods traversed by savages, by wolves, and other -wild beasts almost as dangerous. Here he dwelt alone, exposed to -dangers, many and great. He was a man of culture, refinement, and -gentlemanly bearing, amiable and hospitable, liked by Indians, and -indeed by everybody. These noble traits, this love of nature, his sacred -calling, his trusting faith, invested whatever belonged to him with a -romantic interest. He was a clergyman of the Church of England, born<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_024" id="page_024"></a>{24}</span> in -1595, graduated from Cambridge, England, in 1617, and died 1675, aged -eighty years. Blaxton took orders in the Episcopal Church, but it seems -that he never had a cure, though he still wore his canonical coat, which -would indicate his attachment to the English Church, yet some have -represented him as a non-conformist, ‘detesting Prelacy.’ He had in his -library ten large volumes of manuscript books, presumably sermons, all -of which were burned in his house during King Philip’s War. Blaxton came -to America in 1623 with Robert Gorges.”</p> - -<p>The father of Mr. Plant’s first wife was Captain James Blackstone. He -lived to the ripe old age of ninety-seven. His son, Timothy B. -Blackstone, is building a public library in Branford to the memory of -his revered father. The following extract of a letter to the donor from -one of the trustees of this library, Mr. Addison Van Name, will be of -interest in this connection, showing, as it does, the origin of Yale -College. The letter is dated from Yale University Library, and runs as -follows:</p> - -<p>“My fellow-trustees asked me to procure a design for a book-plate, and -one is herewith submitted for your approval. It seemed to us that a -memorable incident in the earlier library history of Branford might -appropriately be commemorated here, and this has been attempted in the -vignette, in the upper right-hand<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_025" id="page_025"></a>{25}</span> corner of the plate. You are no doubt -familiar with the story, but President Clap’s <i>Annals of Yale College</i> -is not a very common book, and I may be excused for quoting his exact -language.</p> - -<p>“In the year 1700, ‘The Ministers so nominated met at New Haven, and -formed themselves into a body, or society, to consist of eleven -ministers, including a rector, and agreed to found a college in the -colony of Connecticut, which they did at their next meeting at Branford, -in the following manner, viz.: Each member brought a number of books and -presented them to the body, and laying them on the table said these -words, or to this effect, “I give these books for the founding a college -in this Colony.” Then the trustees, as a body, took possession of them, -and appointed the Rev. Mr. Russel, of Branford, to be the Keeper of the -Library, which then consisted of about forty volumes in folio.’<span class="lftspc">”</span></p> - -<p>The story is so good that, if there were not the best of reasons for -believing it true, one might easily suspect it to have been invented. -But in his preface President Clap says: “Several circumstances [and -among them we may well suppose the incident in question] I received from -sundry gentlemen who were contemporary with the facts related, among -whom were some of the founders of the college with whom I was personally -acquainted in the year 1726.”<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_026" id="page_026"></a>{26}</span></p> - -<p>The following account of Mr. Timothy B. Blackstone is taken from the New -York <i>Herald</i> of April 12, 1896:</p> - -<p>“Mr. Blackstone was born in a part of Branford known as Blackstoneville, -on March 28, 1829. His father, Captain James Blackstone, in whose memory -he erected this building, was a well-to-do farmer and stock-raiser. He -derived his title of captain from being elected to that position in a -company of local militia. He was elected to the Legislature in the -sessions of 1825, 1826, and 1830, and was elected State Senator in 1840.</p> - -<p>“Timothy attended the public schools here until he was eighteen years -old, when he left, and obtained employment as assistant to a civil -engineer, who was at that time surveying on the construction of the New -York and New Haven, now the Consolidated, Railroad. After finishing this -piece of work he became an engineer, and was appointed assistant -engineer of the Stockbridge and Pittsfield Railroad, a short line -constructed in 1849, and now a part of the Housatonic road. After this -road was completed, Mr. Blackstone went west in 1851, and took charge of -the construction of a portion of the Illinois Central Railroad. He -settled at this time in La Salle, Ill., and was Mayor of the city for -one year. In 1856, he became civil engineer of the Joliet and Chicago -Railroad, which ran from Joliet via Lockport<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_027" id="page_027"></a>{27}</span> to Chicago. After this he -was employed in surveying the land over which the Chicago and Alton -Railroad now runs.</p> - -<p>“Mr. Blackstone first began accumulating wealth while this road was -being built. He purchased land ahead, and then sold it at a profit. He -then invested in stock, and held several responsible offices until he -attained his present position—president of the great system.”</p> - -<p>On June 17, 1896, the magnificent library was dedicated with appropriate -ceremonies, and called forth much enthusiasm from the towns-people.</p> - -<p>In the course of his speech on this occasion, as reported in the <i>Daily -Palladium</i> of New Haven, Judge Harrison said:</p> - -<p>“While the primary purpose of the generous donor of this building, and -its endowment fund, is to benefit the people of the town of Branford, it -will never be forgotten that it serves also as a memorial to Hon. James -Blackstone, who spent his long life of ninety-three years in this town, -where he was born, and to the welfare of which he devoted so much time -during the years of his young and mature manhood. For nearly two -centuries the Blackstone family has occupied a conspicuous place in this -community, and for the same length of time representatives of the family -have been tillers of the soil, the title to which has always been in a -Blackstone.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_028" id="page_028"></a>{28}</span></p> - -<p>“We cannot properly dedicate this building to the purpose for which it -is intended without calling your attention briefly to James Blackstone, -his life, his family, and his ancestors. He was born in Branford in -1793, in a house located nearly opposite that home which was during -nearly his whole life his residence, and where he died on the 4th of -February, 1886. His first ancestor in this country was the Rev. William -Blackstone, a graduate, in 1617, of Emanuel College, Cambridge. He -received Episcopal ordination in England after graduation, but, like -John Davenport of New Haven, he soon became of the Puritan persuasion, -left his native country on account of his non-conformity, and became the -first white settler upon that famous neck of land opposite Charlestown, -which is now the city of Boston. When the Massachusetts colony came to -New England they found William Blackstone settled on that peninsula. He -had been there long enough to have planted an orchard of apple trees. -Upon his invitation, the principal part of the Massachusetts colony -removed from Charlestown and founded the town of Boston, on land which -Mr. Blackstone desired them to occupy. He was the first inhabitant of -the town, and the colony records of May 18, 1631, show that he was the -first person admitted a freeman of Boston. His house and orchard were -located upon a spot about half-way between Boston Common<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_029" id="page_029"></a>{29}</span> and the -Charles River. A few years passed by, and the peculiar notions of the -Puritans of Boston on the subject of church organization and government, -had satisfied William Blackstone that while he could not conform to the -church of Archbishop Laud, neither could he conform to the Puritan -Church of Boston, and when they invited him to join them he constantly -declined, using this language: ‘I came from England because I did not -like the lord-bishops; but I cannot join with you because I would not be -under the lord-brethren.’</p> - -<p>“In 1633, an agreement was entered into between himself and the other -old settlers, in the division of the lands, that he should have fifty -acres allotted to him near his house forever. In 1635, he sold -forty-four of those acres to the company for £30, retaining the six -acres upon which was his orchard, and soon afterwards he removed to -Rhode Island, living near Providence until the time of his death, which -occurred on the 26th of May, 1675. A few years after leaving Boston he -sold the orchard of six acres to a man named Pepys. He was not in any -manner driven away from Boston by the Puritan Fathers, but holding -certain ideas which did not agree with those of his neighbors, he -concluded to move to a new location, from similar motives to those which -led John Davenport to leave New Haven and go to Boston after the union -of the New Haven colony<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_030" id="page_030"></a>{30}</span> with the Connecticut colony at Hartford. All of -the accounts and records of Rev. William Blackstone show him to have -been a religious man, with literary tastes, of correct, industrious, -thrifty habits, kind and philanthropic feelings, living for several -years on Boston Neck, and demonstrating the ability of the white man to -live in peace with only Indians for his neighbors. While living in Rhode -Island he frequently went to Providence to preach the gospel, and was -highly esteemed by all the settlers of that colony. In July, 1659, he -married a widow named Sarah Stevenson, and by her he had one son, John -Blackstone. The inventory of his estate after his death describes him as -having a house and orchard, 260 acres of land, interests in the -Providence meadows, and a library of 186 volumes of different languages. -A river of Rhode Island and a town in Massachusetts were named -Blackstone in his honor.</p> - -<p>“His only son, John, married in 1692, and about 1713 moved to the town -of Branford, where he took up his residence on lands southeast of the -centre of the town, and bounded southerly by the sea.</p> - -<p>“The son of this John Blackstone was born in 1669, and died in Branford, -January 3, 1785, aged nearly eighty-six. His son, John Blackstone, was -born in Branford in 1731, and died August 10, 1816, aged eighty-five. -The son of this last John Blackstone, Timothy Blackstone, was born in -Branford in 1776,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_031" id="page_031"></a>{31}</span> and died in 1849, at the age of eighty-three. This -Timothy Blackstone was the father of Hon. James Blackstone, who was born -in Branford, in the old homestead of his father and grandfather, in -1793.</p> - -<p>“Here were five generations of the Blackstones living and dying upon the -old family farm in Branford. All of them seem to have possessed many of -the traits of their first ancestor in this country. They were noted for -their force of character, industry, modesty, and marked executive -ability. James Blackstone, like his ancestors, was a farmer. At the age -of twenty he was elected a captain in the Connecticut militia, and as -such commanded his company for several months while serving as -coastguard on Long Island Sound during the war of 1812-15. He held at -one time or another during his life the important local offices of the -town, such as assessor and first selectman. Before the separation of -North Branford in 1831, the township of Branford, as one of the original -towns, was entitled to two representatives in the General Assembly, and -on several occasions Captain James Blackstone of Branford and Captain -Jonathan Rose of North Branford were the representatives of the town at -Hartford and New Haven. In 1842, James Blackstone represented the Sixth -District in the State Senate. In politics he was a Federalist, a Whig, -and a Republican. His advice and counsel were sought by<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_032" id="page_032"></a>{32}</span> people, not -only of his own town, but of neighboring towns, when occasions arose -concerning the settlement of estates or other matters, where the opinion -and advice of a man of marked good judgment were needed. The first time -I ever saw Captain James Blackstone, he was pointed out to me by a -resident of the town, as he was driving past the old public square, with -the remark: ‘That is Captain James Blackstone. When he rises in a town -meeting and says, “Mr. Moderator, in my humble opinion it is better for -this town that a certain course be taken,” the expression of his opinion -always prevails with the majority of the voters in the meeting, so great -is the confidence the people of the town have in his judgment.’ His -character and remarkable ability can be easily read by any student of -physiognomy who will look at the admirable life-size portrait of him now -placed in this building. If his tastes had led him to a larger place for -the exercise of his ability, no field would have been so large that he -would not have been a leader among men.</p> - -<p>“Yet here he chose to dwell, performing his part well through the whole -of his long life....</p> - -<p>“The donor of this library was the youngest son of James Blackstone. To -many of you his history and life are well known. He left the east more -than forty years ago to pursue his chosen profession. He married, in -1868, Miss Isabella Norton of Norwich,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_033" id="page_033"></a>{33}</span> and since that time his home has -been upon Michigan Avenue, in that great metropolis of the west, -Chicago. There, for over thirty years he has managed with consummate -skill the affairs of the most successful of all the great railroads of -the west. Of him, his character, his generosity, and his remarkable -modesty, but great ability, I am not at liberty to speak ... but this is -not complete as a memorial of James Blackstone unless I mention briefly -the other descendants. The eldest son of James Blackstone, George, died -in 1861, never having been married. The eldest daughter, Mary, married -Samuel O. Plant. One of her daughters, Ellen Plant, is with us to-day. -Three grandchildren of Mrs. Mary Blackstone Plant, being the children of -her daughter Sarah, are William L., Paul W., and Gertrude P. Harrison.</p> - -<p>“The second son of James Blackstone, Lorenzo Blackstone, who lived for -many years in Norwich, and died there in 1888, had five children. The -eldest, De Trafford Blackstone, has one son, Lorenzo. The second child -of Lorenzo is Mrs. Harriet Blackstone Camp of Norwich, who has three -children, Walter Trumbull, Talcott Hale, and Elizabeth Norton Camp. The -second daughter of Lorenzo is Mrs. Frances Ella Huntington of Norwich. -The fourth child of Lorenzo Blackstone is William Norton Blackstone of -Norwich; and his youngest son, Louis Lorenzo Blackstone, died in 1893.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_034" id="page_034"></a>{34}</span></p> - -<p>“The second daughter of James Blackstone, Ellen Elizabeth, married Henry -B. Plant, now of New York City. She died in 1861, leaving one son, -Morton F. Plant, who is married and has one son, Henry B. Plant, Jr. -James Blackstone’s third son was John Blackstone, who died several years -ago, leaving three children, George and Adelaide Blackstone and Mrs. -Emma Pond.</p> - -<p>“Sir William Blackstone, the great authority upon the common law of -England, was a cousin of the fifth degree to our James Blackstone, and -the portraits of the two men bear a marked family resemblance.</p> - -<p>“Ten years ago James Blackstone passed to his reward. His influence for -good still exists in this community, where the old New England ideas are -yet strong, though modified by the leaven of modern industry, education, -and thought.”</p> - -<p class="c"><img src="images/ill_061.jpg" alt="[text decoration not available.]" /><br /> -</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_035" id="page_035"></a>{35}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a><img src="images/ill_062.jpg" alt="[text decoration not available.]" /><br /> - CHAPTER IV.</h2> - -<div class="blockquott"><p class="hang">The Plants Came from England to Branford, between Two Hundred and -Three Hundred Years ago—Still Own the Lands First -Acquired—Henry’s Father Died of Typhus Fever when Henry was about -Six Years Old—His Tender Recollection of his Mother—Henry’s First -Day at School—His Natural Diffidence—Mr. Plant’s After-Dinner -Speeches—His Mother’s Second Marriage—Stepfather Kind to -Henry—Thrown by a Plough Horse and nearly Killed—Attended School -at Branford—Engaged on Steamboat Line Running between New Haven -and New York—On Leaving, Promised a Captaincy—Marriage—Express -Business—Leaves New Haven and Goes to New York—Romantic -Experience in Florida.</p></div> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">T</span>HE Plants settled in Branford at an early date, and their descendants -still own the lands on which their ancestors first settled over two -hundred years ago. It will be seen, by referring to the genealogical -table at the end of this volume, that Anderson Plant was of the fifth -generation from John Plant, who resided in Hartford, Connecticut, in -1639. Anderson Plant was the father of Henry B. Plant, the subject of -this biography. He is described as a farmer in good circumstances, of -amiable disposition, fond of outdoor sports, gunning being a favorite<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_036" id="page_036"></a>{36}</span> -amusement. He died when Henry was six years of age, and, consequently, -Mr. Plant does not remember much about his father. He can recall, how -his father once came in, with a friend, from a morning’s duck shooting, -and threw down half a dozen ducks on the floor. At another time, his -father took him by the hand to see something that was happening in the -town which had drawn out the people, but he does not remember what it -was. His father died of typhus fever, and he himself also had the fever, -and was so ill that he knew nothing of his loss until he was partially -recovered from the dreadful disease.</p> - -<p>One week after the father’s death, the father’s youngest sister died, -and Henry’s sister also died a few days following, when she was about a -year old. He was then left alone with his mother.</p> - -<p>She was the only daughter of the Honorable Levi Bradley. He was a member -of the Legislature and also a musician who taught a singing school. Mr. -Plant remembers that his mother sat with the choir in front of the -pulpit and led the singing in the Congregational Church. She had been -brought up in the Episcopal Church, and though her father did not -approve of it, she deemed it her duty to go with her husband to his -church.</p> - -<p>“One of the first recollections I have of my mother,” says Mr. Plant, -“was on a Christmas Eve, when she dressed me up neatly, took me on her -knees, talked<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_037" id="page_037"></a>{37}</span> affectionately to me, and sang that beautiful vesper -hymn, ‘Adeste Fideles’; even now, whenever I hear it, it brings tears to -my eyes.” This explains tears the author has seen in his eyes while -listening to the orchestra in the music-room, but knew not then what -were their tender and sacred association. Little did that mother realize -the mighty power, the subduing influence, the enduring benediction to -her child of that simple act, the outgoing of the maternal heart. The -hallowed influence of that sacred hour has never been effaced through -long years, in the whirl of business, in the varied conflicts incident -to a public life, in close contact with civil war, within sound of the -booming cannon, and the groans of the dying, away in far distant lands, -and on stormy seas. Yet amid all, the hallowed influence of that sacred -hour, when a mere child on a mother’s knee, has never been effaced. How -well it accords with what the poet wrote:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="iq">“I had a mother once like you,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Who o’er my pillow hung,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Kissed from my cheek the briny dew,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And taught my infant tongue.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="iq">“She, when the nightly couch was spread,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Would bow my infant knee,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And place her hand upon my head,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And kneeling, pray for me.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_038" id="page_038"></a>{38}</span><br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="iq">“Youth came; the props of virtue ruled;<br /></span> -<span class="i2">But oft at day’s decline,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">A marble touch my brow could feel,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Dear mother was it thine?<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="iq">“And still that hand so soft and fair,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Has kept its magic sway,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">As when amid my curling hair<br /></span> -<span class="i2">With gentle force it lay.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="iq">“That hallowed touch was ne’er forgot,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And now though time hath set<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Stern manhood’s seal upon my brows,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">These temples feel it yet.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="iq">“And if I e’er in Heaven appear,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">A mother’s holy prayer,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">A mother’s hand and gentle tear,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">That pointed to a Saviour dear,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Will lead the wanderer there.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>Mr. Plant’s first day at school is another tender memory connected with -his mother. She had dressed him up in new clothes and talked to him -about going to school and learning to read, and becoming a good scholar, -and doubtless much more that her kindly mother-heart would suggest to -awaken interest and stimulate ambition in the boy. Then she took him -outside the gate, pointed out the schoolhouse, kissed him, and told him -to go thither and give his name to the teacher as a scholar. His mother -intuitively knew her child’s sensitive disposition, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_039" id="page_039"></a>{39}</span> had her -misgivings about his being able to carry out her instructions; so she -concealed herself and watched him till he reached the school door. Here -poor little Henry’s courage failed him, and he came running back to his -mother, not to be scolded, but to be encouraged and helped over his -childish timidity. His mother this time went with him to the -schoolhouse, took him in, and made him acquainted with the lady teacher. -Thus began, more than seventy years ago, the first lesson of this most -successful man. The scene is as vivid in his mind to-day as it was on -the day when it was enacted. How little that teacher knew of the man -that was enfolded in this timid child, and of the great privilege, as -well as great responsibility, that was hers, thus early preparing him, -in part, for his great career.</p> - -<p>Henry was a very diffident child, nor did his diffidence quite cease -with childhood, for even in manhood at public dinners when he suspected -that he might be called on for a speech, it took away his appetite if -not the enjoyment of the otherwise pleasant occasion.</p> - -<p>This will surprise many of Mr. Plant’s friends who have listened to him -with pleasure and profit on many occasions. He rarely prepared his -speeches, but drew his ideas from that knowledge and experience which he -possessed on so many different subjects, and always spoke intelligently -in plain, clear,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_040" id="page_040"></a>{40}</span> well-chosen words, without any attempt at oratorical -display. Of this we shall speak in another place.</p> - -<p>“Some time after my father’s death, perhaps three or four years,” says -Mr. Plant, “my mother married again, a man by the name of Philemon -Hoadley. He was a very religious man, and was exceedingly kind to me; he -said I was the best boy he had ever seen. He lived in New York State, -and mother left Branford and we moved to his home at Martensburg, New -York. I lived part of the time with her there and part of the time with -my grandmother Plant at Branford. She always attended church on the -Sabbath, and took me with her, never failing to carry a good luncheon, -which we ate in the church house at the close of the morning service.”</p> - -<p>An incident of Mr. Plant’s boyhood was sent to the writer by one who has -known him long, and esteems the President of the Southern Express -Company, (of which he has been a faithful and efficient agent in North -Carolina for many years) very highly, and loves him with a genuine, -manly affection. He writes thus:</p> - -<p>“The following incident which occurred in Branford during Mr. Plant’s -boyhood may be of interest to you, in showing how near the country came -to being deprived of his great usefulness and noble life. When a boy of -about eight or ten years of age, he was one day riding a plow horse at -work<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_041" id="page_041"></a>{41}</span> in the field. The horse became frightened and ran away, carrying -plow, boy, and all with him. Barefooted and bareheaded, the brave lad -clung to the horse until entirely exhausted, when he fell and was -severely injured. He was found in the woods by friends who carried him -into their house. After several hours’ hard work by the doctor and -others, he revived sufficiently to be taken to his home. The fight for -life was severe and protracted, but he bore it heroically.</p> - -<p>“I wish I could express all I feel towards Mr. Plant. I have been in his -employ thirty-eight years—with the Southern Express Company. During all -these years he has been a friend to me in all that that word implies. I -am sure I voice the sentiments of thousands of his employees when I say -that he is one of the noblest and best of men.</p> - -<p class="r"> -A. P. B.”<br /> -</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p>After his mother married and had lived for some time at her husband’s -home in New York State, they went to live at New Haven and Henry made -his home with them, often visiting his grandmother Plant at Branford. -The grandmother wanted him to go to Yale College, doubtless in the hope -that he might enter the ministry, for few took a college course in those -days unless they intended to enter the ministry. But Henry was not -particularly fond of study. He had attended the district school at<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_042" id="page_042"></a>{42}</span> -Branford, and had studied for a time at the Gillett Academy, and at -Lowville, New York State. He had also studied under John E. Lovell, a -famous teacher in New Haven, whose birthday was celebrated in New Haven, -long after his death. He was the founder of the Lancastrian System of -instruction in America. Henry did not accept his grandmother’s offer of -a college course at Yale. He was anxious to try his hand at some active -occupation. He attempted several things, none of which seemed to suit -him. At last, in 1837, he engaged himself to a steamboat line running -boats between New York and New Haven.</p> - -<p>The boats of the line were named respectively, <i>New York</i>, <i>New Haven</i>, -<i>The Splendid</i>, <i>The Superior</i>, and <i>The Bunker Hill</i>.</p> - -<p>Henry began as captain’s boy and worked his way up, filling various -positions for some five years, to the entire satisfaction of the -company, so that on leaving it he was promised a captaincy of the next -new boat if he would remain with the line. The following account, taken -from, a recent issue of <i>The Marine Journal</i>, shows how young Plant -would pocket his fastidiousness, and stand up to manly duty like a true -American. This recalls the story of a man in a Philadelphia market who -tendered his services to an Irish coachman, who was troubled to find a -man to carry home some fish which he had bought for his master.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_043" id="page_043"></a>{43}</span></p> - -<p>Arriving at the fine mansion on Chestnut Street the Irishman offered to -pay his porter, who respectfully declined saying: “Oh, no, I only just -carried the fish to oblige you. I do not need pay. I am a United States -Senator. Good morning.”</p> - -<p>“There are few men who can call to mind more interesting reminiscences -of ‘Auld Lang Syne,’ and tell them in a more agreeable manner than Henry -B. Plant. Referring to his early manhood, Mr. Plant said recently: ‘I -got my first experience in the express business when performing the -service of a deckhand on a steamboat running between New Haven and New -York in the latter part of the “thirties.” At the time referred to I was -employed on the side-wheel steamer <i>New York</i>, which had for companion -steamers the <i>New Haven</i>, <i>Splendid</i>, and <i>Bunker Hill</i>, on each one of -which I served at one time or another. It was on the <i>New York</i>, -however, that I spent the most of my apprenticeship. The deck-hands -slept below in the forecastle, an uncomfortably small space in the -“eyes” of the boat, and took our meals in the kitchen, standing up. Take -it all in all it was rather rough on a fellow that had just left a good -home, and when some of my towns-people would come aboard and catch me -with swab or broom in hand I didn’t feel altogether happy, but had too -much pluck to quit. One winter the <i>New York</i> had been laid up for new -boilers, and I was transferred to the <i>Splendid<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_044" id="page_044"></a>{44}</span></i> till the <i>New York</i> -was ready for service, and when she came out in the spring it was quite -an event. She had two new copper boilers, one on each guard, the first -to be placed on the guards.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>Up to this time a considerable lot of package freight, express matter, -began to be sent back and forth. This was stowed in different places -about the boat and not properly cared for, until one day the captain -conceived the idea that a big double stateroom forward of the wheel -could be used in which to store it, and I was given the duty of looking -after it, and a berth was put up there for me to sleep in. As I look -back upon my career in those days, the one on which I was transferred -from the dingy forecastle to the express room was by far the happiest, -and it was there that I took my first lessons in the express business.’<span class="lftspc">”</span> -Those who are familiar with the extensive business of the Southern -Express Company, of which Mr. Plant was the founder, and which begins at -Washington and extends throughout the railroads south of Washington and -the Ohio, excepting the Illinois Central, and to Cuba by the Plant -Steamship Lines, can understand why it has taken nearly a lifetime of -earnest toil to get it up to its present magnitude. It is a monument to -the enterprise of the youngster from Connecticut, who got his first idea -of the express business on a steamer between New Haven and New York -nearly sixty years ago. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_045" id="page_045"></a>{45}</span> other large undertakings of Mr. Plant in -railroads, steamships, hotels, etc., that have helped make the State of -Florida the garden spot of the United States in winter, were easy as -their necessities developed, in comparison to the Southern Express -business which was the foundation of this enterprising citizen’s fame -and fortune.”</p> - -<p>Captain Stone was very fond of young Plant, and deeply regretted his -loss to the service. It was during Mr. Plant’s engagement with this -company, in 1842, that he married Miss Ellen Elizabeth Blackstone, -daughter of Hon. James Blackstone, one of the Blackstone family already -referred to in this biography. One son was born to him, a promising -child, who lived only eighteen months. His second and only living child -is his son, Morton Freeman, now associated with his father as his -assistant, and Vice-President of all the interests of the “Plant -System,” over which his father presides. Mr. Plant’s position on the -steamboat line plying between New York and New Haven, entailed a -frequent absence from his home in New Haven, and he therefore decided to -be more at home. At this time he went into the express business of the -line conducted by Beecher and Company. At first he had charge of the -business at New Haven, but afterwards went to New York City, still -keeping up his connection with the boats. When the Beecher Company was -consolidated<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_046" id="page_046"></a>{46}</span> with the Hartford and New Haven line, owned by Daniel -Philipps and C. Spooner of Hartford, Mr. Plant was placed in charge of -all the express business of the New Haven line in New York. Subsequently -the business was acquired by the Adams Express Company, and was -transferred from the steamboat line to the railroad, and Mr. Plant was -transferred with it. While thus employed, young Plant was economical and -saving. He received his pay monthly, and instead of wasting it in folly -and dissipation he gave his earnings to his mother, and she banked it -for him. He then bought some stock in a New Haven bank which he still -retains. His stepfather, being a religious man, advised Henry to buy a -pew in a new church which the Congregational Society was building at New -Haven. This he did, and in after years, on the failure of the church, -when the property was sold, he got back his money. His stepfather died -at New Haven about 1862 or 1863.</p> - -<p>It was in 1853 that Mrs. Plant was seized with congestion of the lungs, -and Doctors Delafield and Marco advised that she be at once taken to -Florida. On March 25, 1853, Mr. Plant started with his sick wife from -New York City to Charleston, South Carolina, by the steamer <i>Marion</i>. -From Charleston he sailed on the steamer <i>Calhoun</i> to Savannah, Georgia. -And from Savannah he went by the steamer <i>Welaka</i> to Jacksonville, -Florida. It took over eight days to</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_076_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_076.jpg" width="414" height="500" alt="Ellen Elizabeth (Blackstone) Plant." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption"><i>Ellen Elizabeth (Blackstone) Plant.</i></span> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_047" id="page_047"></a>{47}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">make the journey which is now a delightful trip of one day, for he left -New York on the Sabbath morning and the next Sabbath evening he arrived -at Jacksonville, which was a small village then with only one poor wharf -and not a vehicle of any kind to carry passengers or baggage. He -succeeded in getting some negro boys to carry his trunk to a poor hotel -where he remained only one day. Through some persuasion he found a man -to take him into his private house at Strawberry Mills, seven miles in -the country from Jacksonville, across the St. John’s River. Here Mrs. -Plant’s health greatly improved, her cough disappeared and she was so -much better that by the first of May, Mr. Plant was able to leave her -and return to New York. Early in July, Mrs. Plant came back to the city -apparently in good health. The following almost romantic story is told -in the New York <i>Times</i> of their first experience in Florida.</p> - -<p>“In the winter of 1853, a Northern man with an invalid wife brought her -down to Jacksonville to benefit her health. The present metropolis of -Florida was then a settlement of five or six houses, one of which was -called a hotel, but the hotel was so badly kept that the gentleman was -cautioned against going to it, and he found accommodations in a private -house. He had letters of introduction to a Florida settler, whose home -was six or eight miles out of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_048" id="page_048"></a>{48}</span> Jacksonville, and as soon as he could -communicate with him through a stray traveller, the settler sent his -boat after the Northerner and took him to his house. The boat was an -immense ‘dug-out,’ made from a single mammoth log, manned by a crew of -uniformed blacks, who handled their oars in man-of-war style. At this -settler’s house a hospitable and comfortable stopping-place was found.</p> - -<p>“In the course of the winter the lady’s health improved to such an -extent that her husband decided upon taking her to St. Augustine for a -pleasure trip. There was in the household a beautiful Indian girl, the -daughter of one of the Seminole chiefs, who afterward became the wife of -the settler I have mentioned, and she volunteered to accompany the lady -on what was then the long and difficult journey. The only road between -Jacksonville and St. Augustine was the old Spanish highway known as ‘the -king’s highroad,’ and this was so grown up with trees and bushes that it -was barely passable. But even this road lay five or six miles from the -settler’s house, and to reach it it was necessary to drive through the -trackless woods. The gentleman and his wife and the Indian girl set out -in a buggy, their host going before them on horseback to select the road -and blaze the trees between his place and the king’s highway, to enable -the strangers to find their way back.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_049" id="page_049"></a>{49}</span></p> - -<p>“The journey was made in safety; but the return trip took a little -longer than was intended, and the party found themselves at the point -where they must leave the old highway and turn into the forest just as -the deep shades of a Florida night were about to fall. They found the -blazed trees, but were unable to follow them. The gentleman, however, -managed for some time to pick his way by finding the indistinct wheel -tracks in the sand and the broken twigs; but as the darkness increased -this became impracticable, and there was every prospect that the invalid -lady and her husband and the Indian girl would be compelled to spend the -night under the pine trees. But their host was better acquainted with -blazed trees, and, as they did not arrive when expected, he set out on -horseback to hunt them up, and his shouts soon gave them welcome -assurance of succor. The lady’s health was so much improved before the -winter ended that she returned home comparatively well, and during the -remainder of her life every winter was passed in Florida. Her husband -has not since that time missed his annual winter trip to Florida, and he -is now spending his thirty-ninth winter in the State.</p> - -<p>“The gentleman who found Jacksonville a settlement of a few shanties, -and who came so near passing a romantic but uncomfortable night in the -woods with his wife and the Seminole girl, told me the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_050" id="page_050"></a>{50}</span> story of his -adventure a few days ago, while I sat with him in his gorgeous private -car, so far down in the State of Florida that, in 1853, few white men -had reached it. The Florida climate never did a better winter’s work -than when it restored the health of this gentleman’s wife, and thus -interested him in the new country, for the gentleman was Mr. H. B. -Plant, who no longer does his Florida travelling in a dug-out, but sends -his own cars over his own tracks to the farthermost corners of the -State.”</p> - -<p class="c"><img src="images/ill_081.jpg" alt="[text decoration not available.]" /><br /> -</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_051" id="page_051"></a>{51}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a><img src="images/ill_082.jpg" alt="[text decoration not available.]" /><br /> - CHAPTER V.</h2> - -<div class="blockquott"><p class="hang">Mr. Plant Goes from New Haven to New York—Captain Stone’s -Friendship—Mrs. Plant’s Health Fails again—Returns to the -South—Is Appointed Superintendent of Adams Express Company—His -Great Executive Ability—The Civil War—Mrs. Plant’s Death—Mr. -Plant Buys out the Adams Express Company.</p></div> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">W</span>HEN Mr. Plant first went to New York City he boarded at the Judson -Hotel, then kept by a Mr. Judson of Hartford, Connecticut. A little -incident of that period shows the high estimation in which he was held -by Captain Stone, Superintendent of the New York and New Haven steamship -line. Captain S. Bartlett Stone brought his son George to board at the -Hudson Hotel, saying, “Henry, when you were a boy I took charge of you; -now do you the same for my son.” Mr. Plant remained in New York until -October, when the fall weather of the North began to affect the health -of his wife unfavorably. He then started South by the steamship -<i>Knoxville</i>, which ran to Savannah. When he reached Savannah he -commenced to exercise his appointment as superintendent of the Harnden -Express, which forwarded express matter from New<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_052" id="page_052"></a>{52}</span> York by steamer to -Savannah, and thence to Augusta, Macon, and Atlanta, by the Central, -Macon, and Western Railroads; and also in Charleston, of the Hoey -Express, by which goods were forwarded by steamer from New York to -Charleston and were then distributed through the interior by the South -Carolina Railroad.</p> - -<p>About this time, Adams & Company had organized under the corporate title -of the Adams Express Company, and had acquired all these express -interests above mentioned. This was in March, 1853, and April, 1854. The -chief shareholders of the company were Alvan Adams, of Boston; William -B. Dinsmore, of New York; Edward S. Sanford, of Philadelphia; Samuel S. -Shoemaker, of Baltimore; James M. Thompson, of Springfield, -Massachusetts; Johnstone Livingstone, of New York; and R. B. Kinsley, of -Newport, Rhode Island. When it was found necessary for Mr. Plant to go -south again on account of his wife’s health he was appointed -superintendent of the Adams Express Company. This was in 1854, and he -was placed in charge of all the interests then controlled by that -company, and all that might be acquired by the company in the South -under his management or through his efforts.</p> - -<p>During Mr. Plant’s administration of the Adams Express Company, the -lines were extended over all<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_053" id="page_053"></a>{53}</span> the railroads south of the Potomac River, -namely, Norfolk, Richmond, and Lynchburg, Virginia; Louisville, -Kentucky; Cairo, Illinois, and over all the railroad lines constructed -in the South, and over all the navigable rivers on which at that time -there was steamboat connection. The expanding and establishing of this -great express business at Nashville, Memphis, Vicksburg, Louisville, and -New Orleans, and many other cities and towns, proved to be a herculean -task requiring much arduous travel, often in stage-coaches by day and -night, over rough roads, through swamp and forest, in summer’s heat and -winter’s cold. It goes without saying that in securing efficient -service, properly locating offices, appointing qualified agents, and -earning the confidence and patronage of an exacting public, there was -demanded a discriminating judgment, prompt decision, skill, and tact of -the highest order. It was a tremendous strain on mind and body, and that -too upon one not yet used to a Southern climate. It must be remembered -also that the express business of the South forty years ago was in its -infancy; the great Adams Express Company was still in its swaddling -clothes, and required the greatest care and skill to nurse it into -maturity, strength, and power, especially in the peculiar condition of -the country at the time when a dreadful civil war raged throughout the -land.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_054" id="page_054"></a>{54}</span></p> - -<p>Few men would have ventured on such a hazardous undertaking, and fewer -still would have conducted it to such a successful completion.</p> - -<p>To the cool, clear head, the calm, quiet spirit, the persistent energy -and dominant will of Henry B. Plant, is due the success of this great -achievement. The Southern Express Company and the Texas Express together -do a business now extending over twenty-four thousand four hundred and -twelve miles of railway, have lines in fifteen States, employ six -thousand eight hundred and eight men, use one thousand four hundred and -sixty-three horses and eight hundred and eighty-six wagons. Of both -these companies, Mr. Plant is the honored and efficient president, and -were we to attempt to estimate the amount and value of the goods handled -by these great organizations we feel sure the figures would be beyond -the credulity of our readers.</p> - -<p>This comes down to the year 1861, the beginning of the civil war, when -the Adams Express Company, believing that it would be hazardous for -Northern citizens to hold property in the South, decided to dispose of -their interests there. After unsuccessful negotiations with other -parties resident in the South, the company sold and transferred their -entire interest in the express line to Henry B. Plant. He formed a -corporation under the laws of the State of Georgia, taking in all the -shareholders of the Adams Express<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_055" id="page_055"></a>{55}</span> Company who were then residents of -the States south of the Potomac and Ohio rivers.</p> - -<p>The company thus formed, known now as the Southern Express Company, at -once elected Mr. Plant as its president, and this honorable and -responsible position he still holds. A central office was established at -Augusta, Georgia.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Plant’s health now began to give way. Their little boy Morton was -with relatives in the North. She saw that troubles many and great were -coming upon the country. Her disease returned, consumption laid its cold -hand upon her, and on February 28, 1861, this faithful wife and loving -mother was taken from a world of strife, with its tumults of war and -fratricidal conflicts, to the home of rest, peace, and eternal -blessedness. The remains were interred in Augusta, but afterwards were -removed to the family plot in the cemetery at Branford, the place of her -birth and where her early years had been spent.</p> - -<p class="c"><img src="images/ill_086.jpg" alt="[text decoration not available.]" /><br /> -</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_056" id="page_056"></a>{56}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI"></a><img src="images/ill_087.jpg" alt="[text decoration not available.]" /><br /> - CHAPTER VI.</h2> - -<div class="blockquott"><p class="hang">Relations to the Confederate Government—Jefferson Davis Gives him -Charge of Confederate Funds—Mr. Plant Buys a Slave, who afterward -Nursed him through a Severe Sickness—Impaired Health—Goes to -Bermuda, New York, Canada, and Europe—Second Marriage.</p></div> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">T</span>HE seat of the Confederate Government at this time was Montgomery, -Alabama, and the express company, just organized by Mr. Plant, was -appointed by that government collector of tariff upon all goods -consigned by the express company, and was also given the custody of all -funds of the Confederacy that were to be transferred from one place to -another. The express company filled this latter office until the -dissolution of the Confederacy.</p> - -<p>In consequence of this responsibility, officers and agents of the -company were either relieved from military service, or detailed for the -service of the express company. Its officers and agents were also for -the same reason exempted from jury duty in Southern States.</p> - -<p>Shortly before the removal of the capital of the Confederacy from -Montgomery to Richmond, it was<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_057" id="page_057"></a>{57}</span> deemed necessary by government officials -to define citizenship, and consequently a proclamation was issued by -President Davis, that specified a time in which all citizens of States -not in the Confederacy should leave it, or failing to do so within the -time specified, would become citizens of the Confederacy, and would be -subject to all duties and requirements of citizenship in the said -Confederacy.</p> - -<p>“At that time I thought it was incumbent on me,” said Mr. Plant, “that -my duties and opinions should be understood by President Davis and his -advisers. To that end I caused myself to be represented by counsel to -Mr. Davis and his Cabinet, in order that my opinions and position might -be clearly defined and known to the government, so that its wish might -be expressed, as to whether I should continue to have charge of the -express company without interference, or avail myself of the -proclamation, and take my departure with other citizens of the State of -New York.</p> - -<p>“I wished to know whether by remaining I would be required to abandon -the express and its obligations. It was a great satisfaction to me to -learn from my counsel that the Cabinet were unanimous in this decision -expressed by the President, that I should remain and continue to conduct -the business of my company, he having full confidence in whatever I -might do.”<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_058" id="page_058"></a>{58}</span></p> - -<p>The substance of this interesting episode has been published before with -some slight variations, but the above is from the most authoritative -source, and may therefore be received as correct.</p> - -<p>While living at Augusta, Georgia, a curious incident occurred which -resulted in the purchase of a slave by Mr. Plant. When the express -office was opened at this place, help was needed, a sort of -man-of-all-work for the many requirements of the office. Dennis Dorsey, -a colored man, was hired from his owner to act as porter, and in -whatever capacity he might be required. One summer when Mr. Plant was -about to go north, Dennis came to him and said that his master was going -to sell him, and that he wanted Mr. Plant to buy him. “What does your -master want for you?” asked Mr. Plant. “Fifteen hundred dollars,” Dennis -replied, “but it is too much, I am not worth so much. You can buy me -when you come back, as there is little danger of my being sold at that -price.” But Dennis was sold in Mr. Plant’s absence. When Mr. Plant -returned, Dennis besought him to buy him from the trader at Mobile who -then owned him. Mr. Plant bought him for eighteen hundred dollars, and -brought him back to Augusta. In a short time after this Mr. Plant was -stricken down with gastric fever, and Dennis proved a good and faithful -nurse to him. Mrs. Plant was in her grave, and Mr. Plant<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_059" id="page_059"></a>{59}</span> lived alone at -the hotel, so Dennis was gratified by the opportunity to return the -kindness rendered to him by his generous purchaser.</p> - -<p>Early in August, 1863, Mr. Plant returned from the mountains, whither he -had gone during his convalescence. His health had been improved by the -change, but he was still far from strong. Mr. Thomas H. Watts, -attorney-general for the Southern Confederacy, had seen Mr. Plant’s -physician, who had advised a change of climate. Mr. Watts sent Mr. Plant -a passport, with an order from President Davis authorizing him to pass -through the Confederate lines at any point. In about a month after this -he went to Wilmington, North Carolina, and embarked on the steamer -<i>Hansa</i>, for the Bermudas. He remained there about a month, when he went -by the steamer <i>Alpha</i> to Halifax, Nova Scotia, and thence to Montreal. -There some friends from New York came to see him, and brought his son -Morton from school to him. Mr. Plant then went to New Haven, -Connecticut, to visit his mother, and in the fall took passage on the -steamship <i>City of Edinburgh</i> for Liverpool.</p> - -<p>He was now a stranger in a strange land; the weather was cold, and with -impaired health his experience was rather depressing.</p> - -<p>However, Mr. Plant has never been the man to despond, still less to -despair, but to make the best<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_060" id="page_060"></a>{60}</span> even of discouraging circumstances. So he -went to Paris, whose mercurial people seldom cry, and always laugh when -they can. Here he heard of some friends who were staying in Rome, and -whom he would like to meet, so he determined to go there. By the French -Commissioner of Passports he was informed that his passport from the -Confederacy could not be recognized, and he was summoned to appear at -the commissioner’s office. He at once presented himself to this -official, answered many questions, and was informed that there was no -way by which his passport could be accepted at present, but as he wished -to visit Rome, then occupied by French troops, his case would be -considered.</p> - -<p>A few days afterwards he had the satisfaction of receiving a document -which served as a passport, given in the name of the Empire of France, -and in which he was described as a citizen of the United States of -America, resident at Augusta, Georgia, and all officers, civil, -military, and naval, were commanded to protect this stranger. He went to -Rome <i>via</i> the Mediterranean Sea, and was received everywhere with great -respect. He was about two weeks in France, several weeks in Rome, and -from thence he went to Naples, Leghorn, Genoa, Milan, and Venice, which -latter place was occupied by an Austrian army.</p> - -<p>From Venice he went to Switzerland, visiting many<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_061" id="page_061"></a>{61}</span> places in that -picturesque land, and returned to Paris by way of the Rhine. He then -passed his time between London and Paris until the autumn, when he -returned to America by way of Canada. He afterwards went to New York, -where he was staying when President Lincoln was assassinated. By the end -of April he was back in Augusta, Georgia.</p> - -<p>Mr. Plant’s second tour in Europe was in 1873, on the occasion of his -second marriage. He was then accompanied by his mother and his son, -Morton Freeman, and on this occasion he made quite an extensive tour of -the continent.</p> - -<p>His third visit was in the year 1889, when he went to the Paris -Exposition with an exhibit of Southern products. Soon after his arrival -in Paris he was asked by General Franklin, representative and -Commissioner-General of the United States, to accept the position of -juror in Class Six, representing the United States. To this responsible -position he was duly appointed by the proper authorities, and served -with entire satisfaction to all concerned. He was the only -English-speaking juror in that class, as Sir Douglas Galton was absent -until near the close of the Exposition. From this Exposition the “Plant -System” was awarded a large number of medals, which may be seen framed -in that palace of art, wrongly named an hotel, at Tampa Bay. A diploma -was given to Mr. Plant, in addition, and many other marks of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_062" id="page_062"></a>{62}</span> esteem and -courteous attention were freely tendered him.</p> - -<p>Mr. Plant led a very busy life in Augusta. He lived with his wife at the -hotel, and, when she was travelling in the North in the summer, he had -his office, for convenience, on the same floor as his bedroom. It had -been his habit to keep pad and pencil by his bedside, so that when there -came to his mind a matter that called for attention he at once put it -down on his memoranda. He was constantly receiving reports from his -express offices all over the South. There came to him, for adjustment, -many questions of management that were perplexing and urgent, so that he -was often on the road, called away at short notice, north, south, or -southwest. Complications, great, varied, and numerous, were superinduced -by the civil war. The railroads were often seized by the contending -armies, offices were raided, and confusion worse confounded heaped -troubles thick and fast upon the president of the company, sufficient to -have crushed a man of ordinary brain and nerve. But Mr. Plant was not -the man to give way to difficulties,—only coolly to plan, determine, -execute, and conquer.</p> - -<p>The following communication in memorandum form, from one intimately -acquainted with Mr. and Mrs. Plant while in Augusta, Georgia, will be -found suggestive of the busy life he led, and will prove<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_063" id="page_063"></a>{63}</span> valuable in -furnishing the dates when he lived in that city, and the location of his -various residences while there. Moreover, its sequel sounds like the -plot of a good novel.</p> - -<p>“Mr. and Mrs. H. B. Plant became residents of Augusta, Georgia, in 1854. -Captain W. and his wife moved to that city in 1855. Both families -boarded at the Eagle and Phœnix Hotel, and thus became acquainted. -The Eagle and Phœnix was on Broad Street, and is now believed to be -the property of Mr. Plant. Mr. Plant was busy organizing and developing -the express business, was continually on the road, and made frequent -visits to the North. He moved to the Globe Hotel about the summer of -1856. Captain W. and his wife moved to the Trout House, in Atlanta, -Georgia, early in 1858, and Mr. and Mrs. Plant joined them there and -spent the summer months with them, while Mr. Plant still made Augusta -his headquarters and was constantly on the road.</p> - -<p>“On Mr. and Mrs. Plant’s return to Augusta in the fall of 1858, they -took residence at the Planter’s Hotel, then kept by Mr. Robbins. In the -spring of 1859, Mr. and Mrs. Plant, leaving their young son Morton, with -Captain W. and his wife in Atlanta, visited New Orleans and remained -there during Mardi Gras. Their stay, however, was much shortened by the -demands made upon Mr. Plant’s time and attention<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_064" id="page_064"></a>{64}</span> by the celebrated -Maroney robbery. Mrs. Plant’s health, which had been failing for some -time, was rapidly growing worse. Mr. Plant’s movements were thus -handicapped, and his trips necessarily became shorter and more frequent. -Captain W. and wife moved to Athens in April, 1861. Mrs. Plant intended -to spend the spring and summer of 1862 with them, but their plans were -broken up by her death, at the Planter’s Hotel, Augusta, February 28, -1862.</p> - -<p>“Mr. Plant visited Athens shortly after the funeral, and remained -several weeks; from thence important business called him back to -Augusta. Health began to fail him and he visited Athens again in the -following year. It was at this time that his friends prevailed upon him -to pay a visit to Europe in the hope that his strength would be restored -to him.</p> - -<p>“In illustration of the good memory which Mr. Plant possessed for a past -kindness, the following interesting story is told. The narrator was -sitting in his office talking with Mr. Plant, when the latter suddenly -turned from him to a clerk to instruct him in the following words. -‘While I remember it, I want you to write to Mrs. W. to say that her -request that we take charge of her money is granted. We will take it and -give her six per cent., this will give her —— dollars to pay for her -board, and we will add to it —— dollars, which will keep her -comfortably among her friends.’<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_065" id="page_065"></a>{65}</span></p> - -<p>“The amount added was very nearly one and a half times as large as the -interest on the moderate amount of insurance which her deceased husband -had placed on his life before he died.</p> - -<p>“Then when all arrangements for this poor widow’s comfort had been made -with the treasurer, Mr. Plant, not supposing that I had ever heard of -the woman, explained that long years ago, when his first wife was sick -in Augusta, this now widowed woman was very kind to her and also to his -son Morton who was then a very little child. This was thirty-six years -ago, but it was as fresh in Mr. Plant’s memory, and as near to his heart -as if it had occurred only a few weeks ago. Little did this good woman -think at the time she rendered this kindly service to a delicate wife, -that thirty-six years hence it would be paid back to her with compound -interest. It may be truly said that ‘bread cast upon the waters shall -return after many days.’<span class="lftspc">”</span></p> - -<p>The Southern Express Company rendered very valuable services to the men -engaged on both sides during the Civil War, by carrying packages, boxes, -and parcels of all descriptions free of charge,—medicines, and comforts -of various character, that made the hard life of the soldier a little -easier, and gladdened his heart with the evidences that he was -remembered tenderly in his far-away home. This service was especially -acceptable on the occasions of exchange<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_066" id="page_066"></a>{66}</span> of prisoners, when clothing and -money were the special needs of the men.</p> - -<p>The benediction of many a brave heart, now still in death, rests upon -the kindly services of the Southern Express Company so generously given -during the four years of the bloody struggle.</p> - -<p>In evidence of Mr. Plant’s popularity and the esteem in which he was -held by his associates in business as early as 1861, it may be mentioned -that on January 1st of that year, at Augusta, Ga., he was made the -recipient of a magnificent testimonial in the form of a service of solid -silver bearing the following inscription:</p> - -<p class="c"> -PRESENTED TO<br /> -H. B. PLANT<br /> -BY HIS ASSOCIATES IN THE ADAMS<br /> -SOUTHERN EXPRESS<br /> -AS A TESTIMONIAL OF THEIR<br /> -RESPECT AND ESTEEM<br /> -AUGUSTA, GA.,<br /> -JANUARY 1, 1861<br /> -</p> - -<p>In 1873, eleven years after the death of his first wife, Mr. Plant -married Miss Margaret Josephine Loughman, the only daughter of Martin -Loughman, of New York City. She is descended from an ancient and noble -family, whose ancestral estate, eight miles long, in the Land of the -Shamrock, is now occupied by Lord Dundrum. Mrs. Plant’s great -grandmother<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_067" id="page_067"></a>{67}</span> on her mother’s side was Lady Mary Murphy, of Ballymore -Castle, Ballymore. Her own mother was Miss Ellen O’Duyer, said to have -been a woman of great beauty and to have been descended from the Kings -of Munster.</p> - -<p>The finest train of Pullman palace cars we ever saw was prominent among -the beautiful exhibits at the Atlanta Exposition of last year (1896). -Their exquisite upholstering and decoration owed their superlative -finish to the refined taste of Mrs. Plant. The Tampa Bay Hotel, more -like a palace of art, is indebted to this same lady for much of its -elaborate furnishing and artistic adornment. The two hand-carved -mantelpieces in the salon, the admiration of all visitors, as well as -some of the fine cabinet-work in the gentlemen’s reading-room, evinced -her business capacity and fine sense of the fitness of beautiful -furnishing that costs no more than the plain and commonplace. She has -given much time and earnest effort to the selection, purchase, and -direction of the upholstering and decorations of that finest of -American-built steamships, <i>La Grande Duchesse</i>, just completed at -Newport News.</p> - -<p>The impress of her forcible character and refined taste can be detected -in many places throughout the great system over which her husband so -ably presides, but is known only to those who are admitted to the inner -circles of its operations.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_068" id="page_068"></a>{68}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII"></a><img src="images/ill_122.jpg" alt="[text decoration not available.]" /><br /> - CHAPTER VII.</h2> - -<div class="blockquott"><p class="hang">Education from Books, and from Experience—Keen Intuitions—Abreast -of the Progress—Mr. Plant’s After-Dinner Speech at Tampa Banquet -Given him by Tampa Board of Trade, March, 18, 1886—Location of -Tampa—In Territorial Days Had a Military Reservation—In 1884 -Population about Seven Hundred—Its Cosmopolitan Population -now—Many Cubans and Spaniards in Tampa—Tobacco -Industry—Phosphate Abounds in this Part of the State—Much of it -Shipped to the North and to Europe—Plant System Gives Impetus to -the Prosperity of the Place—Its Progress the Last Five or Six -Years.</p></div> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">T</span>EXT-BOOKS are necessary instruments in a systematic course of -instruction, especially in the period of school and college days, but -their chief value lies, not so much in the actual knowledge which they -impart as in the intellectual training which they give for the -acquisition of knowledge in the future. Hence, as civilization advances -and the schools of higher education increase, less dependence is placed -on text-books, and more emphasis is laid upon lectures and laboratories -by which the student is stimulated to original investigation and -independent thought. The knowledge of current events which we derive -from observation of human<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_069" id="page_069"></a>{69}</span> nature, and which gives us great -opportunities to do good to ourselves and to others, is not acquired -from books.</p> - -<p>The books may have done good service in the previous mental discipline, -but the actual knowledge, the practical experience in a professional or -business career, has come to us in the course of solution of the -problems of life. Mr. Plant is a striking illustration of this fact. He -was never a bookish man, and lays no claim to classical erudition or -scientific knowledge; yet he is fully alive to the progress of the human -race. Few events of importance in the world escape his keen observation.</p> - -<p>It was his quick insight and keen penetration which led him to see the -opportunities and possibilities offered in the South, when others had -passed them by unseen.</p> - -<p>Mr. Plant has an intuitive knowledge, possessed by few men, of many -things outside his immediate sphere of action. He spent several days -going over the plans of <i>La Grande Duchesse</i> in minute detail before the -contract for building her was signed, noting scores of corrections which -the architect was more than gratified to make. His after-dinner speeches -at Southern banquets have no spread-eagleism in them; no declamation, -but calm, quiet, easy suggestion, as if talking to a few friends whom he -loved and wanted to help, and better still, wanted them to help -themselves.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_070" id="page_070"></a>{70}</span> There is no alarm, but friendly admonition, wise counsel, -valuable instruction, most kindly administered.</p> - -<p>In March, 1886, the Tampa Board of Trade honored Mr. Plant with a -splendid banquet, and warmly welcomed him and his friends to this once -sleepy old hamlet, now kept awake by the steam whistles of the South -Florida Railroad and those of the steamships sailing to the West Indies. -In reply to a toast by General John B. Wall, Mr. Plant said:</p> - -<p>“Some two years and a half ago I was escorted here by some of the -gentlemen present, upon a wagon-line across the peninsula of Florida -from Kissimmee City, with Mr. Haines, Mr. Ingraham, Mr. Elliott, and Mr. -Allen. We had a day’s journey to reach over the gap in the railway that -was then being constructed, connecting Tampa with the St. John’s River. -It was an interesting trip. I think to the best of my recollection we -passed not more than seven habitations on that journey, certainly not -more than that while daylight lasted, and now we can make the trip from -Kissimmee to Tampa in three or four hours and find cities on the -way,—cities of enterprise, with a frugal and industrious population. -Business has grown, and great progress has been made in this part of -Florida, but no place has improved more than this town of Tampa. Tampa, -it seems to us, had a chill, although the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_071" id="page_071"></a>{71}</span> climate was good. A citizen -told me on that visit that they did not value the land at anything, but -that the air was worth one thousand dollars an acre. That gave the value -of Tampa land at that time. All are aware what is the value of Tampa -land at present. Very little I am told is for sale.</p> - -<p>“That is what the railroad has done for Tampa. The gentlemen who are -associated with me look with pleasure upon the progress that has been -made in Tampa. We go back and look upon the progress that has been made -by what is known as the Plant System, which commences at Charleston, -reaches out to Chattahoochee, and terminates at Tampa. This system, -which you probably know, we call under various names; it is part -railway, part express company, part steamboat company, part steamship -company, but it all has one object and is known as the Plant System. It -has been successful in what it has undertaken so far. I think that -success may be attributed to the harmony that prevails in the councils -on the part of the officers of the railroads, of the steamships, of the -steamboats, and express, that go to make up that system. There is no -jealousy, but rather a rivalry to know which will do the most. And to -that spirit, in every one connected with the system, to do all that is -possible to advance its progress, is due the success of the Plant -System.</p> - -<p>“This is, I think, all that can now be said in<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_072" id="page_072"></a>{72}</span> direct response to the -toast, but I would like to say a few words of Tampa, of its -possibilities and its opportunities. You are all aware that Tampa is but -one port on the Gulf of Mexico from which a railroad extends to the -interior. There are ports north of it and ports south of it; ports where -railways extend to deep water. Some of them have the advantage of Tampa. -It is useless to mention the names, for you all know them; you are -familiar with the advantages of all these ports. I will not give the -reason why they have not advanced. It may be because they have not all -had the railway backing that Tampa has had; they have not had a united -line of railways leading to them and extending from them. Tampa has just -started, it seems to me, in its progress towards prosperity, and the -prosperity that it must receive if it receives the backing that commerce -would dictate to it. The wants of commerce are large; they are exacting, -and Tampa has many rivals. There are many cities that aspire to it and -to grow as these cities see that Tampa is growing at the present time. -They will do it, if it is possible, by putting on steamship lines, by -putting on railway lines, by extending them to get some of the business -at least, that is now drawing towards Tampa, and it is for the people of -Tampa to determine for themselves to what extent they shall share it.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_073" id="page_073"></a>{73}</span></p> - -<p>“As I have stated, it is important to Tampa’s interests to see that all -obstructions to commerce are removed; in other words, that commerce and -trade shall be unimpeded both to and through Tampa. You all recollect -that last year there was a great Exposition in a neighboring city of the -Gulf—New Orleans,—where millions of money were expended to draw the -attention of the countries south of us, notably the West Indies and -South America. This, that their attention might be drawn to the United -States, and especially the southern part of the United States, for -trade, and, as I said, millions of money were expended on making that -Exposition and maintaining it all the winter for the purpose of showing -the people of the West India Islands what could be done. That Exposition -was gotten up not for benevolence, but for the purpose of inviting -trade. Now we are doing all we can to encourage that trade by opening up -mail communication between the United States and those very countries -that so much money was spent to encourage the trade from.</p> - -<p>“We are running steamships three times each week, and I think that every -gentleman in this hall should raise his voice to the authorities at -Washington and endeavor to persuade them to send the mails of the entire -United States (I mean the mails of the entire United States, the South -and West as well as the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_074" id="page_074"></a>{74}</span> East), by the quickest route whereby they can -reach those countries of which I have spoken. By that route the mails -can reach the whole of the West India Islands, the whole of the west -coast of South America, in better time and more frequently, with the -present source of communication than by any other line. And -notwithstanding that line was put on on the 1st of January, our postal -authorities at Washington hardly seem alive to that fact, and, as I said -before, I think that the gentlemen of Tampa should raise a united voice -that the Post-Office Department may be waked up to know there is a route -via Tampa that is the quickest for the entire countries south of us. I -do not know that I can say any more. I have responded to the toast ‘Our -Honored Guests,’ and said very little about them. I feel somewhat in the -position that Mr. Ward probably felt when he was advertised to deliver a -lecture on ‘Twins.’ He occupied his entire evening on the introduction, -and left the speech on the ‘Twins’ out altogether.”</p> - -<p>The following account of the growth of Tampa is taken from the New York -<i>Daily Tribune</i> of November 17, 1891. It illustrates the large share -which Mr. Plant has had in this growth, and the way in which he has -closely identified himself with its history.</p> - -<p>“Over on the west coast of Florida in Hillsborough<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_075" id="page_075"></a>{75}</span> County, or less than -two hundred miles north of the southern end of the State, is an old, old -town, which, in the territorial days of Florida, when the Government -first established a military reservation here, was a small settlement -that grew into a village and was called Tampa. Owing to its extreme -isolation, its growth was slow, and, in 1884, there were not more than -one or two shops, and a population of a little less than seven hundred. -A year later the southern terminus of the Plant System of railroads was -established at Tampa, and since then the growth of the place has been -phenomenal. As Postmaster Cooper, one of Tampa’s wide-awake citizens and -a newspaper editor, says: ‘Henry B. Plant may be said to have been the -founder of Tampa, and people of enterprise, industry, and capital from -every State in the Union, and Cuba, have flocked here and built upon the -foundation, until to-day Tampa rivals the best cities in the State. The -South Florida Railroad is one of the best equipped railways in the -South, extending from Port Tampa to Sanford, a distance of 124 miles.’</p> - -<p>“The South Florida Road runs through the most fertile and most -prosperous part of the State and has done more than any other agency to -develop South Florida. And while it is true that the railroad gave to -Tampa her first onward impetus, and has done, and is yet doing, much -toward the development of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_076" id="page_076"></a>{76}</span> the place, yet there are other agencies which -have done much to help along the great work. The most prominent of these -is the cigar-making industry, which was first established here three -years ago. It is second to none as an important factor in Tampa’s -substantial prosperity and commercial success. Tampa has also profited -by the immense deposits of phosphate, which is shipped from here, not -only by rail all over the country, but by water direct to Europe. There -is a large grinding mill here, and a meeting of representatives of -phosphate interests was held recently, and a movement started to put up -the necessary tanks and machinery for making the acids and other -materials for the manufacture of superphosphate. When factories of this -sort are put up it will no longer be necessary to send the phosphate to -Europe to be acidulated.</p> - -<p>“I went over to the palatial Tampa Bay Hotel, an enterprise of Mr. -Plant, and the completion and furnishing of which, preparatory to its -opening in two or three weeks, Mr. Plant has been personally -supervising. I found him and a portion of his family at breakfast in his -private car, in which he was to start north in the afternoon for a brief -stay before coming down here for the winter. Mr. Plant is always -approachable, genial in his manner, ready to talk about people and their -prosperity, but not of himself or his. No one can accuse him of egotism. -He<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_077" id="page_077"></a>{77}</span> said nothing of his massive hotel until I drew him out. I said: ‘Mr. -Plant, I learn that no one knows better than you of the beginning and -the progress of Tampa and its probable future. In fact, they say that -you are the father of Tampa; tell me about it, please.’</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>Well,’ said the genial railroad president, ‘when I first drove across -the country from Sanford, for we are nearly west of that point, and -there was no other way of getting here by land, I found Tampa slumbering -as it had been for years. This was eight years ago. It seemed to me that -all South Florida needed for a successful future was a little spirit and -energy, which could be fostered by transportation facilities. There were -one or two small shops and a population of about seven hundred in Tampa. -I made a careful survey of the situation, calculated upon its prospects -and concluded to take advantage of the opportunity, and we who made -early investments have proved the faith in our own judgment. Tampa was -really unknown to the commercial world until the South Florida Railroad -introduced her there. This was in 1885, and it brought to the town a new -life, and breathed into it all the elements of push, progress, and -success. Tampa at once began to spread itself, and ever since has been -fairly bounding along the road to greatness. It has now a population of -about ten thousand, and is rapidly increasing.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_078" id="page_078"></a>{78}</span> Hundreds upon hundreds -of thousands of dollars have been invested in business, and instead of a -few scattered and unpainted storehouses, there are now many magnificent -brick blocks, handsome private residences, cosey cottages, large -warehouses, mammoth wholesale establishments, busy workshops, -comfortable hotels, two newspapers, a phosphate mill, cigar factories, -first-class banking facilities, telegraph and telephone communications, -two electric-light establishments, ice factories, a complete system of -waterworks, eight lines of steamships and steamboats giving -communication to Key West and Havana, Mobile, places on the Manatee -River, etc.’</p> - -<p>“Mr. Plant’s hotel, upon which he has spent about $2,000,000 on the -building and grounds and $500,000 for the furnishing, and which is -nearly ready for the opening, is in the centre of a sixteen-acre plot of -ground just north of the city bridge. The architecture is Moorish, -patterned after the palaces in Spain, and minarets and domes tower above -the great five-story building, each one of which is surmounted with a -crescent, which is lighted by electricity at night. The main building is -511 feet in length, and varies in width from 50 to 150 feet. A wide -hall, on either side of which are bedrooms, single and in suites, runs -the entire length of the building to the dining-room at the southern -end. The exterior walls are of darkened brick, with buff and red brick -arches<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_079" id="page_079"></a>{79}</span> and stone dressings. The cornices are of stone and iron; the -piazza columns are of steel, supported on pieces of cut stone.</p> - -<p>“The main entrances are through three pairs of double doors, flanked by -sixteen polished granite columns, supporting Moorish arches, over which -balconies open from the gallery around the rotunda to the second floor. -The principal staircase is of stone, and the horseshoe arch and the -crescent and the star meet the eye at every turn—the electric lights in -the dining-hall, the music-hall, the drawing-room, the reception-room, -the reading-room, and the office being arranged after these patterns. -The drawing-room is a casket of beautiful and antique things, embracing -fine contrasts. There are a sofa and two chairs which were once the -property of Marie Antoinette; a set of four superb gilt chairs which -once belonged to Louis Philippe; two antique Spanish cabinets, and -between ten high, wide windows appear Spanish, French, and Japanese -cabinets, both old and quaint. Old carved Dutch chairs, rare onyx -chairs, and queer seats of other kinds are scattered along the hall. -Among the large collection of oil paintings, water-colors, and -engravings, are portraits and old pictures of Spanish castles and -fortresses.</p> - -<p>“A large rustic gate for carriages and two for pedestrians lead into the -grounds on the northern<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_080" id="page_080"></a>{80}</span> side. These gates are made of cabbage-palmetto -trunks, the mid-ribs being of the leaves worked into a quaint and rustic -design. On either side of the great gate stand giant cabbage-palmettoes, -thirty and forty feet high, set in groups of five and seven, the Moorish -numbers. A number of large live-oaks, one a tree of great breadth and -beauty, remain on the grounds. Near the centre of the lawn a fort has -been built of white stone, having two embrasures. In it are mounted two -old cannon that were spiked on the reservation of Tampa during the Civil -War. The grounds front on the Hillsborough River and overlook the city, -Fort Brooke and Tampa Bay, and are filled with fruit-trees, roses and -flowers.</p> - -<p>“The streets of Tampa are not what they will be, but a great improvement -has been going on in the last year; and when all the thoroughfares are -paved, macadamized or otherwise hardened, they will be attractive -drives. The roads on the west side of the river are naturally hard and -smooth, giving fine drives in various directions. The water supply is -obtained from one of the largest springs of water in the State, and is -abundant for all purposes, and ample factories provide ice from -distilled water. Until the session of Congress of 1889, Tampa was in the -Key West customs district, and the customhouse business was looked after -by a deputy appointed by the Collector of Customs at Key West.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_081" id="page_081"></a>{81}</span> But when -Congress passed a bill making Tampa a regular port of entry, a collector -and a full corps of assistants were appointed. To give an idea of the -growth of Tampa, it is only necessary to compare the customs returns for -1885, when, under a deputy-collector, the receipts were only $75, with -the report of last year, which showed receipts considerably above -$100,000.</p> - -<p>“For a long time builders had suffered great inconvenience and delay -because there were no brickmaking works. It was not believed that good -brick could be made in Tampa, and all orders for this necessary building -material had to be sent away from home. But in 1888, one of the -enterprising citizens, who had found a bed of good clay just north of -the city, began to manufacture bricks. The result is that builders are -now furnished with home-made bricks almost as fast as they need them. It -was stated to me that as much as $300,000 had been expended in the -erection of brick buildings during the last year. One of the new public -buildings is the City Hall and Court House. It is 50 by 100 feet on the -sides and is two and a half stories high.</p> - -<p>“Tampa’s population may certainly be called cosmopolitan, comprising -people from every quarter of the globe; but three classes preponderate -so largely as to warrant distinction,—the American, the Cuban<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_082" id="page_082"></a>{82}</span> white -people, and the African or colored people. There is no difference worthy -of note between the first mentioned in Tampa and those of other sections -of the United States. They have all the push and enterprise -characteristic of the American people, and are the peer of any in social -life.</p> - -<p>“There are between three and four thousand Cubans in Tampa, and some -Spaniards, too, but there is an intense prejudice on the part of the -Spaniards against the Cubans, and as the latter feel the same dislike -for the Spaniards, conflicts between the two sometimes occur, and if it -were not for the good police administration might prove serious in some -instances. The Cubans are many of them property-holders and are -identified closely with the city’s growth. They are reported as moral, -temperate, energetic and quite desirable citizens; and, are almost -without exception, engaged in cigar-making and kindred industries. They -are also an amusement-loving people, have several clubs and societies, -an opera-house, a band and a newspaper. The Cuban settlement is in the -Fourth Ward, called Ybor City, after Martinez Ybor, the pioneer cigar -manufacturer in Tampa. Only four years ago this part of the city was an -unimproved and uncultivated forest; now it is an active, bustling, -wealthy town within itself, and, to add to its interest, Postmaster -Cooper recently established a branch station, as he<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_083" id="page_083"></a>{83}</span> has also in the -settlement of the colored people, for the accommodation of those who -live far from the general post-office.</p> - -<p>“Twelve cigar factories are located in Ybor City, and there nearly all -of the cigar-makers live. The largest factories are those of Ybor &, -Co., Sanchez, Haya & Co., Lozano, Pendas & Co., R. Monne & Bro., and E. -Pons &, Co. These five factories manufactured 33,950,575 cigars last -year, the output of the Ybors alone being 15,030,700. The total number -manufactured in the thirty factories in Key West was 77,251,374. More -than $30,000 is paid out to the 1500 or 2000 cigar-makers in Ybor City -every Saturday night, one-fourth of which is paid out at Ybor’s factory; -and about $150,000 has been expended here in the past six years upon -improvements. This cigar-making industry has contributed materially to -the development and growth of Tampa during the last five years, and it -promises much greater benefit in the future. It was in October, 1885, -that Martinez Ybor & Co., who began manufacturing in Havana in 1854, and -afterward put up a large factory in Key West, came to Tampa to -investigate the resources and advantages offered for cigar-making. They -soon afterward purchased forty acres of land in the Fourth Ward, cleared -it of the pines, wild-oats and gophers, and built a factory, a large -boarding-house or hotel, and several small cottages<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_084" id="page_084"></a>{84}</span> for the workmen -whom they brought from Key West and Havana. The venture proved a success -from the start and improvements were added. The original factory, a -wooden structure, is now the opera house, and a large brick factory has -succeeded the first one, where the daily output of the 450 cigar-makers -employed is 40,000 to 50,000 cigars. Then came Sanchez & Haya, Emilio -Pons, and others, and all declare that they are doing an excellent -business.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>The required condition of the climate of Tampa for good cigars is said -to be fully equal to that of Key West or Havana,’ said one of the -manufacturers who has had factories in both places. ‘This has been -proven by an actual and thorough test. Another advantage comes from the -superior transportation facilities of the South Florida Railroad, which -gets freight quickly to New York.’</p> - -<p>“The colored people of Tampa are declared to be in a better general -condition than they are in any other part of the South. They are also -represented to be a generous, quiet and inoffensive class of citizens. -They are also far more industrious than those in some other sections of -the South, working almost every day, and the 2000 negro population have -a settlement of their own, midway between Tampa proper and Ybor City, -which would be a credit to any community. Many of the houses, like the -streets, run in irregular lines, but the homes<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_085" id="page_085"></a>{85}</span> and the shops have a -tidy and orderly appearance as though not neglected, and at night -everything about them is quiet and peaceful, only the songs and the -moderate conversations and the musical laughter being heard. Very few of -these people live in rented apartments, but nearly all own their little -cottage homes. They have many excellent churches, schools taught by -colored teachers, and nearly every home has a small library. Then, too, -or with very few exceptions, the colored people command the respect of -the whites.</p> - -<p>“Port Tampa, which is the port from which the Plant Steamship Line sails -for Havana and other places, is about ten miles below here. One of its -attractions is ‘The Inn,’ a great hotel built in colonial style, beside -the South Florida Railroad, over the water and about 2000 feet from the -shore. It is both a summer and winter resort for tourists and -Floridians. Another attraction is the fishing, either for bass from the -wharf or boats, or for the tarpon, or, ‘Silver King,’ at Pine Island. -The third attraction is Picnic Island, the name itself telling its -purpose.”</p> - -<p>Notwithstanding the general depression of the country during the last -five years, the growth of Tampa has gone forward with a rapidity -unsurpassed in any five years of its history. The entire city has -increased in population from seven thousand to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_086" id="page_086"></a>{86}</span> twenty-eight thousand -during the past decade and is still growing steadily. Property is as -valuable on the main business street of Tampa as it is in New York City -above Central Park. The city has a Board of Trade, a Board of Health, -schools, academy and churches of all Christian denominations. Few, if -any, cities in Florida have a more promising future before them than -Tampa.</p> - -<p class="c"><img src="images/ill_121.jpg" alt="[text decoration not available.]" /><br /> -</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_087" id="page_087"></a>{87}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII"></a><img src="images/ill_122.jpg" alt="[text decoration not available.]" /><br /> - CHAPTER VIII.</h2> - -<div class="blockquott"><p class="hang">Florida Mr. Plant’s Hobby—Banquet at Ocala—Mr. Plant’s -Speech—Sail on Lakes Harrison and Griffin—Banquet at -Leesburg—Visit to Eustis—Cheering Words to a Young Editor—Make -the best of the Frost—It may be a Blessing in Disguise—Must -Cultivate other Fruits, (and Cereals) besides Oranges—Importance -of Honesty—Sense of Justice—Consideration for the -Workmen—Unconscious Moulding-Power over Associates and -Employees—Letter of Honorable Rufus B. Bullock.</p></div> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">M</span>R. PLANT’S associates say of him: “Oh, Florida is one of the -President’s pets.” Anything touching the prosperity of Florida is sure -to get a sympathetic hearing from him at all times. He loves the Land of -Flowers and has spent many pleasant days in it at all seasons of the -year. Nor does it fall to the lot of every man to receive such high -appreciation for the good he has done and such esteem and affection as -Mr. Plant receives from these warm-hearted, whole-souled Southern -people. Mr. Plant having recently included Ocala in his railroad and -hotel system, a fact which promises much for the future progress of this -enterprising town and section of Western Florida, the people wished to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_088" id="page_088"></a>{88}</span> -express their grateful appreciation of the man whom all the South -delights to honor. So, in the winter of 1896, they tendered to him a -grand banquet to which he and his friends and associates in office were -welcomed. Nothing was left undone by these good people to make the -occasion pleasant.</p> - -<p>The feast was held in the Ocala Hotel which came into the possession of -Mr. Plant during 1896, and was opened that season as one of the Plant -System Hotels. The house was elaborately decorated with Southern ferns -and flowers. A reception was first held in the parlor, then about -seventy ladies and gentlemen sat down to a sumptuous dinner, enlivened -by sweet music, and good cheer. Many beautiful tributes of esteem and -friendship were eloquently presented to the guest of the evening, who -had been requested by the committee of arrangements to speak to the -toast, “The Plant System.” The following account taken from the Atlanta -<i>Constitution</i>, is a fairly good report of his speech, which held the -audience spellbound from beginning to end. He said: “I am gratified and -pleased beyond measure to be with you to-night on an occasion of social -enjoyment to exchange compliments and greetings with the undaunted -citizens of Ocala and revel in the bounteous hospitality of this proud -and prosperous little city. Words count for but little in the effort to -express my sincere appreciation<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_089" id="page_089"></a>{89}</span> of such evidences of cordiality as have -been shown this night to me and to my friends and associates in -business. Surely the very presence of so many of your community’s worthy -citizens, your city’s leading business and professional men, who have -rendered the further compliment of bringing with them their charming -wives and daughters, would of itself inspire any man, who is not -insensible to the impulse of gratitude, with a feeling of gratification -and deep appreciation for the compliment it conveys. It pleases me to -see so many of the ladies of Ocala here to-night, for their charming -presence lends beauty to the brilliant scene and makes all the more -enchanting this hour of pleasure and promise.</p> - -<p>“I feel that it is good to be here. I am always glad to mingle in social -intercourse with my good friends of Florida, for I warrant you that -nothing is more comforting than to know that in all my endeavors to aid -them in the upbuilding of their favored section I have their hearty -good-will and unstinted co-operation. In congratulation upon the -continued prosperity of Ocala, despite the recent chilling frosts, which -seemed well-nigh to sweep away your beautiful orange groves and blight -the interests of your agricultural community, I wish to say that it is -pleasing to me to observe the undaunted pluck and courage of your -irrepressible and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_090" id="page_090"></a>{90}</span> invincible people, who, never swerving from the -duties of citizenship, have set about the arduous task of building up -again the agricultural and industrial interests of this region of -Florida, with a newness of life and a heartier zest. Such determined -effort will surely be crowned with unbounded success and prosperity in -the end. There is no reason why Ocala should not be a prosperous city. -Your climate is excellent; your water is pure and wholesome; your lands -are fertile and prolific, and your people are joined with a unity of -ambition and a unity of aim for the upbuilding of every interest alike.</p> - -<p>“I have been asked to speak to you of what is known as the ‘Plant -System.’ Not this mere physical system of the man—for that speaks for -itself. But the system of railways and steamships and other interests -which have been built up as all other industries are built up in the -great march of American progress and industrial development. In touching -upon the plans and scope of the Plant System, I believe I will be -credited with perfect sincerity when I say in the very outset, that if -some of the conditions of which we now have knowledge had been known in -the beginning, much of this system would not exist to-day. I have -reference to such conditions as have in late years arisen and confronted -corporations in the nature of an obstacle and an obstruction. As you all -perhaps know, there has<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_091" id="page_091"></a>{91}</span> been a great change in the plans and methods of -railroad construction during the last decade or two. In the old days -railroads were built for the most part by the people of means along the -proposed route, and they were for the most part short lines. People did -not set out in the earlier days to build long lines of railways. As -years rolled by, however, there sprang up among the people of some -sections an unexplained feeling of hostility to corporations—a sort of -antagonism to capital—which has worked its way like a devouring worm -into the politics of the nation, and which, in recent years, has well -nigh sapped the lifeblood from many of the leading railway systems of -the country, by plunging them into such a complicated pool of injurious -legislation as to land them on the dangerous shores of bankruptcy. Just -at the time when such a spirit of antagonism was at its zenith there -came a change in the methods of operating railway lines. Instead of the -short lines, several of the roads began to be joined together for a -longer line, thus reducing the expenses of operation and at the same -time giving better facilities of travel and of shipment. It was found -that the railroads could not live if operated on the short-line basis, -for competition grew so great it became necessary to link this road and -that to form a through line binding the commerce of one section to that -of another in rapid transit at reduced<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_092" id="page_092"></a>{92}</span> expenditure. This came as a -necessity born of the situation, for the railroads were being bankrupted -on the old plan and were sold out by receivers for their original owners -to the men of capital, and they saw the absolute necessity of a more -economical basis of operation. Taxes were high, competition was great -and everything served evidence that the old plan would no longer prove -feasible.</p> - -<p>“Just why there should be any hostility to such a plan of railway -management among the people who are, after all, the ones benefited most -by the increased facilities that are given them, is not made clear to -me, but such a spirit did prevail, and does prevail to-day in some -sections to such an extent that men, blinded to the interests of the -people of their sections, are continually stabbing at the very heart of -the railway corporations and crying out that they need to be watched by -legislative censors, and of this notion the railway commission was born. -My friends, I know but little of the motives that prompt such -legislation against railroads, but I do know that some very serious -mistakes have been made. It has been said that the king can do no wrong, -but it has with equal truth been said that the king can make mistakes. -In the State of Georgia, this persistent spirit of hostility to -railroads, this organized effort of legislative restriction, has within -the past few years thrown nearly every railroad in<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_093" id="page_093"></a>{93}</span> the State into the -hands of a receiver. The result has been a gradual reorganization of -these properties by the men of capital in the East, and a new plan of -operation at reduced expenditure through consolidation. What else could -have resulted?</p> - -<p>“The interests of the people and the railroads are certainly not -conflicting interests. They are common interests and should go hand in -hand and heart to heart in the great work of building up this country. -The one should not be made an obstacle for the other. I cannot see how -the Plant System of railways and steamships could be other than a pillar -in the structure of the industrial world of this Republic, interested in -all that tends to the promotion of the general interests of the people. -Of what avail would railroad construction be to the owner if it were -intended to be run in hostility to the business interests of the people -of the country it traversed? What would a railroad be worth if not -supported by a healthful business community in perfect harmony? On the -contrary, what would any country be without the railroads?</p> - -<p>“It is true that the people of this section have suffered heavy loss -lately through some unexplained stroke of Providence, by which the -orange groves of Florida were laid low by the withering touch of the -hand of dread winter, and it is furthermore true that the phosphate -interests have been injured<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_094" id="page_094"></a>{94}</span> by an over-production, but that is a matter -that rests with the fates, to be worked out in their own good season. -Misfortunes sometimes prove to be but blessings in disguise, and it -rests not with mortals to gainsay the wisdom of that edict which comes -from an Omniscient Providence. In all your losses on the farms and in -the phosphate mines, bear in mind that the railroads are suffering a -kindred loss, for the blow was as keenly felt by them as by you.</p> - -<p>“Let us move together while the hand of adversity weighs heavily upon -us, just as we have always tried to do when we were more prosperous. Let -us take no part in the systematic effort that some are making, to -persecute the railway enterprises of Florida at such a time as this, for -such persecutors are blinded to their country’s interests. If there was -ever a time when the people and the railroads ought to work in perfect -harmony that time is at hand. I believe labor ought to be protected in a -reasonable and rightful degree, but I also believe that capital ought to -be protected against the unrighteous onslaughts of those who know not -what they do.</p> - -<p>“In conclusion, my good friends of Ocala, I beg to thank you again for -your generous reception to-night. I believe there is much in the spirit -that rules here that bespeaks the dawn of brighter and better days for -the people of this region.”<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_095" id="page_095"></a>{95}</span></p> - -<p>The following day a special train took Mr. Plant and his party to -Leesburg, where arrangements had been made by the people of that -beautiful little town to give Mr. Plant and his friends another ovation -of most healthful pleasure and exquisite enjoyment. The Mayor and -leading citizens of the place met the party at the railroad station and -welcomed them with marked cordiality to their best hospitality and -friendship. At the close of a day’s most delightful sailing up Lakes -Harrison and Griffin, and many carriage rides on the shores of those -beautiful lakes, situated as they are in some of Florida’s most -picturesque scenery, the party sat down to a banquet in the hotel given -by the Leesburg Board of Trade. “It was truly a feast of reason and flow -of soul,” for nothing could have been in better taste or evinced more -genuine esteem and friendship for the guest of the occasion than was -shown there.</p> - -<p>On the next day a special train took Mr. Plant and his party to Eustis. -At the station all the prominent people in town were gathered to welcome -him. Carriages were in waiting to take him and his friends through the -beautiful little town. It was with visible emotion that he looked upon -the withered, lifeless orange trees bared by the terrible frost of the -preceding winter, a drear and desolate scene as compared with the bloom -and beauty of other days. Mr. Plant, however, was never given to -fruitless<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_096" id="page_096"></a>{96}</span> murmuring. To a young editor in the carriage with him he -said: “No, we must make the best of even the adverse situation. It might -be worse. You must publish words of cheer and hope to your people, and -do all that you can to help them over this trying time. Suggest to them -the planting of other crops, the rearing of other fruits. It will not do -to be altogether dependent on oranges. The soil is capable of raising -many other things besides oranges, and it may be that this calamity will -become a blessing in disguise.” So he ministered good cheer and -practical instruction to the people, who felt that he loved them, and -who were very responsive to his encouraging words.</p> - -<p>I doubt not these people uttered the true sentiments of their deep -feeling when they said as they bade him good-bye: “Mr. Plant, you have -done us all a great deal of good, we shall never forget you for this -visit you have made us. It will be a pleasant memory to us always, and -if you and your friends have enjoyed your visit half as much as we have -enjoyed having you, then is our happiness increased a hundred fold.” -Never have we witnessed anything more beautiful and tenderly impressive -than the kindly interest which Mr. Plant’s visit called out among these -people. His every want was anticipated, luncheons, rare and delicious, -were carefully stored away on boat and train and brought out at the -right<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_097" id="page_097"></a>{97}</span> time. After sail or ride in train and carriage in this most -appetizing atmosphere had made the party hungry as prairie wolves, then -a sumptuous repast was served and enjoyed to the full. Rooms, and rest -and care in hotel, cars, or boats were provided with a skill and tact -that made one think of the Plant System.</p> - -<p>Honesty is the foundation and keystone of every noble character. It is -the quality that must pervade the whole nature. Nothing can take its -place or atone for its absence, nor can there be a perfect manhood where -it is not the warp and woof of the whole man. “Honesty is the best -policy” says the policy man, but he who is honest only from policy and -not from principle, is not an honest man, but a knave, if not a fool as -well. Genius, scholarship, wit, humor, brilliancy are worse than -worthless when they do not rest on a foundation of honesty. Never was a -greater tribute paid to man than when President Lincoln’s neighbors -dubbed him “Honest Abe.” Nor did poet ever rise to higher flights of -truth than when Scotia’s Bard wrote “An honest man’s the noblest work of -God.” “To be honest, as this world goes, is to be one man picked out of -ten thousand,” says Shakespeare. In the history of the human race men of -all ranks have ever paid the highest tributes to honesty and accorded to -it the first place in human character. It is this quality, combined<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_098" id="page_098"></a>{98}</span> -with his great energy, which has enabled Mr. Plant to carry his -undertakings to so successful an end.</p> - -<p>One of his associates in business for long years said: “Mr. Plant does -not rashly promise but when he does, performance is sure, cost what it -may. Were I having a business transaction with Mr. Plant for any amount, -and knew that he would live to fulfil his engagement I would ask neither -bond nor written contract. His word would be just as good to me as any -security that could be drawn by the best legal authority in the land.” -“I should name honesty as the dominant principle of Mr. Plant’s -character,” said another.</p> - -<p>It has been naïvely said that no “man is a gentleman to his valet,” but -the testimonies here quoted are from men of long and most intimate -acquaintance, and might be multiplied by hundreds of those who were once -in his employ as well as by those still connected with the great System -over which Mr. Plant presides. Careful scrutiny and good judgment have -characterized all Mr. Plant’s dealings with his fellow-men, but crooked -ways and mean advantage never. He has rendered to his generation an -invaluable service in that he has demonstrated to it that honesty is the -best <i>principle</i> and the surest way to the greatest success. And he has -done this in departments of commerce proverbial for their unjust and -unfair methods of dealing.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_099" id="page_099"></a>{99}</span></p> - -<p>He has a wonderful amount of unconscious power which moulds those who -come within its influence. Hence his associates have remained long with -him even when tempted by other positions. The following extracts from a -letter of ex-Governor R. B. Bullock will be found of interest in this -connection.</p> - -<p class="hang"> -“<span class="smcap">Rev.</span> Dr. <span class="smcap">Geo. H. Smyth</span>.<br /> -“Reverend and Dear Sir:—<br /> -</p> - -<p>“Replying now to your esteemed favor of March 17th, would say that Mr. -Henry B. Plant came to this city in 1854, representing the Adams and -other express interests, which were then being extended through this -section of the country; and he continued to make this city his -headquarters in that connection until ’69 or ’70, when he made his home -in New York. There are no ‘incidents’ within my knowledge connected with -Mr. Plant’s life here, which would be of special interest to incorporate -in a biography. He developed then the same persistent, conservative and -industrious perseverance in planning for and directing the interests in -his charge, which have since developed into the important and widespread -interests over which he now presides.</p> - -<p>“Naturally, in the development and establishment of the business in his -hands in those early days, it became necessary for him to select proper -men to fill the various positions connected therewith and it is a<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_100" id="page_100"></a>{100}</span> -notable fact, by experience shown, that the selections so made by him, -were wise and judicious, and one of the marked features of his executive -action has been the kindly exercise of unlimited and undisputed -authority. There is no recollection of his having displayed impatience -or irritable temper, even under very vexatious circumstances. His manner -was always friendly, frank and appreciative, so that the disposition of -the men subject to his control, was always found to be actuated by a -desire to accomplish all that was possible for the interest of the -institution over which Mr. Plant presided, sufficiently encouraged and -cheered by the hope of his approbation. So close an eye did he keep upon -the services rendered by the most insignificant employee, that no -service well rendered failed to receive his personal endorsement and -approval.</p> - -<p>“By reason of his evenly balanced judgment and temper, his relations -with the chief officers of railroad and steamship companies over and by -which express service was transacted, and with bank officials—who were -then our chief patrons—were always of the kindliest character, and he -always enjoyed their perfect confidence and highest respect.</p> - -<p>“In fact, all of the characteristics, which have made his later life the -magnificent success which the country appreciates, were developed and -maintained throughout his early business experience.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_101" id="page_101"></a>{101}</span></p> - -<p>“There is nothing new or peculiar about the facts to which I have -referred, because they are well known and appreciated by hundreds of men -now in the service, who have been continuously with it since its -organization.</p> - -<p class="r"> -“Very respectfully and truly,<br /> -<br /> -“<span class="smcap">Rufus B. Bullock</span>.”<br /> -</p> - -<p class="c"><img src="images/ill_136.jpg" alt="[text decoration not available.]" /><br /> -</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_102" id="page_102"></a>{102}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX"></a><img src="images/ill_137.jpg" alt="[text decoration not available.]" /><br /> - CHAPTER IX.</h2> - -<div class="blockquott"><p class="hang">Mr. Plant’s Industry and Power to Endure Continuous Strain—Labor -of Examining and Answering his Enormous Mail—Letter from -Japan—Mail Delivered Regularly to him at Home and Abroad—His -Private Car, its Style, Structure, Hospitality, and Cheering -Presence—Numerous Calls—The Secret of his Endurance—The Esteem -and Love of the Southern Express Company for its President—Mr. -Plant Enjoys Social Life—He is a Great Lover of almost all Kinds -of Music—Mr. Plant a Medical Benefactor—Some of the Progress Made -in the Healing Art—Bishop of Winchester’s High Estimate of the -Value of Health—Dr. Long’s Opinion of the Gulf Coast as a Health -Restorer—Unrecognized Medicines in Restoring Lost -Health—Nervousness among the American People—The Soothing and -Strengthening Effect of Florida Climate—Mr. Plant’s Part in -Facilitating Travel and Providing Comfortable Accommodations for -the Invalid.</p></div> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">M</span>R. PLANT’S industry and power of endurance are a marvel to those around -him in office work. Over five hundred letters a week received is no -unusual thing. These are read to him by his private secretary, and -answered under his direction or dictation. They come from the three -different departments of the Plant System, which extends over many -thousands of miles, by land and by sea, and in its Express department -forwards goods over a mileage greater than the circumference of the -globe.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_103" id="page_103"></a>{103}</span></p> - -<p>Some of these letters require deliberation, skill, care, and sound -judgment in replying to the many complex questions of such a large and -important business as the Plant System covers. Others are less -complicated and more easily disposed of, while many are of a social -character, from Mr. Plant’s numerous friends scattered, I might say, -over the world. One day while sitting in his office at Tampa Bay Hotel, -he said: “I had a very pleasant letter this morning from Japan. Some -lady missionaries there write me of an excursion I once gave them in -Florida, which afforded them much enjoyment and of which they write in -enthusiastic appreciation though it occurred many years ago, and I had -forgotten all about it.”</p> - -<p>This large mail is a matter of daily occurrence. No day in the whole -week is free from its arrival. If he travels, as he often does in his -own elegant private car, his mail is delivered at important stations all -along the road. Being in constant communication with all departments of -the System by telegraph, telephone, or messenger, his mail is forwarded -to him promptly at all railroad stations named for its delivery, is -examined and replied to as readily as if in his main office in New York -City, for he has an office, desk, and all needed facilities in his car -for sending out telegrams, letters, or messages from the different -stations by the way. His car is a model of convenience, comfort, and -elegance in all its appointments.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_104" id="page_104"></a>{104}</span> It is finished in richly carved -mahogany, upholstered and curtained in rich blue velvet, with numerous -windows and mirrors of heavy French plate glass. It is numbered “100,” -and known all over the South. Its entrance at any station causes -sunshine to break on every face, and the old colored men who come, -bucket in hand, to wash and polish it where it happens to remain over a -night or a day at the station, are fairly beaming when they greet “Massa -Plant” and are always paid back in their own coin with United States -currency added. Every old “uncle” at the railroad stations in the Cotton -States knows “Car 100,” and asks no better holiday than to “shine her.”</p> - -<p>To return to the enormous office work of the President of this great -system of transfer and traffic, it is a marvel how he has stood it all -these years. It is no unusual thing for him at Tampa to spend two hours -in hard work in examining his mail before breakfast, then till luncheon, -with perhaps an hour’s intermission, and then work until late in the -afternoon. His numerous calls from all sorts and classes of people, are -a constant strain upon brain and nerve, not to say heart at times. The -secret of this endurance of long and fatiguing work, is found in the -fact that to a sound constitution, inherited from a hardy, thrifty -ancestry, Mr. Plant has added a temperate life and great moderation in -the use of stimulants.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_105" id="page_105"></a>{105}</span> While a man of quick intuition and keen -sensibility, he has shown the most wonderful self-control in the most -trying circumstances. When others would be agitated and wholly thrown -off their balance Mr. Plant would remain calm, quiet, cool, and -clear-headed to a degree that stilled the tempest all around, and -effected an amicable adjustment of matters most important as they were -most complicated and difficult of settlement. This self-control is -joined with great fertility of resources, great charity for the -peculiarities of men, and withal a kindliness of nature, a disposition -not to hurt any one, that have enabled him to render services to his -associates and to his country that may not now be told, and perhaps will -never be known until the great day when the “cup of cold water” shall be -rewarded. Mr. Plant is never in a hurry, much less is he ever flurried, -chafed, or worried about anything. All he does is done deliberately, -systematically, easily, and once done it seldom or never has to be gone -over again. “Make the best of everything,” is his motto.</p> - -<p>A gentleman occupying a prominent position in the express department of -the Plant System writes:</p> - -<p>“It affords me great pleasure to acknowledge the esteem and love of the -Southern Express Company’s employees, known to me, for Mr. Plant, who -has favored us so often with his kindness, liberality, and mercy even -when we were at fault. My knowledge<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_106" id="page_106"></a>{106}</span> extends back about thirty years, -having commenced with the Southern Express Company in North Carolina in -1866, and having worked in Tennessee, Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia, -Kentucky, and Mississippi since that time, mingling very freely and -socially with my fellow-employees. I have never heard one word of -condemnation of Mr. Plant during all that time but, on the contrary, a -hearty, free expression of respect and affection for the man who, by -divine aid, had done so much for the whole South as well as the great -number of employees in the Southern Express.</p> - -<p class="r"> -“Faithfully<br /> -<br /> -“I. S. S. A.”<br /> -</p> - -<p>In long years of intimate association with Mr. Plant I have never heard -him utter a profane word or a bitter expression against any one.</p> - -<p>“Greater is he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city,” said -the wise man. Mr. Plant has told me himself that if he learned of any -one made unhappy by anything he had ever done or said, or if any -misunderstanding should arise, he could not rest until all was settled -to mutual satisfaction, and that, too, just as speedily as possible. -“Charity for all, malice toward none,” briefly expresses the spirit, -tone, and temper of this great and good man. Hence he has been saved the -consuming force of friction and hatred which grind and wear out so many -before<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_107" id="page_107"></a>{107}</span> their time. The young men now entering public life will find -most valuable suggestion even in this brief record of a life so large, -useful, and honored, through a period of our country’s history the most -intense as it has been the most important since the days of the -Revolution and the formation of a free and independent republic.</p> - -<p>His busy life has made him neither a recluse, a pessimist, nor a slave -of the world. He has been a good deal in society—both as guest and host -he has mingled freely with his fellow-men and enjoyed to the full the -pleasures of friendly reciprocity.</p> - -<p>Mr. Plant’s love of music, in a man of his years and busy life, is -remarkable. He says: “Music rests me, and helps me to sleep when I -retire for the night, while I find it a great enjoyment in my waking -hours. It is medicine to me.” Hence he is often seen spending the last -hours of the day in the music room of the Tampa Bay Hotel, enjoying with -the guests the delightful music rendered with such exquisite taste by -the skilled orchestra. Mr. Plant is familiar with the best of the modern -operas as well as with the finest classical music of the past. Among his -favorites are Haydn, Handel, and Mozart. He is also fond of popular -ballads and songs, such as Moore’s melodies and national patriotic -songs. He says he enjoys even the hurdy-gurdy.</p> - -<p>Mr. Plant might be termed a medical benefactor,—<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_108" id="page_108"></a>{108}</span>a health -restorer,—because of the results of his work for the South and the -North as well. In no department of scientific advancement during the -last half-century has progress been more marked than in the department -of medicine. The healing art, in its lessening of pain and in the -prevention and cure of disease, has made, and is daily making, the most -wonderful discoveries. What a boon to suffering humanity was the -discovery of ether by Dr. Charles T. Jackson, of Boston, in 1846, who -found that by the inhaling of this anæsthetic the patient is rendered -unconscious of pain. Vaccine inoculation, introduced by Dr. Jenner in -1799, has prevented the spread of that much dreaded disease, small-pox. -The name of Dr. Koch will long be held in grateful remembrance for his -earnest efforts to cure consumption, as will those of Pasteur to cure -hydrophobia. The Southern States to-day have thousands of people in -ordinary good health, many of them in excellent health, who, ten, -twenty, or thirty years ago, were given up by their physicians as past -recovery and soon to die. But thirty years ago the modes of travel to -the South and the lack of adequate provision there for invalids were -such as only a person in fair health could bear. Through Mr. Plant’s -efforts in large measure, both of these requisites for a sick man, or a -delicate woman, have reached a state of perfection difficult to -improve.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_109" id="page_109"></a>{109}</span></p> - -<p>At the banquet given to Mr. Plant at Leesburg, Florida, in the winter of -1896, one of the speakers referring to what Mr. Plant had done for the -North as well as for the South, said: “In the ‘Dixie’ land he has made -the desert to bloom like the rose, changed waste places into fertile -fields, the swamps into a sanitarium, the sand heap into a Champs -Élysées, the Hillsborough into a Seine, and reproduced the palace of -Versailles on the banks of Tampa Bay, and away up in freezing, shivering -New England and Canada, when the doctor had written his last recipe and -the druggist had emptied his last bottle and the undertaker was at the -front door, our friend has placed the patient in a wheeled palace, and -signalled, ‘On to Richmond,’ not to die, but to live; and old Virginia -has smiled on the dying man, North Carolina has fairly laughed aloud, -South Carolina has taken him into her warm embrace, and Florida has -thrown flowers not on his coffin but on the resurrected Lazarus, and the -family have invited their friends, not to a funeral, but to a feast. The -Plant System ships have ploughed the Gulf of Mexico and spanned the -Caribbean Sea, and have brought health and happiness to many homes over -which bereavement and sorrow were hovering like the black angel of -death.”</p> - -<p>The Bishop of Winchester once said: “The first thing is good health, and -the second is to keep it, and the third to protect it. Then arises the -question,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_110" id="page_110"></a>{110}</span> where shall we go?” It is not known that the noted physician -had ever seen the Bishop’s question when he wrote: “Were I sent abroad -to search for a haven of rest for tired man, where new life would come -with every sun, and slumber full of sleep with every night, I would -select the Gulf Coast of Florida. It is the kindest spot, the most -perfect paradise; more beautiful it could not be made, still, calm and -eloquent in every feature.” This was said by Dr. Long, an army physician -in charge at Fort Brook, Tampa. The power of the fine arts over the -mind, and of the mind over the body, are demonstrated facts. The most -frequent and depressing of ailments among Americans is nervousness in -various forms, and in different stages of progress, from morbid -sensitiveness to utter prostration. In many cases medicine merely -aggravates it. Its chief symptoms are irritability and wretchedness, -often ending in suicide. Healing must come largely through the mind in -rest, peace, comfort, and pleasant occupation.</p> - -<p>While the mind in this condition cannot bear strain, neither can it be -idle. Idleness induces morbidness and misery. Physical comfort must not -be neglected, but there must be wholesome, nourishing food, pure air, -and proper exercise. Hence, the value of the well-equipped and elegantly -finished Pullman palace car, and the well-built steamer designed for -comfort and safety, furnished and finished in a<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_111" id="page_111"></a>{111}</span> style that delights the -eye and ministers to the enjoyment of every faculty. Hence the luxuriant -hotel, with all its home comforts, its artistic adornments, and its -princely entertainment, beauty for the eye, music for the ear, feasting -the æsthetic while feeding the materialistic nature of man. All this -enjoyment, while a soft, balmy air is breathed beneath a clear, blue -sky, and while the invalid is bathed in the bright, warm sunshine of a -southern clime, induces repose, peace, content, happiness, and health. -The spirit loses its irritability, the mind regains its elasticity, -sleep refreshes the tired brain, food nourishes the exhausted body, the -whole man is renewed, and life that was not worth living has become an -inspiration, a joy, an heroic and manly achievement.</p> - -<p>It should be said here that up to the time that Mr. Plant established -the steamship line between Tampa and Havana, there had been no regular -communication between those two ports during the quarantine season. -There were some irregular opportunities of transfer when passengers were -detained for days to be investigated, fumigated, and harassed by -quarantine regulations. Mr. Plant held that ships could be built and -managed that would make communication as safe in summer as in winter, -and he has proved the correctness of his theory. In ten years of regular -service, the steamer<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_112" id="page_112"></a>{112}</span> <i>Mascotte</i> has never had a case of yellow fever. -Through Mr. Plant’s suggestions, the Tampa Board of Health has -established rules and regulations for travel to the West Indian ports -which make it perfectly safe at all seasons of the year, so far as -contagion from disease is concerned.</p> - -<p>How much Mr. Plant has done to bring this blessed change to thousands, -many beautiful tributes testify in the public press of our times. The -expressions of enjoyment in the following letters could be extended -almost indefinitely. In the Saint Augustine <i>News</i> of March, 1895, an -enthusiastic correspondent writes: “It was early in the present century -that this man of brains and bounty appeared on the great stage, and -began a career scarce equalled by any in the annals of American -financiers, and it is to him that Florida owes a debt of gratitude, -deeper than to any other man—and this man is H. B. Plant. Favored -indeed is Florida, not only in climate, scenery, and fruit, but with the -munificence of these mighty-hearted millionaires, who have Alladin-like -metamorphosed the sunny peninsula into a veritable fairyland. I had the -pleasure of meeting Mr. H. B. Plant, who has transmogrified Tampa, and -ribboned Florida with his railroad system. As usual with men of great -minds and means, he is wholly unpretentious, as much so as his humblest -employee. He is anything but fastidious; yet he is a clean-cut man of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_113" id="page_113"></a>{113}</span> -the world, of vast business capacity, a keen, penetrating financier, and -altogether lovable in his domestic life. His shipping interests extend -from Halifax to Boston, his express and rail lines from New York to -Tampa and New Orleans, and his connecting vessels run from Cuba and all -Gulf of Mexico ports. Mr. Plant’s homes are the family place in -Branford, Connecticut, a palace on Fifth Avenue, New York, and the Tampa -Bay Hotel in winter. Mr. Plant’s family consists of a son who will -succeed to his great responsibility and estate.”</p> - -<p>Writing from Cuba in January 1888, “J. C. B.” says in his “Notes”:</p> - -<p>“In the language of an intelligent observer, writing from Havana early -in the present month, it would be difficult to find any other -interesting foreign land, when its accessibility is considered, so -worthy the attention of American travellers as Cuba. To the average -thought of one who has not visited it, it seems far and repellent. It is -neither of these.</p> - -<p>“The improved special fast facilities furnished by the Pennsylvania -Railroad, the Atlantic Coast line, the Plant system of railways, and its -new, swift, and superb steamships, carry you from the American to the -Cuban metropolis in three days.</p> - -<p>“While the north shore of the island has three important -harbors—Havana, Mantanzas, and Cardenas—the former is incomparably the -finest and most<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_114" id="page_114"></a>{114}</span> spacious; the city, to the west of the gleaming bay, is -a rare study in Moorish, Saxon, and Doric architecture. The scene has -been thus pen-pictured:</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>On the east side, where the close jaws of the harbor open, and -clambering up the mountain side where frown the landward outworks of -Moro Castle, is Casa Bianca, with its queer villas and structures, each -one standing out in this wonderful daylight of the tropics in such -distinctness, and with such a strange seeming of approaching and growing -proportions, that, in your fancy, the houses individually become great -pillared temples. In and over and through this dreamful spot, away up -the side of the mountain, thread and run such indescribable wealth of -vegetation that, as you look again and again, the clustered, shining -houses seem like great white grapes bursting through a glorious wealth -of vines and leaves.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>Beyond Casa Bianca the bay debouches to the east. Here is a veritable -valley of rest. Every half a mile is a little cluster of homes set in a -marvellous wealth of rose and bloom. Beyond this valley are seen pretty -villages, each with its half-ruined church, whose only suggestion of use -or occupation is had in the din of never-ceasing chimes; and still -beyond these are uplands which almost reach the dignity of mountains, -upon whose far and receding serrated heights an occasional cocoa tree or -royal palm looms<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_115" id="page_115"></a>{115}</span> lonely as a ghostly sentinel upon some mediæval tower.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>Farther to the south lie the great Santa Catalina warehouses, where -the saccharine source of Cuba’s wealth is stored in huge hogsheads, or -rests dark as lakes of pitch in tremendous vats. Behind these is Regia, -the lesser Havana, across the harbor, with its churches, its quaint old -markets, its cockpits, its ceaseless fandangoes and its bull pen. Over -beyond this, set like a gleaming nest in the crest of the mountains, a -glimpse is caught of Guanabacoa, full of beautiful villas, beautiful -gardens and fountains, and in the olden times the then oldest Indian -village of which Cuban legends tell. Beyond Regia to the south, and upon -the shores of the bay, is the ferry and railroad station, whence -thousands reach the outlying villas, or leave the capital for the -various seaports of the northern coast; and right here, night and day, -is as busy and interesting a spot for the study of manner and character -as may be found in all Cuba. At this station is seen a famous statue to -Edouard Fesser, founder of the Havana warehouse system. The entire -southern portion of the bay, where some day the barren shore line will -be lined with great warehouses and docks, is filled with old hulls of -sunken steamers and ships, conveying the keenest sense of desolation, -and the shore here rises to uplands bare as Sahara, until, skirting to -the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_116" id="page_116"></a>{116}</span> right, the bold mountain, Jesu del Monte, is seen; and then come -the great outlying forts extending far around to the sea. Between you -and these, if still aboard-ship, you see Havana’s domes and minarets, -and, to all intents, you are anchored in a sceneful harbor of old -Spain.’</p> - -<p>“This schedule of the quick mail service performed by the elegant -steamers, <i>Mascotte</i> and <i>Olivette</i>, of the Plant line, in connection -with the railway system heretofore mentioned between Tampa and Key West, -in the east, affords but a few brief hours of rest in the harbor at -Havana. Upon the first appearance of the <i>Olivette</i>, fresh from her -conspicuous performances in distancing the fleet of steamers which -accompanied the racing yachts of the international regatta, the writer -had the good fortune to be among the invited guests who paid a visit to -this magnificent vessel, which is justly the pride of her distinguished -owner, Mr. H. B. Plant, the President and Managing Director of the Plant -System of railways and steamships.”</p> - -<p class="c"><img src="images/ill_151.jpg" alt="[text decoration not available.]" /><br /> -</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_117" id="page_117"></a>{117}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X"></a><img src="images/ill_152.jpg" alt="[text decoration not available.]" /><br /> - CHAPTER X.</h2> - -<div class="blockquott"><p class="hang">Reason for Submitting Press Sketches of Mr. Plant—<i>Descriptive -America</i>, December, 1886—<i>City Items</i>, December, 1886—<i>Railroad -Topics</i>—<i>Home Journal</i>, New York, March, 1896—F. G. De Fontain in -same Journal—Ocala <i>Evening Times</i> June, 1896—<i>Express Gazette</i>.</p></div> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">I</span>N the following chapter are given a few press notices of Mr. Plant and -his work in the South, because they contain reliable information of some -of that work which we have left to them to chronicle, and because they -are public expressions of the appreciation of that work and of the -justly high esteem, and friendly regard in which the worker is held by -the people among whom and for whom he has spent the best part of his -life. Instead of a brief chapter, a volume of such complimentary -sketches might be presented, written in even stronger language than is -here used and by masters in the art of writing. But these few will -suffice to show the deep interest of the people in the life and work of -their friend and benefactor, Mr. H. B. Plant.</p> - -<p>The following extract is taken from the <i>Florida</i> number of <i>Descriptive -America</i>.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_118" id="page_118"></a>{118}</span></p> - -<p class="c">RAILROAD AND EXPRESS PRESIDENT.</p> - -<p>“In our <i>Wisconsin</i> number we gave the life-history of one man who, -beginning as a farmer’s son, had, by his energy, ability, and integrity, -come to occupy a position of great power, wealth, and usefulness, and we -emphasized the point, that, while he had been wonderfully successful, -his highest claim to our admiration, lay in the fact that, whenever the -opportunity offered, he had sought the prosperity of the nation, the -state, or the city of his adoption, and had made his own gain and -increasing wealth subordinate to the public weal. In this number we have -some similar characters, who, if their wealth does not equal that of the -great banker and railroad king, have at least followed his good example.</p> - -<p>“Such men are always modest, their achievements seem to them very small, -compared with what they might and should have done, and they shrink from -publicity with genuine dread. One of these men is the subject of our -present sketch, Mr. H. B. Plant.</p> - -<p>“Mr. Plant is of pure Puritan stock; his earliest American ancestors -left England about 1640, and if they were not among the little company -who came with John Davenport to Quinnipiac, afterward called New Haven, -they followed very soon after. They settled in Branford, Connecticut, a -town lying between New Haven and Guilford, at which<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_119" id="page_119"></a>{119}</span> place some of -Davenport’s most eminent men soon established themselves. The Plants of -Branford were a good family, and they have always borne a high -reputation through the eight or nine generations which have elapsed -since they first established themselves in Branford. They were -intelligent, thoughtful farmers, industrious, sound thinkers, orthodox -in faith, and leading those quiet country lives, of which the old New -England towns presented so many examples. The village minister was a man -greatly reverenced by all his people, and if a youth of more than -ordinary promise could be instructed under his direction, it was -something to be proud of.</p> - -<p>“To one of these Branford families, the representative Plant family in -the town, several children were born in the earlier decades of the -present century; one of them, <span class="smcap">H. B. Plant</span>, gladdening their hearts in -October, 1819. He must have been a boy of considerable promise, for -after the usual course of study in the District Schools, not at that -time of a very high grade, he spent several terms in the Branford -Academy, then under the oversight of the Branford pastor, Rev. Timothy -P. Gillett, a man of high scholarship and great aptitude for teaching. -Whether he had any aspirations for a collegiate course, we do not know; -but he did not rest content, till he had completed his course of study -with John E. Lovell, of New Haven, the founder of the Lancasterian<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_120" id="page_120"></a>{120}</span> -system of instruction in America, and, at that time, the most celebrated -teacher in the country.</p> - -<p>“His school days over, Mr. Plant soon found employment on the steamboat -line plying between New Haven and New York. Very soon, one of the first -express lines ever established in this country, known as Beecher’s New -York and New Haven Express, was started, and young Plant became -interested in it, and from that time to the present has always been -largely engaged in the express business. His first important interest in -it was with Adams Express. In 1853, he went to the South, and -established expresses upon the southern railroads, as a branch -enterprise of Adams Express. In 1861, he organized the Southern Express -Co., and became its president, and has continued so to the present time. -He is also president of the Texas Express Co. In 1853, he visited -Florida for the first time, for the benefit of the health of an invalid -wife. There was no means of communication with Jacksonville, except by -steamers up the St. John’s. The place was small and the accommodations -meagre, but the fine climate and mild and balmy air were the means of -prolonging her life many years, and from that time he made yearly visits -thither. During these visits the place grew, and he saw the necessity -for railway communication with that and many other points in Florida; -but he devoted most of his attention to his<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_121" id="page_121"></a>{121}</span> extensive express business, -until 1879, though owning large blocks of railroad stocks, particularly -in the Georgia and Florida Railways. In 1879, with some friends, he -purchased the Atlantic and Gulf Railroad of Georgia, and subsequently -organized the Savannah, Florida, and Western Railroad, of which he -became president. Soon afterwards he extended this railroad to the -Chattahoochee River, and he also constructed a new line from Way Cross -to Jacksonville.</p> - -<p>“The Savannah and Charleston Railroad (now the Charleston and Savannah), -had been in the courts for many years, but, in 1880, Mr. Plant purchased -and thoroughly rebuilt it; his purpose being to perfect the connections -between Florida, Charleston, and the North.</p> - -<p>“The immense labor connected with the management of these railways, and -of the vast business connected with the expresses, led Mr. Plant and his -associates to organize the Plant Investment Co., to control these -railways, and also to manage and extend, in the interest of its -stockholders, the Florida Southern and the South Florida Railway. The -former road was extended by the Investment Company to Tampa, and to -Bartow, and they are now building it to Pemberton Ferry, where it will -be joined by the South Florida line thus making connection via -Gainesville with South Florida, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_122" id="page_122"></a>{122}</span> <i>via</i> Tampa for Key West and the -West India Islands.</p> - -<p>“In connection with these railroads, we may well answer the question -which is of special importance to us in this <i>Florida</i> number.</p> - -<p>“What has Mr. Plant done for Florida? We answer in general, that he has -rendered the culture of the orange and of the other perishable products -of the State profitable, has greatly facilitated the occupation of the -best lands of the State, opened the way for the settlement of the lands -of Southern Florida, given free and ready access to the Gulf ports, and -thence to Mobile, New Orleans, and Galveston, and established a regular, -frequent, and prompt steamboat service on the St. John’s River.</p> - -<p>“How has he done this? When he had purchased and rebuilt the Charleston -and Savannah Railroad, access to the interior of Florida was difficult -and almost impracticable except by wagon road. There was irregular and -fitful navigation of the St. John’s River, but the steamboats ran when -they had sufficient freight, and only then. There had been some -railroads built (especially those of the Yulee system) but the country -was undeveloped, and as the orange groves required from five to ten -years of growth before they came into profitable bearing, meanwhile the -railways were suffering for want of freight and were unprofitable. Mr. -Plant was convinced that<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_123" id="page_123"></a>{123}</span> although a more rapid development was in -progress, there would still be delay before the railroads he proposed to -build would prove paying investments. He therefore determined to avail -himself of the land grants already made, and to keep them in repair.</p> - -<p>“The orange product would not bear jolting over wagon roads, or being -stacked up on the wharves waiting for the uncertain coming of the -steamers. His first move was to build a railway direct from Way Cross, -Ga., to Jacksonville, thus bringing his Georgia roads into immediate -communication with a port on the St. John’s River. He then established a -steamboat line on that river which was regular, prompt, efficient, and -carried freight at low rates. Meantime a road had been constructed from -Jacksonville to Palatka, making connection with St. Augustine via Tocoi; -this road is now being extended to cross the river a few miles above -Palatka and thence by way of De Land and other places, re-crossing the -St. John’s a short distance north of Lake Monroe; thence proceeding to -Sanford where it will form a connection with the South Florida, thus -opening up the fine highlands west of the St. John’s and those east of -that river to a ready market, and giving choice of a river or rail -transportation at several points. The Legislature having granted a -charter for a railway connecting Palatka with Lake City by way of -Gainesville and thence down<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_124" id="page_124"></a>{124}</span> the peninsula it was taken in hand by -capitalists from Boston, and connection made by rail between -Gainesville, Palatka, and Leesburg.</p> - -<p>“With this company Mr. Plant made arrangements for the construction of -the road from Gainesville west to a connection with the Southern -extension of the Savannah, Florida and Western Railroad which has been -constructed and is now in operation.</p> - -<p>“A branch will soon be built to connect it with Lake City.</p> - -<p>“By reference to our map, it will be seen that these roads traverse all -the counties of the interior, down to the Everglades, and open them to -settlement and to profitable orange culture and the production of sugar, -cotton, and rice. These roads have brought actual settlers by scores of -thousands to occupy these rich and fertile lands, the finest in the -State, and other railway companies, stimulated by their example and -encouragement, have constructed roads connecting with these. By the -charters of bankrupt railroads which they have bought, the Plant -Investment Company is entitled to a large amount of lands from the -State, 10,000 acres to the mile, in most cases, as well as later grants -on their newly constructed roads; but the State has not yet the lands to -deed to them, except to a small amount, though eventually it may have.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_125" id="page_125"></a>{125}</span></p> - -<p>“Mr. Plant is a man of fine and commanding appearance, dignified and -quiet, yet genial in manners, and of the most genuine modesty and -gentleness in his intercourse with others. No judge of character could -fail to observe, however, that he is a man of remarkable executive -ability and sound judgment, or that he has a greater amount of reserve -power than most business men possess. His associates, and those with -whom he is brought into business relations, all speak of him in terms of -the highest admiration and esteem.”</p> - -<p>The <i>City Item</i> for December 4, 1886, says:</p> - -<p>“Mr. Henry B. Plant is a very admirable type of that class of successful -men of enterprise who owe their prosperity to broad business views, -large public spirit, and commanding integrity of character joined to -solid capacity. Born in Branford, Conn., his entrance upon active life -was in connection with transportation on the New Haven steamboat line, -and his subsequent career has been identified with similar enterprises. -Ultimately entering the service of Adams Express Company, he was -instrumental in extending its business throughout the Southern States, -and finally, with others, purchased its lines, and formed the Southern -Express Company, of which he became president. This position he still -holds, having by his energy and enterprise greatly enlarged and extended -the business of the company.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_126" id="page_126"></a>{126}</span> In 1853, when the delightful climate, -attractiveness and fertility of Florida were as yet but poorly -appreciated, Mr. Plant recognized the possibilities which that State -opened up, and an opportunity being presented for the extention of -transportation facilities by the sale of the Savannah and Charleston -Railway, and the Atlantic and Gulf Railway, those properties were -purchased and reconstructed by him, the name of the former being changed -to the Charleston and Savannah, and the latter to the Savannah, Florida, -and Western Railway. This last he extended to the Chattahoochee River, -to Jacksonville and Gainesville, in Florida. Subsequently he constructed -the road between Way Cross, Georgia, and Jacksonville, and Live Oak and -Gainesville, and also placed steamship lines on the Chattahoochee and -St. John’s Rivers, connecting the railroad at Jacksonville with Sanford -on Lake Monroe, and building the South Florida Railway thence to Bartow -and Tampa, establishing steamboat communication to the Manatee River and -other points on Tampa Bay. More recently he has established a steamboat -line between Tampa, Key West, and Havana. This service was increased on -the 1st inst. to tri-weekly trips, under special contract with the -Post-office Department. By this route, in connection with the railroad -from Tampa, the line from New York to Havana is only three days, thus -enabling the invalid<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_127" id="page_127"></a>{127}</span> or pleasure seeker of the metropolis to exchange -the rigors of our winter climate for the delicious temperature of Cuba, -with an ease and under conditions of travel which must make this line -increasingly popular with the lapse of years. The <i>Mascotte</i>, now -running on this route, is one of the most handsome and complete -steamships built, its appointments being in every respect really -luxurious, while in point of seaworthiness it is everything that the -most expert mechanism could make it. Its staterooms are dainty boudoirs, -while its saloon is as exquisitely fitted up as any drawing-room. A -second vessel, now building for the line, will be equally attractive in -all its interior arrangements. Mr. Plant, while a thorough man of -business, and deeply immersed in material pursuits, has never lost the -courtliness of manner and genial whole-heartedness which are Nature’s -choicest gifts to her favorites; and among all who know him he ranks as -the loyal friend and elegant gentleman.”</p> - -<p><i>Railroad Topics</i> says:</p> - -<p>“In this day of vast individual fortunes, it is no special compliment to -say of a man that he is rich. If the public takes any interest in his -wealth, there is generally more concern manifested in the manner in -which he made his money, than in the mere fact that he has it. But -conspicuous success and marked prominence do, and will always, command -attention<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_128" id="page_128"></a>{128}</span> and challenge admiration. The spirit of the American people -is to applaud achievement and honor distinction wherever they are -observed, and when found combined in one man, they make him a popular -object of praise and an interesting subject for biographical sketch. -Such a case we have in the person of Mr. Henry B. Plant, whose record we -attempt to outline in the following brief story:</p> - -<p>“Mr. Plant was born at Branford, Conn., in October, 1819, and is -consequently now in the seventieth year of his age. It is indeed a -pleasure to contemplate the record of a man who has fulfilled the sacred -tradition of his allotted time, and stamped that rounded life with -innumerable evidences of steadily growing strength, constantly -increasing usefulness, continually widening reputation, and vastly -expanding possessions. The personal history of H. B. Plant, if shorn of -all details, would stand complete in that one paragraph.</p> - -<p>“He has thus far lived to excellent purpose, and in the run of that -existence has accomplished in fullest measure all that is comprehended -in the descriptive suggestion.</p> - -<p>“If we wrote not another line, we would feel that we had made a -practical analysis of his life and set forth the salient truths of it. -But when a man has attained Mr. Plant’s prominence, and compassed -achievements such as his, people are interested in<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_129" id="page_129"></a>{129}</span> the details of his -career, and naturally inquire as to his distinguishing characteristics. -In deference to that reasonable curiosity, and likewise for the pleasure -that there is in it to ourselves, we gladly make this sketch of him.</p> - -<p>“It is nothing remarkable to say that he was born poor. Most men who -have ever amounted to much were. Hence in that particular he is not -exceptional. Neither would we be satisfied simply to class him with that -great multitude, popularly termed, “self made men.” He does belong in -that catagory, but is so far above the average, that we incline to think -of that descriptive fact more as an accident than as a cardinal virtue.</p> - -<p>“The first account we have of him is only a meagre record of his school -days. He never went to college, but had to content his ambitious young -spirit with a good academic course, supplemented by a brief term of -finishing study under a thoroughly competent tutor. This, however, was -only a theoretical disadvantage, from the fact that the termination of -his school days was no interruption to his mental acquirements. He was -born with an ambition for knowledge, and does not to this day feel -himself too old, or too wise, to learn.</p> - -<p>“Mr. Plant’s first experience in business, was when, a mere boy, he -secured employment on one of that line of steamboats, then running -between New Haven<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_130" id="page_130"></a>{130}</span> and New York. Although very young, he appreciated -even then that the only way to learn any business thoroughly was by -beginning at the bottom. Accordingly he took his first lessons in -steamboat life in a humble position. It was not long, however, before, -by faithfulness and efficiency, he lifted himself into higher and more -responsible places. That first and prompt promotion was the initial sign -of what his life would be, and from then till now, he has steadily -marched onward and upward, overcoming obstacles and mastering -difficulties with heroic energy, and winning success in the various -lines of his broadening operations with positive brilliancy.</p> - -<p>“While employed by the New York and New Haven Steamboat Company, one of -the first express lines ever established in this country was inaugurated -between New Haven and New York, and the enterprise at once fascinated -young Plant. He bent every energy toward the acquirement of a small -interest in the new express company, and in reasonable time accomplished -his purpose. From that day to this, express business has been his best -love throughout the wide range of his material interests. His first -important connection in that line was with the Adams Express Company -about 1847. In that corporation he became a leading spirit and holds -such position to-day. His special pet, however, among<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_131" id="page_131"></a>{131}</span> the various -express systems with which he is identified is the Southern Express -Company which he established in 1862. This child of his wisdom has grown -to be a giant, and is to-day one of the richest, most influential, and -ably managed corporations in this country. It traverses all the Southern -States, and is, for all practical purposes, permanently established on -nearly every important railroad system in the South.</p> - -<p>“Of late years Mr. Plant has been giving much of his attention to the -acquisition of railroad properties, and in admirable continuance of his -previous record, he has crowned this undertaking with splendid success. -He is virtually master and largely owner of the Savannah, Florida, and -Western Railway, and likewise of the Charleston and Savannah Railway. -This gives him a direct and popular line from Charleston, South -Carolina, to Jacksonville, Florida. He has also made various branches -from his main line, penetrating the principal districts of Florida, and -by this wise railroad building has done far more than can be computed or -told, toward that marvellous development of Florida which has been -accomplished within the last ten years. Mr. Plant was truly a pioneer in -this praiseworthy work, and there is probably no man who deserves more -than he does the grateful acknowledgements of the Florida people, as -well as the hearty gratitude of the countless<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_132" id="page_132"></a>{132}</span> thousands who have gone -from all other sections of the country to enjoy the healing benefits of -that curative climate, and the sweet restfulness of that floral -dreamland.</p> - -<p>“The Plant Investment Co., of which Mr. H. B. Plant is the head, and in -which he has associated with him several sagacious millionaires, is a -powerful corporation which was organized for co-operative investment in -valuable southern railroad properties and advantageous control of the -same. This company is managed with exceptional ability, and by its vast -acquisitions and extensions, has become a great power in the railroad -world, and is rapidly accumulating for its stockholders untold wealth. -This Investment Company is practically controlled by Mr. Plant, and its -entire policy is shaped by his judgment. One of his latest enterprises, -under the auspices of the Investment Company, is the establishment of a -fast line of steamers from Tampa, Florida, to Cuba. At Tampa, Mr. Plant -has extended one of his railroads out to deep water, and thereby made it -an excellent port for even heavy draught ships. The whole of Florida -bears the impress of his energy, enterprise, and wisdom.</p> - -<p>“Mr. Plant’s home is New York City, where he has a palatial residence on -Fifth avenue, and luxurious business quarters at No. 12 West 23d street. -Whenever a man amasses a fortune he naturally<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_133" id="page_133"></a>{133}</span> drifts into Wall Street, -the financial centre of America. Mr. Plant is a conspicuous exception to -this rule. He rarely treads the narrow golden street leading from -Trinity Church to East River. There is no speculative element in his -nature. He is conservative to the last degree, and works on no plan that -is not founded on reason and justified by a positive trend from cause to -effect. He has all the vigor and alertness usually to be found in a man -of fifty years of age. He is keenly alive to all the possibilities of -affairs that come under his observation, and quick to determine any -question that is presented to him.</p> - -<p>“He is a thoughtful man and extremely reserved. It is necessary to know -him well to appreciate the excellent fairness of his mind, and the -kindness of his heart. He is ostentatious in nothing, but under all -circumstances conducts himself with modest dignity and irresistible -reserve force. He is emphatically what might be called an extractive -man. That is, he has an inexplicable faculty for drawing any one out, -without ever appearing inquisitive, or leading on by talking much -himself. If he has one characteristic stronger than all others, it is -his wonderful genius for keeping his own counsel. He never lacks -cordiality of manner, but is always gracious and genial. Another -forceful point of his character, is that inexhaustible patience which -has<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_134" id="page_134"></a>{134}</span> enabled him to live undisturbed in the faith that ‘all things come -to him who knows how to wait.’</p> - -<p>“He thoroughly systematizes every department of his life, and keeps his -house in such perfect order that if he should shake the harness off and -quit work to-morrow, all those far-reaching plans which have had their -foundations laid under his wise direction, would by his faithful -followers be worked out to rounded completeness and finished perfection.</p> - -<p>“And thus by the mighty working of his master brain he has achieved -success, won renown, accumulated an immense fortune, done great good, -and made for himself an undisputed place among the leaders of this day. -And besides all these victories, he has set on foot gigantic plans that -may not fully mature for many years to come, but in those very plans he -has laid the corner-stone of a great monument to his worthy memory, and -those who come after him, if faithful to their trust, will build on as -wisely as he has planned, until the capstone of his imperishable -memorial is fitted in its place, by the final accomplishment of each and -every purpose of his well-spent life.”</p> - -<p><i>The Home Journal</i> says:</p> - -<p>“Henry B. Plant, president of the Plant System of hotels, railways, and -steamship lines, is one of the men of to-day, whose work will influence -the future. He controls twelve different railway corporations<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_135" id="page_135"></a>{135}</span> with a -mileage of 1941, and 5506 employees; is president of the Southern and -the Texas Express Companies, employing 6808 men; president of steamship -lines, covering the coasts of the Gulf, going to Cuba and Jamaica, and -skirting the coasts of the North, running to Cape Breton and the -maritime provinces; founder of the most palatial winter resort in -America, the Tampa Bay Hotel, and owner of five other beautiful resorts -within the State. To Mr. Plant may be accredited the development, if not -the real discovery, of the grand West or Gulf Coast of Florida. He is an -American, and is seventy-seven years old; a man of tireless energy, -wonderful ability, and remarkable industry. His career is marked by -honesty, uprightness, straightforwardness, and business-like dealings. -These qualities, together with a broad intelligence and keen perception, -have brought him success. Withal, he is modest and unassuming, and has -no pride but that which he takes in good works.”</p> - -<p>From the Ocala <i>Evening Star</i>, June 22, 1896:</p> - -<p>“H. B. Plant, the railroad king, has again stepped into our midst and -proposes to add to the new improvements of our city a large and elegant -passenger depot.</p> - -<p>“Notwithstanding the fact that he has done much already to advance the -prosperity of the beautiful perpetual summer land of flowers and -sunshine, he is<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_136" id="page_136"></a>{136}</span> still, at the present time, losing no opportunity to -add to the beauty and upbuilding of the State of Florida.</p> - -<p>“If every railroad running into our State would feel as much interest in -her welfare as does the Plant System, but a few years would elapse -before this section would be the most prosperous in the Union.</p> - -<p>“Thousands upon thousands of dollars are spent every year by the -officials of this road in the improvement and erection of property -within our borders.</p> - -<p>“H. B. Plant is indeed a friend to Florida, and if other roads would -spend as much money in our State as he does, there would not be such a -cry for free silver, as there would be plenty in circulation, and every -one, from laborer to governor, would have his share.</p> - -<p>“While Mr. Plant is somewhat advanced in life, the <i>Star</i> hopes that his -years may yet be many and his love for the sunny peninsula as great in -coming years as in the past.”</p> - -<p>From the <i>Home Journal</i>, New York, March 11, 1896:</p> - -<p>“If, comparatively a few years ago, one had ventured the prophecy that -the time would arrive when we could leave New York at half-past nine one -morning, and wake up at daylight the next morning in Charleston, a court -of inquiry would have been<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_137" id="page_137"></a>{137}</span> called to pass upon his mental condition. -Such, however, are the facts to-day.</p> - -<p>“You leave Jersey City in a sleeper, supplied with all of the latest -appointments for comfort; a courteous conductor takes your tickets, with -which you have no further concern until you reach Charleston, when they -are handed to you in an envelope. What a comfort not to have to be -pulling out the everlasting ticket just in the midst of conversation or -while reading an interesting magazine article!</p> - -<p>“If the cars are not crowded, you feel a sort of proprietary right to -roam around at pleasure, change your seat as often as you desire, and -wash your face and your hands whenever they need it in the cosy little -toilet-room. What a change from the old-fashioned water-cooler, where a -cupful of water was wont to be poured over a pocket-handkerchief, and -the face and hands wiped with it, leaving arabesque designs in black and -white wherever it touched!</p> - -<p>“Then, instead of rushing to a railroad eating-house in order to refresh -the inner man, having to put up with ‘railroad coffee,’ and experiencing -a nervous shock every time a whistle blows, your meals are taken at -dainty little tables, in your own compartments, where polite and -efficient waiters do your bidding.</p> - -<p>“Instead of the tiresome, old-fashioned trip of two days and a night, -the trip now is twenty hours.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_138" id="page_138"></a>{138}</span> Verily the twin powers of steam and -electricity have wrought wonders in the conditions of life.</p> - -<p>“The Plant System, to which the Atlantic Coast Line is ‘a feeder,’ has -emphatically gridironed the South. To-day Mr. Henry B. Plant is the -president of a railroad system that embraces twelve different -corporations, and whose mileage extends to 1941, with a list of -employees numbering 5506. He is also president of the Plant steamship -and steamboat lines, covering the coasts of the Gulf, Cuba, and Jamaica, -and skirting the coasts of the North, running from Boston along Nova -Scotia to Cape Breton and Prince Edward Island. In addition to these -interests, Mr. Plant is president of the Southern and Texas Express -companies, which do a business as express forwarders over 24,412 miles -of railway, and have lines in fifteen States, employing 6808 men and -using 1463 horses and 886 wagons. Mr. Plant is seventy-six years of age. -He needs no eulogy; his works speak for him. Although of Northern birth, -he is as much beloved and respected at the South as if native-born.</p> - -<p>“Thirty-six years ago, President Jefferson Davis, of the Southern -Confederacy, demonstrated his confidence in, and admiration of Henry -Bradley Plant by giving him a pass entitling him to move hither and -thither at will through army headquarters, or wherever he pleased, in -the interest of the Adams<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_139" id="page_139"></a>{139}</span> Express Company, which he then represented, -although Mr. Plant declared that he did not sympathize with the -political movement which sought to rend the States.</p> - -<p>“The Tampa Bay Hotel, Port Tampa Inn, and the Seminole, Winter Park, -Florida, are monuments of Mr. Plant’s enterprise and a portion of the -System. From one of these palatial hotels one can catch a fish on the -back porch and pluck a lemon to dress it with from the front porch. In -Charleston the name of Henry B. Plant is a synonym for success, and a -name which many a young man mentions with veneration, as one to which he -owes a lasting debt of gratitude.”</p> - -<p>The May number of the <i>Express Gazette</i>, Cincinnati, Ohio, has this -appreciative paragraph:</p> - -<p>“The editor of the <i>Advertiser</i>, Key West, Florida, pays the following -eloquent tribute of praise to Mr. H. B. Plant, President of the Plant -System of Railroads and the Southern Express Company:</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>Mr. H. B. Plant, the president, the founder, and the controlling -spirit of the great Plant System, is held in high estimate by the -citizens of this island. He found it, years ago, isolated and remote -from the great centres of commerce, and his partiality to us soon -changed a semi-occasional connection with the mainland, by vessels of -inferior character, into a tri-weekly communication by the finest -coastwise<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_140" id="page_140"></a>{140}</span> steamers in the Southern waters. Brought in ready touch with -the marts of trade, factories sprang into existence, commerce grew, and -a city with millions of revenue supplanted a fishing hamlet. Through his -enterprise we are enabled to write our history in a line—a village, a -city, a metropolis—and all this in a decade.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>The debt of gratitude which Key West owes to Mr. Plant is beyond -estimate. Indeed, so accustomed are we to the conveniences at hand, that -we are prone to fail in appreciation of what we have, in our greed for -more. That Mr. Plant has been and is still our best friend cannot be -questioned in the light of past experience; and while we cordially -welcome and hail with delight the coming of other transportation, our -city should never be forgetful of the man who was our friend when we had -no other.’<span class="lftspc">”</span></p> - -<p class="c"><img src="images/ill_177.jpg" alt="[text decoration not available.]" /><br /> -</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_141" id="page_141"></a>{141}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XI" id="CHAPTER_XI"></a><img src="images/ill_178.jpg" alt="[text decoration not available.]" /><br /> - CHAPTER XI.</h2> - -<div class="blockquott"><p class="hang">Mr. Plant’s Close and Constant Contact with the Great System as -Seen in the Following Letters—Letter Written on Board the Steamer -<i>Comal</i>—Letters on Trip to Jamaica, West Indies, March 15, 1893, -and Published in the <i>Home Journal</i>.</p></div> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">M</span>R. PLANT keeps himself constantly informed of the workings of the whole -System over which he presides, by daily communication with every part of -it. The head of each department writes to the president every day, or -telegraphs, or does both if necessary, and in return, Mr. Plant, through -his secretary, replies daily to each communication received. So close -does he keep to the workings of the System that wherever he travels in -the country his mail is regularly delivered to him at points arranged -for the purpose, and it is as promptly answered from his private car as -if he were at his own office in New York City. Nor are all these letters -which pass between the president and his associates about hard business; -they are often social, familiar greetings, and interchanges of friendly -intercourse. The following extract from a letter, written by Mr. Plant -when traveling to Galveston, Texas, is an illustration of this:<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_142" id="page_142"></a>{142}</span></p> - -<p class="c"> -NOTES OF THE VOYAGE.<br /> -</p> - -<p>“Left wharf on Steamer <i>Comal</i>, Saturday, July 22, 1893, 4 <small>P.M.</small>, wind -southwest. Passed Sandy Hook about 5.30, found sea smooth; well off the -coast, shore houses vaguely seen in the distance.</p> - -<p>“<i>Sunday, 23d.</i>—Had a still and comfortable moonlight night; smooth -seas; wind southwest; off Cape Charles, twelve o’clock. About one -o’clock wind all died away. The sea perfectly smooth until 2.30, when a -light breeze came in from the southeast, which lasted until sunset, then -died away and came out again from the west about six o’clock. Passed -Body Island Light with light breeze. No sea.</p> - -<p>“8.10 <small>P.M.</small>—Hatteras Light fairly abreast—ten sailing vessels and one -steamer in sight. Weather being fine, captain concluded to cross the -Gulf Stream and run down on the east side and along the Bahama Banks. We -have now been out twenty-eight hours, and I have felt very well. No -annoyance from the stomach so far in any particular.</p> - -<p>“<i>12 o’clock noon, Monday, 24th.</i>—We are bowling along in the Gulf -Stream with a good breeze from the west—smooth sea. Had a fairly good -sleep. Room being on the port side and the wind from the west made it -rather warm. At noon to-day the temperature of the water is eighty -degrees and the air is eighty-two degrees, which is not so bad as might -be.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_143" id="page_143"></a>{143}</span> We are now well off Charleston and about abreast of the Bermudas.</p> - -<p>“<i>Tuesday, 25th.</i>—The wind continued from the west until about four -o’clock, when it ceased, and from that until nine we had a dead calm and -a smooth glassy sea. Now at ten o’clock a light breeze comes in from the -east, and we have prospect of a comfortable day.</p> - -<p>“Yesterday <small>P.M.</small> we had crossed and were entirely east of the Gulf Stream -and there was no wind, of course, in still water. While in the Stream we -had a current of about three knots against us. Our course is now -bringing us again near the stream, which we shall cross in the course of -the day and will probably pass Jupiter before bedtime, say, nine -o’clock. We are having a delightful voyage so far, and I seem to be -doing quite well.</p> - -<p>“<small>P.M.</small>—The southwest wind has died out and we have a gentle breeze from -the east; this gives promise of the northeast trades for to-night, which -will be quite acceptable and will put me on the windward side of the -ship; have been on the lee side so far.</p> - -<p>“5 <small>P.M.</small>—Have not seen a sail to-day, and am having a very restful time.</p> - -<p>“9.30 <small>P.M.</small>—Have been with the captain since dinner, and for the last -half hour on the lookout for Jupiter Light. The lead informs us that we -are too<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_144" id="page_144"></a>{144}</span> far off the coast to enable us to see the Light just yet.</p> - -<p>“9.50 <small>P.M.</small>—Now we just have a glimpse of the Light from the bridge, and -as ‘All’s well,’ I will to my couch for the night. The winds are -favoring those on the port side, having swung around to the northeast, -giving a promise of the southeast trades for to-morrow; so good-night.</p> - -<p>“<i>Wednesday</i> <small>A.M.</small>—Had a splendid shower this <small>A.M.</small> just after daylight, -and right after the northeast wind died out and was soon followed by the -good southeast trade, and now (10.30) we are sailing along just outside -the reefs, having passed Cape Florida early this <small>A.M.</small> During the night -we have passed Palm Beach (Lake Worth).</p> - -<p>“10.30 <small>A.M.</small>—We are now directly abreast of Carysfort Light, and a more -pleasant day to be at sea could not be desired. While at breakfast we -passed near the wreck of the English steamer <i>Earl King</i>. She went on -the reef about a year and a half ago; nothing now in sight but a portion -of what looks to be the bow—a good beacon to warn others from this -dangerous reef. She is reported to have been an old ship loaded with -cement and other cheap freight, bound for New Orleans, and well insured.</p> - -<p>“The indications are that we shall arrive at Key West about seven -o’clock this <small>P.M.</small> and in time to meet the <i>Mascotte</i> on her return from -Havana. As<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_145" id="page_145"></a>{145}</span> we have but a small freight for Key West, we shall not be -long detained there, and shall expect to arrive in Galveston early -Saturday night. Temperature of air at one o’clock 81¾ degrees; water 83 -degrees.</p> - -<p>“<i>Wednesday</i> <small>P.M.</small>—Passed Aligator Light one o’clock; this will bring us -to Key West about eight o’clock, and enable me to place this on -<i>Mascotte</i> without much to spare, and probably place us ashore at -Galveston Sunday morning, and as you may not be in Darien Sunday, you -will only receive the message at office on Monday <small>A.M.</small> Send to Mrs. -Plant at Branford on arrival, so she may receive the information same -day. Would like to have you make at least a synopsis of the daily notes -to Mr. O’B., that you may send to him should he be absent. We are now -well up with American Shoal Light; next we shall have Sombrero, and then -Sand Key and Key West. We are likely to fall in with the <i>Mascotte</i>.</p> - -<p>“We are jogging along very pleasantly with wind well on the port quarter -and temperature quite comfortable.”</p> - -<p>The following letter from Mr. Plant, published in the <i>Home Journal</i>, -New York, March 15, 1893, speaks for itself. It shows its author to be -at home on shipboard, and as much at his ease as in his own parlor; -while carefully noting all points of interest and enjoying to the full -all that was enjoyable.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_146" id="page_146"></a>{146}</span></p> - -<p class="r"> -<span class="smcap">On Board S. S. “Halifax</span>,”<br /> -<span class="smcap">Sunday</span>, Feb. 26, ’93.<br /> -</p> - -<p>“We sailed from Port Tampa on Thursday, February 16th, and after a -delightfully smooth and pleasant trip arrived at Nassau, N. P., on -Saturday morning. A number of our party were entertained by the -Honorable Sir Ambrose Shea, governor of the island; others of us -preferred to pass the few hours in riding and driving, seeing something -of the beauties of the place. We returned to the steamer in the -afternoon and got under way, passing out of the harbor through the “Hole -in the Wall,” as it is called. We steamed down over the banks, passing -along the eastern shore of the island, and leaving Cape Mayce on our -starboard, until away over to port were seen the highlands of Hayti.</p> - -<p>“All the way from Port Tampa to Jamaica, the weather was simply -delightful, and the sea as smooth as the waters of our Seneca Lake. We -arrived at the wharf at Kingston at seven o’clock Tuesday morning. Our -excursionists all went to the Myrtle Bank Hotel, where choice -accommodations were provided. We received a call from the Consul-General -of the United States, Mr. Dent, and also visits from other important -people of the city of Kingston. In the afternoon we received an -invitation, conveyed to the party through our conductor, Mr. A. E. Dick, -a hotel man well known in New York, to attend a<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_147" id="page_147"></a>{147}</span> garden party given by -Lady Blake at King’s House. Lady Blake is the wife of Sir Henry Blake, -the governor of the island. We found a large crowd of people, a gracious -welcome, exquisite music and bountiful refreshment. Only think of it—an -out-of-door reception on the twenty-first day of February!</p> - -<p>“In the evening we were surprised to learn that a grand ball would be -given in our honor by the citizens of Kingston. It proved a very -brilliant affair. The beautiful costumes of the ladies formed a striking -contrast to the military costumes of the officers of the British West -Indian Squadron; there were eight ships in the harbor.</p> - -<p>“We were called very early in the morning, coffee and fruit being served -in our rooms, and took carriages to the Western Railway station, whence -we started by rail for Bog Walk, on the Rio Cobre River. We arrived at -half-past ten. After leaving the train our attention was called to a -group of negro men and women who were engaged in loading bananas into a -car for transportation to the city of Kingston and thence to the United -States.</p> - -<p>“At Rio Cobre, we enjoyed one of the most beautiful drives that your -correspondent has ever experienced, down the valley of the Rio Cobre, a -most beautiful sheet of water, and after a ride of two hours, reaching -Spanish Town, one of the principal cities on the island of Jamaica. It -was at Spanish<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_148" id="page_148"></a>{148}</span> Town that a son of Christopher Columbus settled when he -came to the island of Jamaica. We were entertained by the proprietor of -the Rio Cobre Hotel, where we remained until the afternoon, when we -again took train for our headquarters at Myrtle Bank, in Kingston.</p> - -<p>“Early the following morning we were called, fruit and coffee were again -served in our rooms, and we started at six o’clock for a drive of -twenty-five miles over and across the beautiful mountain ranges and -towards the north coast of the island. At ten o’clock we arrived at the -Castleton Gardens, a beautiful spot owned and sustained by the -government as a garden of acclimation. Here are found the grandest of -all tropical palms. At the hotel connected with the gardens we partook -of a royal breakfast, into which entered many different kinds of fruit. -After a stop of two hours we resumed our journey over the mountains, and -in the distance we obtained a good view of the lovely Annotta bay.</p> - -<p>“En route, we visited a sugar estate where we saw the conversion of -sugar-cane into Jamaica rum of the first quality. Most of the labor is -performed by Malays, brought from the valley of the Ganges in India, who -while here are compelled to labor in competition with the negroes. The -men are paid at the rate of one shilling and six pence per day, while -the women receive only one shilling per day. I can<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_149" id="page_149"></a>{149}</span> assure you, from the -manner in which they work, it is evident that they earned every penny -they received. By the way, the coachman who drove us, informed me that -his wages were ten shillings per week of seven days’ continuous work and -he has to board himself out of that pittance.</p> - -<p>“On the afternoon of this day, Friday, we were well off the coast of -Jamaica, homeward bound. Now as I write, Sunday morning, we are -approaching Egmont Key, which is situated at the entrance of Tampa Bay. -Soon we shall be docked, and soon thereafter at that haven which has -been so often described but to which no writer to my mind has done -justice—the Tampa Bay Hotel.”</p> - -<p class="c"><img src="images/ill_186.jpg" alt="[text decoration not available.]" /><br /> -</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_150" id="page_150"></a>{150}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XII" id="CHAPTER_XII"></a><img src="images/ill_187.jpg" alt="[text decoration not available.]" /><br /> - CHAPTER XII.</h2> - -<p class="c"> -MANAGEMENT OF THE GREAT PLANT SYSTEM WORTHY<br /> -OF ADMIRATION AND IMITATION.<br /> -</p> - -<p>There is perhaps no greater source of waste in our country than that of -labor strikes, which have become of frequent occurrence during the last -two decades. There is great waste of material from the destructive -violence of infuriated mobs. In 1877, the great railway strikes of the -Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and the Pennsylvania and Erie Systems, -resulted in the destruction of sixteen hundred cars, one hundred and -twenty-six locomotives, and five million dollars worth of property. A -report made in 1895 by the United States Commissioner of Labor (covering -a period of twelve years and six months, that is, from January 1, 1881, -to June 30, 1894) on strikes in the United States, gives the following -suggestive statistics. We read that the number of strikes was 14,390, -affecting 69,167 establishments. The number of employees thrown out of -work was 3,714,406. Loss of wages during this period to the striking -workmen amounted to $163,-<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_151" id="page_151"></a>{151}</span>807,866. From lockouts the loss was -$26,685,516. The losses to employers from the same cause were, from -strikes $82,590,386, and from lockouts $12,235,451. The losses to -employees and employers amount to the enormous sum of $285,319,219. And -this is only a part of the losses, for it does not take into account the -cost of police, detectives, and soldiers, required to protect persons -and property. In one strike eight thousand of the latter force alone -were needed to subdue riots, and save life and property. What estimate -can be made of the damage to commerce, the disorganization of labor, the -demoralization of the laborers, the families broken up and scattered, -the hate and bitterness engendered? The corporation, therefore, that can -co-operate peacefully with its working force adds much wealth and moral -progress to the nation, as well as legitimate profits to its own -treasury, and comfort, well-being, and happiness to its employees. There -is mutual advantage on both sides, and far reaching and beneficial -influence on all sides. There must be justice and consideration for the -workman from the employer, and there must always be justice and -appreciation from the workman to the man who gives him work,—mutual -interest, benefit, and advantage. It is greatly to the credit of the -Plant System, that the public has never suffered inconvenience in travel -from strikes among its large working force, that the men<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_152" id="page_152"></a>{152}</span> have not -suffered in person or estate, and that the company has been saved losses -and crosses from this hydra-headed monster, “Conflict between labor and -capital.” That these evils have been avoided, is due to the head of this -great System, due to his sense of justice, to his personal knowledge of, -and friendly interest in such a large number of the employees, and to a -large-hearted consideration for the weaknesses of human nature. Mr. -Plant was one day riding in a baggage car, when he saw an expressman -turn wrong side up a box that had been marked “Glass.” He called -attention to the fact. “That box,” said he to the man, “is marked -‘Glass’ and should be kept ‘glass’ side up as marked.” “Oh I know it is -marked ‘Glass,’ but I never pay any attention to that,” said the -expressman. Mr. Plant said no more. When the man and the superintendent -of the express office were alone together, the superintendent said to -the man, “Do you know who that gentleman was who spoke to you about the -box marked ‘Glass’?”—“No.”—“Well, that was Mr. Plant, the president of -the express company.”—“Oh my! that means my dismissal sure.”—“Yes, I -think it does; I shall have to dismiss you”; and he said, later, to Mr. -Plant, “I shall dismiss that man of course.” “No,” said the president. -“Don’t discharge him; call him to your office and impress it upon him -that that is not the way this company does its business,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_153" id="page_153"></a>{153}</span> and he won’t -forget it.” The man has been long a faithful and efficient employee of -the company. Mr. Plant’s name does not figure as often as do some others -in lists of large donations to churches and charities of deserving -character, though they have not been passed by without recognition, and -kind and generous treatment of the deserving men in his employ have -never been wanting. While travelling with Mr. Plant to Atlanta, one of -the heads of a department reported to him that an old gentleman who held -an honored and important position in the System was greatly broken down -with nervous prostration. “Send him to his home to remain until he is -well, and remit his salary all the same.” It was remarked by a bystander -that he thought that that was very kind of the president. “Oh,” was the -answer, “that is only a regular occurrence to those of us who have been -with President Plant as long as I have.”</p> - -<p>Those who have read the blood curdling accounts of some of the strikes -that have occurred within the past ten years, and have experienced some -of the inconveniences and dangers resulting from them, will contrast -such accounts with what was seen on “Plant Day” at the Atlanta -Exposition, and on all other days throughout the South as well, and will -feel that the account of that day was worthy of a place in the record of -the noble life we are<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_154" id="page_154"></a>{154}</span> endeavoring to preserve as an example to public -men and as a lesson and inspiration for coming generations. We let the -associates and employees of the Plant System tell their own story. It -was printed in a beautiful pamphlet as a souvenir of the day, and was -specially designed for those whose devotion to duty prevented them from -sharing, in person, the pleasures of that memorable day. With the -exception of a few paragraphs of biographical matter contained in other -sections of the volume, or merely of temporary interest, the account is -published in full in a later chapter.</p> - -<p>It is as creditable to the men who have stood around their president -most faithfully in his arduous labors, as it is honorable to him who has -led them on to noble achievement, and deserved success. Mr. Plant’s -methods of management are worthy of highest commendation, and would -repay careful study in like conditions. If any man were to discover a -plan for extinguishing fire that would to save the country $285,390,219, -in the course of a dozen years, the insurance companies would purchase -his patent for a large sum of money, and the country would raise -monuments to his honor. Mr. Plant’s method is even better; it is on the -philosophical principle of prevention. It prevents the kindling of the -flames, and while it may not be absolutely fire-proof, it has stood a -long and severe test. We honor him and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_155" id="page_155"></a>{155}</span> his loyal associates and -employees for the more than peaceful course they have left on record. We -say “more than peaceful” for it has been a course of mutual concessions, -personal interest, and friendly association, as the following chapters -will show. Nor is the view taken in these chapters narrowed to special -and individual cases. It is as broad as the South linked to the North, -and covers the whole United States; for no part of our country can be -advanced without every other part sharing in the uplift.</p> - -<p>It would not be surprising if the best part of Mr. Plant’s work should -fail to be recognized. People see the material progress of a State, the -things that can be measured, weighed, and valued at a price; the subtle -forces that produce the material are often overlooked. The intellectual, -moral, patriotic, and philanthropic spirit that moves the man and -diffuses itself throughout the State or nation is not the first thing -that arrests attention. Yet this unrecognized force is the great -uplifting power of a people in all that is best and noblest in their -onward march of progress. It is now an axiom that the North and South -did not know and understand each other previous to the late war; that if -they had understood each other, a war such as the revolt of the Southern -States would never have occurred, would, in fact, have been impossible. -The facilities afforded for travel and the superior hotel -accommodations<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_156" id="page_156"></a>{156}</span> which have been provided by, and have resulted from, the -Plant System, have brought North and South together in mutual interest -and friendly accord to such an extent that a war can never again take -place, for these two sections of our country are so interlaced, -interdependent, and identified in interest, and withal in such friendly -association, that the misunderstandings of the past can never again -arise. It is a fact of history, that in proportion as nations, races, -and religions come closer to each other, the causes of conflict are, to -the same degree, lessened. A homely illustration of this fact is -contained in the story of the Irishman who was walking along the Strand -in London one morning, when through the fog he discovered a monster from -which, at first, he was going to run away; then, grasping his shillelah, -he came close up to the monster intending to kill the “baste,” when “lo -and behold,” said Pat, “it was me brother John!” So it often comes to -pass that the monster in the distance to be annihilated, in closer -proximity is a brother to be loved.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_157" id="page_157"></a>{157}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIII" id="CHAPTER_XIII"></a><img src="images/ill_196.jpg" alt="[text decoration not available.]" /><br /> - CHAPTER XIII.</h2> - -<div class="blockquott"><p class="hang">Plant Day at the Cotton States and International Exposition of 1895 -at Atlanta, Georgia—Preparations for its Celebration—Impressive -Observance of Mr. Plant’s Birthday at the Aragon Hotel—Mr. Plant’s -Remarks in Acknowledging Presentation of Gifts.</p></div> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">T</span>HE Atlanta Cotton States and International Exposition was created -through the zeal and enterprise of a number of the patriotic citizens of -the city of Atlanta and of the State of Georgia, and, on the 18th day of -September, 1895, when its doors were opened to the world, naught but -words of admiration and praise could be spoken for the men, who, through -the devotion of their energies, time and money, had made it in every way -a success.</p> - -<p>There are already extant records of the speeches of the prominent men -who, from the Auditorium platform in the Exposition grounds, addressed -the public on that day and proclaimed to the world the reasons which -actuated the creation of this Exposition, not only for the advancement -of the mercantile interests of the southern section of the country, but -as well for the education of its people.</p> - -<p>While it is, therefore, futile to reproduce here<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_158" id="page_158"></a>{158}</span> the history of the -Exposition, it might be well to say that as far back as December, 1894, -Mr. H. B. Plant was called upon by a committee of gentlemen representing -the Cotton States and International Exposition Company and urged to make -an exhibit at the Exposition. In recognition of his acquiescence, and -the erection of a building by the Plant System of Railways and Steamship -Lines, in which was placed a most creditable exhibit from the sections -of South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida traversed by the Plant -System of Railways, the Exposition Company determined that a day should -be set apart, to be known as “Plant System Day,” and as the founder and -president of the System, Mr. Henry B. Plant, was to celebrate the -seventy-sixth anniversary of his birth on October 27, 1895, it was -decided that in his honor the two events should be commemorated as a -unit. This plan was impracticable, as the 27th fell on Sunday, but that -the celebration should be as closely connected as possible, the day -following, October 28th, was named by the Committee and announced to the -public as “Plant System Day” at the Cotton States and International -Exposition.</p> - -<p>From the time of this announcement until the day of the festivities, -preparations were made to make the occasion in all ways enjoyable. Mr. -Plant, accompanied by his family, arrived in Atlanta on<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_159" id="page_159"></a>{159}</span> Saturday, and -on the succeeding morning, the seventy-sixth anniversary of his birth, -was greeted by the following article, written by Mr. Clark Howell, and -published in the <i>Constitution</i>. It served as an index to a time replete -with pleasure, and as a welcome to Mr. H. B. Plant, President, and to -the Plant System in Atlanta, Georgia, October 27 and 28, 1895.</p> - -<p>From the Atlanta <i>Constitution</i>, October 27, 1895.</p> - -<p>“No more important day will be celebrated during the present Cotton -States and International Exposition than to-morrow, which has been set -aside in honor of Mr. Henry B. Plant, the head of the great Plant -railway and steamship lines. The importance of the day will spring not -only from the successful life of which Mr. Plant is an example, but from -the fact that above any other man living he represents the great -industrial revolution which has come over the face of the Southern -States, and which marks the success of free over slave labor.</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p>“To-day Mr. Plant might be called an international developer. Of this, -however, the story of his life will be the best witness. To-morrow he -will have completed his seventy-sixth year, forty-one of which have been -spent in the South, during which<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_160" id="page_160"></a>{160}</span> time the twin powers of steam and -electricity have wrought wonders in the conditions of life. To-day he is -the president of a railway system which embraces twelve different -corporations, and whose mileage extends to 1941, with a list of -employees numbering 5506. He is also president of the Plant steamship -and steamboat lines, the one covering the coasts of the Gulf and going -to Cuba and Jamaica, the other skirting the coasts of the North, running -from Boston and along Nova Scotia to Cape Breton and the maritime -provinces of Canada. In addition to these interests, he is still -president of the Southern and the Texas Express Companies, which do a -business as express forwarders over 24,412 miles of railway; have lines -in fifteen States, employing 6,808 men, and using 1,463 horses and 886 -wagons. As a complement to the handling of railroads, and the sailing of -ships, and the expressing of freightage, Mr. Plant has erected four -winter resort hotels in Florida, one of which, the great Tampa Bay -Hotel, is probably the largest winter resort hotel of its kind on the -continent. It will thus be seen that this great man, who is to be the -toast at the Exposition to-morrow, does service under three flags, those -of America, England, and Spain.</p> - -<p>“Such developments as these are enough to make his life history of -interest to the old and of profit to the young, as showing the vast -possibilities which<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_161" id="page_161"></a>{161}</span> our country affords, and the immense rewards which -come to industry, tact, and intelligence.</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p>“The coming of Mr. Plant to the Southern States really marked the -opening of Florida to the people of this country as a winter resort. It -was in 1853, the year of Mr. Plant’s arrival, that he visited Florida -for the sake of his invalid wife, when access could only be had by -steamboat, by the St. John’s River. The mild climate of that State -prolonged Mrs. Plant’s life for years. He saw the necessity of railroads -in the State, and it was in this way that he began buying stock in -various Florida and Georgia railroads, though he did not engage in any -railroad enterprise as a manager until 1879. In that year Mr. Plant -purchased the Atlantic and Gulf Railroad of Georgia, and subsequently -reorganized the company as the Savannah, Florida, and Western Railway, -of which he is still the head. The Savannah and Charleston Railway was -next purchased in 1880, and the story of the completion of the Plant -System—now extending to Charleston on the one side, to Montgomery, -Alabama, on the other, covering Florida and forming a perfect -network—would be to repeat the story of railroad development in that -entire section.</p> - -<p>“In these enterprises it was the purpose of Mr.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_162" id="page_162"></a>{162}</span> Plant and his -associates to extend and add to the various properties, and they -believed this could best be accomplished under a single organization -with ample powers. With this object in view, several of his associates -being residents of Connecticut, the birth-place of Mr. Plant, a charter -was obtained in 1882 from the legislature of that State, and the Plant -Investment Company organized. Mr. Plant became president, and remained -such to the present time. Among his associates were W. T. Walters and B. -F. Newcomer, of Baltimore; E. B. Haskell, of Boston; Henry M. Flagler -and Morris K. Jessup, of New York, and Lorenzo Blackstone, Henry -Sanford, Lynde Harrison, H. P. Hoadley, and G. H. Tilley, of -Connecticut. Since the formation of the Plant Investment Company, -several properties have been acquired by purchase. In 1885, they bought -the South Florida Railroad, at the time running only between Sanford and -Kissimmee, which was changed from narrow to broad gauge, with an -extension of the line to Port Tampa, Florida, which is the port of entry -for the West India fast mail steamers (Plant Steamship Line) between -Port Tampa and Havana, Cuba. Subsequently the line was extended north -from Lakeland to a connection with the Savannah, Florida, and Western -Railway (Gainsville division) at High Springs, thus completing the line -from Charleston, South Carolina, to Port Tampa, Florida.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_163" id="page_163"></a>{163}</span> Thereafter the -company acquired, in 1887, the Brunswick and Western Railroad, between -Brunswick and Albany, Georgia, via. Waycross, which road was rebuilt; in -1889, the Alabama Midland Railway, from Montgomery, Alabama, to -Bainbridge, Georgia; and in 1892, the Silver Springs, Ocala, and Gulf -Railroad, extending from Ocala to Homosassa and Inverness, Florida. In -1893, the Tampa and Thonotosassa Railroad was constructed, from Tampa to -Thonotosassa, and the Winston and Bone Valley Railroad was purchased to -accommodate the people of the phosphate mining districts. In 1894, the -Abbeville Southern Railway, from Abbeville, Alabama, to a junction of -the line of the Alabama Midland Railway, was built. The system has been -extended in 1895 by the purchase of the Florida Southern Railway and the -Sanford and St. Petersburg Railroad, both narrow gauge roads, and -preparations are now being made to change them to standard gauge.</p> - -<p>“In addition to the railway properties enumerated, Mr. Plant established -two lines of steamboats: one, in 1880, to run between Sanford and -Jacksonville, which was discontinued upon the completion of the railway -between these two points; the other on the Chattahoochie River, known as -the People’s Line, plying between Columbus and Bainbridge, Georgia, and -Apalachicola, Florida. In 1886, he established<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_164" id="page_164"></a>{164}</span> the Plant Steamship Line -for regular service between Port Tampa, Key West, and Havana, Cuba, -under contract with the United States Post Office Department, for the -carriage of the Key West and Havana mails, and for occasional service -between Port Tampa and the island of Jamaica, with regular service -between Port Tampa and Mobile, and Port Tampa and points on the Manatee -River.</p> - -<p>“Subsequently the line of the Atlantic, Canada, and Plant Steamship -Line, Limited, running between Boston and Halifax, was acquired by -purchase, and chartered under the Dominion Government as the Canada, -Atlantic, and Plant Steamship Company, Limited. In 1893, the North -Atlantic Line of steamers was added to the line through purchase, and -the route between Boston, Cape Breton, and Prince Edward Island is now -operated by the company of which he is at the head.</p> - -<p>“The Plant Investment Company had widened the gauges of its various -roads to the standard measure, has organized the fast mail steamships -between Port Tampa and Havana, and has in many other ways developed the -country and revolutionized the face of nature in that section. A reading -of the names of the directors of the Plant Investment Company shows that -through Mr. Plant other men, such as Mr. Flagler, have been led to -investments in the Gulf States, which are of incalculable value, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_165" id="page_165"></a>{165}</span> -which will perpetually influence the destiny of the South.</p> - -<p>“Without entering into the statistical and prosaic relation of railroad -names and technical details, it may be said Mr. Plant stands foremost as -a developer, and that while honor is due him for the creation of so much -wealth, for the integrity of his life, for the energy with which he has -built up the country, yet it is as a public benefactor and as one who -has contributed vastly to the possibility of such an Exposition being -held in the South, that he will be spoken of to-morrow. When he came -here, in 1854, he found the country wedded to a slave-labor system, -which necessarily meant a purely agricultural condition, and under which -it would be impossible to develop manufacturing and other corporative -industries. Without having been connected in any way with the war or -with the politics which preceded it or followed after it, yet he was the -pioneer of that new business which the war made possible, and which -marks the end of the old and the beginning of the new. His career is a -remarkable example of what can be accomplished by untiring industry and -indomitable will. The people of Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, and -Alabama cheerfully acknowledge the great obligations under which they -have been placed by the labors of this energetic and capable man.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_166" id="page_166"></a>{166}</span></p> - -<p>“In recent years he has made his home in New York City, spending each -summer in Branford, Connecticut. He is a member of the Union League Club -and of the New England Society of New York, a man of commanding -appearance, genial of nature, dignified and courteous of manner, and as -modest as he is competent.</p> - -<p>“Such a man needs no eulogy. His works speak for him. Such a people as -those of the South need no incentive to recognize worth wherever they -see it. Mr. Plant will be royally received to-morrow, and in the closing -years of his life he may well rest satisfied that a people for whom he -has done so much will not easily forget it, and that his name will be -remembered as one of the men who have served their time and generation, -and who deserve the laurel wreath of immortality.</p> - -<p>“Forty-one years of his eventful life have been spent in the South; and -his great fortune has been made in the South. How many important volumes -of history are crowded into those forty-one years! Within that period -this man of affairs has seen four million slaves emancipated; he has -witnessed the greatest war of modern times; he has practically witnessed -the birth of those twin powers—steam and electricity—whose combined -forces have created new conditions of life; he has been an eye-witness -to the tearing down and the upbuilding of States and the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_167" id="page_167"></a>{167}</span> adjustment of -the American people to a new environment. And yet, amid all this -kaleidoscopic change, this quiet business man has gone on adding to his -fortune in peace and in panic, in storm and in sunshine, and his -potential force in Southern development will be fittingly recognized and -crowned to-morrow, in a day set apart among the great days of the -Exposition in his honor.</p> - -<p>“What superb judgment and business sagacity make up the background of -this picture! Mr. Plant has never sought or held office. His name is not -on the roster of military heroes, nor is it emblazoned on the roll of -those who have won renown in the evolution of statecraft. But in that -great battle of rebuilding States and industrial life in the South he -stands to-day pre-eminent. Behind him, and loyally supporting him, is a -busy industrial army of 12,639 men, and, counting their families, an -army of 60,000 people.</p> - -<p>“The lessons of Mr. Plant’s life are simple and should be an inspiration -to young men throughout America. He has avoided politics and -speculation; he has never bought nor built a railroad to sell; he has -never wrecked a property in order to purchase it. He lives, and his -companies live, within their income. He is scrupulously exact in keeping -his engagements, and always acts within the limits of that truth, which -he often quotes, ‘It is easier to promise than it is to perform.’<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_168" id="page_168"></a>{168}</span></p> - -<p>“The lesson of his life, which the occasion justifies in emphasizing, is -this: Faith in the South and her possibilities is the basis of his great -fortune. When others have faltered he has gone on investing the earnings -of his properties in the South. In his loyal friendship to the South, -and his unwavering faith in her greatness and her coming glory, he has -proven his faith by his work.</p> - -<p>“Mr. Plant is one of those remarkable men who master all conditions and -create environment. He is a builder—a creator. A whole State blossoms -at the touch of his magic wand. Thousands and tens of thousands bless -him that he uses and does not bury his talents. Long may he live—an -example to all young men, an inspiration to investors, a true, a loyal, -and a royal friend of the South.”</p> - -<p>Surrounded by many of his friends and associates, who had assembled to -pay their respects, Mr. Plant’s anniversary was most auspiciously -ushered in by the foregoing remarks of a representative of the Atlanta -people. But it yet needed the remembrance of the officers and employees -of the Plant System of Railway and Steamship Lines and of the Southern -Express Company to testify the admiration and esteem in which he was -held by the men who served under him. This tribute on the part of the -officers and employees was an unexpected pleasure to Mr. Plant. In -referring to the event, the Atlanta <i>Constitution</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_169" id="page_169"></a>{169}</span> published the -following account of the presentations and of Mr. Plant’s response:</p> - -<p>From the Atlanta <i>Constitution</i>, October 28, 1895.</p> - -<p>“Mr. H. B. Plant, President of the Plant System of Railway and Steamship -Lines, was complimented yesterday as few great railroad kings have ever -been complimented by the men who compose the vast army of workers under -their direction.</p> - -<p>“It was the seventy-sixth birthday of the well-known giant of the -Southern railway world, and he was presented with rich and rare tokens -of the love, honor and affection which his employees bear him.</p> - -<p>“It was a happy day all round, and the Plant people fairly revelled in -the privilege of paying such becoming tribute to the man who has done so -much for the Southern States.</p> - -<p>“As for Mr. Plant himself, he declared that it was certainly one of the -happiest moments of his life, and the brightest, happiest birthday he -ever enjoyed.</p> - -<p>“At a quarter to ten o’clock Mr. Plant was notified that a number of -prominent officials of his various systems of transportation lines were -waiting to see him at his private parlors at the Aragon.</p> - -<p>“He met them, and was informed that they wanted to join with him in the -name of every employee of the lines to exchange the congratulations and -compliments of the season of his birthday. Mr. Plant<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_170" id="page_170"></a>{170}</span> at once summoned -his family and friends, who are with him here, and soon Mrs. Plant, Mrs. -M. A. Wood, Dr. G. Durrant, Rev. Dr. Smythe, and Vice-President M. F. -Plant were in the parlor. There were also present the following friends -and associates in the railway and express business:</p> - -<p>“R. G. Erwin, Vice-President and General Counsel, Plant System; M. J. -O’Brien, Vice-President and General Manager, Southern Express Company; -D. F. Jack, Assistant to the President; B. Dunham, General -Superintendent, Plant System of Railways; J. W. Fitzgerald, -Superintendent, Plant Steamship Line; B. W. Wrenn, Passenger Traffic -Manager, Plant System; F. B. Papy, General Freight Agent, Plant System; -Hon. F. G. duBignon, General Counsel; T. W. Leary, Assistant General -Manager, Southern Express Company; G. H. Tilley, Secretary and -Treasurer, Southern Express Company; F. Q. Brown, President, Florida -Southern Railway; Hon. S. G. McLendon, Counsel, Plant System of -Railways; O. M. Sadler, Superintendent Southern Express Company, -Piedmont Division; H. C. Fisher, Superintendent Southern Division, -Southern Express; C. T. Campbell, Superintendent Southern Express -Company, Central Division; W. W. Hulbert, Superintendent Georgia -Division, Southern Express Company; Mark J. O’Brien, Assistant -Superintendent Southern Express Company, Central<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_171" id="page_171"></a>{171}</span> Division; F. DeC. -Sullivan, New York; E. M. Williams, New York; W. S. Chisholm, member of -the firm of Erwin, DuBignon, & Chisholm, Attorneys for the Plant System -of Railroads, Savannah.</p> - -<p>“The room was a scene of rare beauty, there being on every side a huge -bank of flowers, fragrantly speaking the affectionate salute of the -employees of Mr. Plant and members of his family. On one side was a -beautiful vase of American Beauty roses, sent from the main office of -the Plant System in New York, by the employees there.</p> - -<p>“Appropriate inscriptions were embroidered in letters of gold on the -ribbons of red, white, and blue tied about the long stems of the roses. -On the other side was a bank of carnations, chrysanthemums, lilies, and -roses from H. B. Plant, Jr. This pleased Mr. Plant greatly, coming from -a little son of Mr. M. F. Plant, a grandson of the distinguished -railroad magnate.</p> - -<p>“On a pretty table in the centre was a huge and gorgeous silver cup—a -loving-cup—which was presented to Mr. Plant by Mr. S. G. McLendon, on -behalf of the employees of the railway department of his great System. -It is a most beautiful and elaborate solid silver cup, and will hold two -gallons of champagne. It is, perhaps, the finest and most artistic piece -of work ever made by the Gorham Manufacturing Company, of New York. The -idea conveyed in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_172" id="page_172"></a>{172}</span> loving-cup is a most beautiful one. The cup has -two large handles, and around the festal board is turned from hand to -hand, each guest taking a quaff, the cup being held by two persons. The -cup never touches the board until it has made the round of the guests.</p> - -<p>“This cup, presented by the Plant Railway System employees, is -handsomely engraved, and bears on one side this inscription: ‘The -Railway Employees of the Plant System to H. B. Plant, President.’ On the -reverse side is the date, ‘October 27, 1895.’</p> - -<p>“In presenting this beautiful token, Mr. S. G. McLendon, attorney for -the Plant System at Thomasville, read the following testimonial on -behalf of the employees:</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>Mr. Plant:—The employees of the Plant System of Railways extend to -you their sincere and heartfelt congratulations upon this, your -birthday.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>As a slight token of their affectionate and loyal regard, they present -you this loving-cup, filled with their best wishes for your continued -health and strength. It was no idle fancy which prompted the selection -of this modest testimonial; its name aptly marks the impulse which -prompted the gift, and which it but inadequately measures by its size.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>The author of a great railway system, such as that which bears your -name, must be to all mankind<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_173" id="page_173"></a>{173}</span> a genuine benefactor; but to you belongs, -in truth, an honor and distinction far more precious.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>To promote the well-being of one fellow-man, to upbuild the material -interests of great and growing States, and to see new life, hope, and -promise rise up with smiling face and outstretched, laden hands, is -indeed enough to fulfill the measure of any ordinary ambition; but when -to the gratification which springs from such a consciousness is added -the knowledge that those who labored with and under you in these great -enterprises, whose part it was to follow and obey, are each and all as -loyal and devoted to you personally as you have been, through many years -and trials, to the great interests confided to your care, satisfaction -must ripen into that contentment which only comes when the “softer green -of our better selves” is in the ascendant.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>It is the earnest prayer of the employees that for many, many years -yet to come your life and activity may be spared to the great properties -which owe their existence and prosperity to your foresight and sagacity, -and as the seasons come and go, they crave for themselves no higher -privilege than to refill this cup with renewed affection and esteem.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>For the employees of the Plant System of Railways.</p> - -<p class="r"> -“<span class="lftspc">‘</span><span class="smcap">B. Dunham</span>,<br /> -“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>General Superintendent.’<br /> -</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_174" id="page_174"></a>{174}</span></p> - -<p>“The employees of the steamship lines of the Plant System sent a -handsome and perfect combination compass, barometer, and thermometer as -a fitting birthday present to Mr. Plant. Hon. Fleming duBignon, General -Counsel for the Plant System, read the following letter in making the -presentation on behalf of the men who manage this branch of Mr. Plant’s -vast business:</p> - -<p class="r"> -“<span class="lftspc">‘</span><span class="smcap">Atlanta, Georgia</span>, October 27, 1895.<br /> -</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>Mr. H. B. <span class="smcap">Plant, President</span>.—Dear Sir: The love and confidence of -associates, neighbors and friends are to be valued more than silver and -gold. In this life the point set to bound one’s career ought to be the -esteem of his fellow-men. For such an honor good men strive in all the -protean forms of earthly contest. To gain this reward, to touch the -dust-covered goal with a glowing chariot wheel, is worthy of the -loftiest ambition. No human being can possess any greater glory than the -estimation of the people among whom he lives.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>Acting upon the principle that labor conquers all things, and that -time will bring its own rewards, you struck out for yourself into the -great ocean of busy life around you and struggled heroically with its -billows. You were strong and worthy, and your fellow-men were not slow -in making the discovery. Your unbounded faith in the future of this -marvellous<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_175" id="page_175"></a>{175}</span> section, coupled with your genius and intelligent direction, -have advanced the several States into which your enterprises now extend -into commanding positions of commercial superiority. Your ships have not -drifted like dead sea-weeds upon the tops of sleepy waves, but, laden -with the rich treasures of this and other climes, have travelled the -wide seas over as a public benefaction. The mind of man cannot measure, -nor can the tongue of man describe, the practical good your energies -have accomplished. The Plant System, consisting of many thousands of -miles of telegraph, express, railway, and steamship lines, founded by -your genius, is a monument to your memory more lasting than brass and -more enduring than marble.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>Concealing quick feelings under an appearance of reserve, you have -never deemed it a weakness to give sway to the influence of loving and -sympathetic emotions. Your benevolences, therefore, have made life -beautiful to many people. Associated with you for so long a time, it is -natural that we, the employees of the Plant Steamship Line, should feel -a filial pride in the success of your varied and various undertakings. -We are proud of the history you have made. We come to-day, therefore, to -bring you our greetings, to manifest our love and admiration, and to -express the hope that your useful and distinguished life<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_176" id="page_176"></a>{176}</span> may be spared -many years to your country, family, and friends.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>As an evidence of our affection and respect, we herewith present you, -as a fitting birthday gift, this compass, commonly used for directing -and ascertaining the course of ships over a waste of waters. This -compass is fitted with a magnetic needle which points ever to the north, -enabling the tempest-tossed mariner to hold his way over the stormy sea -when there is neither cape nor headland, sun, moon, nor stars, nor any -mark in the heavens or on the earth to tell him when or where or how to -steer.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>We pray that the star of destiny, like this mysterious needle, will -ever guide and help you to keep an unfaltering step along the dangerous -crags and treacherous precipices which beset the pathway of every man, -and that your life may be long and useful “in the land that the Lord, -thy God, giveth thee.”</p> - -<p class="r"> -“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>Truly yours,<br /> -“<span class="lftspc">‘</span><span class="smcap">J. W. Fitzgerald</span>.<br /> -</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>On behalf of the employees of the Plant Steamship Line.’</p> - -<p>“The Southern Express men presented their president with a handsome -marine glass.</p> - -<p>“The following testimonial, read by T. W. Leary, Assistant General -Manager of the Southern Express Company, which was organized by Mr. -Plant in<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_177" id="page_177"></a>{177}</span> 1853, explains the sentiment conveyed with the gift:</p> - -<p class="r"> -“<span class="lftspc">‘</span><span class="smcap">Atlanta, Georgia</span>, October 27, 1895.<br /> -</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span><span class="smcap">Mr. H. B. Plant</span>, President Southern Express Company.—Dear Sir: The -employees of the Southern Express Company extend to you on this -anniversary of your birthday cordial greetings, fraught with sentiments -of highest respect and esteem, inspired by the kindly courtesy and -impartial consideration which have ever marked your intercourse with -them.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>Regarding you not alone as an official superior, but also as a -personal friend, sensible to their welfare and the true relationship of -the employer and the employee, exemplified by your long career in -friendly association with those with whom you have called around you in -the conduct of the company’s affairs, they are glad to avail themselves -of this auspicious occasion to manifest the interest it inspires within -them by an offering in token of their appreciation and good will.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>It is, therefore, the privilege and pleasure of the undersigned, in -behalf of the employees of the Southern Express Company, to present to -you the accompanying testimonial, coupled with heartfelt wishes that as -things viewed through its lenses are brought clearer and closer to -vision, so with each succeeding return of the day this glass -commemorates,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_178" id="page_178"></a>{178}</span> may you see the nearer fruition of the unremitting labor -of years devoted to the upbuilding of those important enterprises with -the history of which your name is indissolubly connected.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>Commending this souvenir to your acceptance with the united hope of -those from whom it comes that continued health, strength, and success -may be granted you in the future, we are, yours faithfully,</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span><span class="smcap">F. L. Cooper</span>, “<span class="lftspc">‘</span><span class="smcap">W. A. Dewees</span>, “<span class="lftspc">‘</span><span class="smcap">W. M. Shoemaker</span>, “<span class="lftspc">‘</span>Committee.’</p> - -<p>“After the above letters were read, Mr. Plant addressed those present in -substance as follows:</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>Gentlemen of the Plant System of Railroads and Steamship Lines and of -the Southern Express Company, and my Friends: I thank you sincerely for -the beautiful presents which you have given me on this the anniversary -of my birth, and for the loving words of congratulation which accompany -them.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>While it reached my ears that there was to be some observance of the -occasion, I am wholly unprepared for the magnificence of the gifts and -the demonstration of fidelity and affection with which they are -accompanied, and I am, therefore, unable to do justice to myself in -expressing to you the appreciation I feel. I speak from a full heart, -and can<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_179" id="page_179"></a>{179}</span> more than fill this beautiful loving-cup with affection and -esteem for you, and for the employees whose feelings towards me are -manifested not only by this testimonial, but as well by their constant -and untiring devotion to the trusts confided to them through many years. -To them, in a large measure, is due such success as has crowned my -efforts in railway construction and management, and I now take pleasure -in making this acknowledgment, and in assuring them of my continued -confidence in them, and of my gratitude to them; without their -unflagging efforts no measure of success could have been achieved. I -look to them all with the fall assurance that the future, with their -assistance, will result in still greater accomplishments in our railway -enterprises.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>This compass, the gift of the employees of the Plant Steamship Line, -brings to my mind the thought that, whatever may have been my mistakes -in life, I have always had one aim, which, like the needle, though -oscillating and varying at times in some slight degree, pointed ever to -one end, and that was to endeavor to do what was right and just.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>Our steamships were the children of my later years, and they, with the -faithful employees who operate them, are, and shall continue to be, very -near to my heart.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>The gift of the employees of the Southern Express<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_180" id="page_180"></a>{180}</span> Company brings to -my mind pictures of the past. The express business was my first love, -and I see here present those who were with me in troublous times, and -bore with me the heat and burden of the fight. Their affection and -loyalty have sustained me in many an anxious moment, and the knowledge -that I had around me those upon whom I could count in every peril has -enabled me to achieve some measure of success. To extend to them my -thanks for all that they have been to me and done for me would be idle. -They know how I feel towards them, and I am sure I know how they feel -towards me.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>I wish to say to you all that I am more apt to express my feelings in -acts than in words; many of the employees of our several companies have -been with me so long that they have become as members of my family. I -feel towards all the employees that in a business sense they are members -of my family and I want them to feel that they bear this relation to me.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>I see with us to-day one to whom I feel I owe much; I refer to Dr. G. -Durrant, of New York. I had a severe attack of illness last May, but did -not know until long after it was over how near to death I was. To his -untiring and faithful attention, both as a good friend and as a skilled -physician, I owe my recovery, perhaps my life, and it gives me pleasure -to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_181" id="page_181"></a>{181}</span> take this occasion to express my confidence in him and my thanks to -him.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>These beautiful flowers on my left came to me from my little grandson, -and I bespeak in his behalf from you all the love and affection which -you have shown to me, and express the hope that in days to come, when I -am no more with you, he may be one of yourselves and a co-worker in the -enterprises which all the employees of our companies sustain by their -energies and their work.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>These flowers on my right come from those at our New York office, some -of whom cannot be with us to-day in person, but who are with us in -spirit and love and testify their memory of the occasion by this -beautiful remembrance.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>Mr. and Mrs. Frank Q. Brown, of Boston, have presented me with this -cane, which I appreciate very highly, but will hope that I may not need -to have immediate use for it, though if that time should come it will be -a staff upon which I will gladly lean. Mr. Brown is now one of us, and -though he has but lately come among us, I am sure you will all welcome -the President of the Florida Southern Railway in our ranks.’ [Applause.]</p> - -<p>“It was the happiest of seasons for Mr. Plant, and his face beamed -brightly with the light of profound gladness.</p> - -<p>“All day there was a stream of distinguished<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_182" id="page_182"></a>{182}</span> callers, who congratulated -him on the day with good wishes for many returns. Letters and telegrams -and cablegrams were read, all bearing the hearty congratulations of -friends and employees.”</p> - -<p class="c"><img src="images/ill_223.jpg" alt="[text decoration not available.]" /><br /> -</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_183" id="page_183"></a>{183}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIV" id="CHAPTER_XIV"></a><img src="images/ill_224.jpg" alt="[text decoration not available.]" /><br /> - CHAPTER XIV.</h2> - -<div class="blockquott"><p class="hang">Tampa Bay Hotel, One of the Modern Wonders of the World—Its -Architecture, Furniture, Works of Art, Decorations, Tapestries, -Paintings, Inlaid Table and Three Ebony and Gold Cabinets from the -Tuileries, a Sofa and Two Chairs once Owned by Marie -Antoinette—The Dream of De Soto Realized—A Palace of Art for the -Delight and Joy of Those who are in Health, and an Elysium for the -Sad and Sorrowful.</p></div> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">T</span>HE following account of the Tampa Bay Hotel, from the pen of W. C. -Prime, is taken from the New York <i>Journal of Commerce</i>:</p> - -<p>“The most charming book in all the world of literature is the collection -of tales known to common fame as the <i>Arabian Nights</i>. Their charm -consists in the total freedom from all restraints of verities, of either -probabilities or possibilities. Events occur in dreamlike succession, -and transformations take place with such delicious swiftness and ease -that, if you read the story as you should, with forgetfulness of self, -and without any of the folly of critical judgment, you are removed into -another world than this—a world of refreshing liberty, wherein thought -has no bounds and imagination flows in glorious revelry.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_184" id="page_184"></a>{184}</span></p> - -<p>“That which the unknown Saracen story-teller created in words and -fancies, this late nineteenth century seeks to create in reality, by the -aid of wealth and steam and electricity. It does not succeed. But it -comes so near to success that we may wonder and admire, and for a moment -at a time we can forget that the result is artificial, not natural, and -that it is a miracle of human invention which dazzles and astonishes our -senses. All this by way of introduction to my letter....</p> - -<p>“The scene changed suddenly. The train emerged into a blaze of electric -light. By this blaze of light you could see, high in the air and -stretching a thousand feet to right and left, bright domes and minarets, -appearing and disappearing with all the swiftness of magic. It was -bewildering. A few steps lead into the blinding light of the grand hall -of the new hotel, a wilderness of all that is gorgeous in works of -modern art. Rich furniture in gold and ebony, velvets, tapestries, grand -vases of porcelain, massive figures in pottery, bronzes in groups, small -and of life size, oil-paintings, works of masters, etchings, engravings, -carvings, in short, countless examples of the most costly and superb art -productions of the age, under a flood of light from a hundred electric -bands; all this bursting on the gaze of the traveller at the end of his -journey, it forms what may well be considered a modern artificial<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_185" id="page_185"></a>{185}</span> -approximation to one of the transformations in dreams of the Saracens.</p> - -<p>“It is not to be denied that this Tampa Bay Hotel is one of the modern -wonders of the world. It is a product of the times. It illustrates the -age, the demands of the people, what they enjoy, and what they are -willing to pay for. I have no space to enter into a description of it. -It would require a guide-book for a full description. ‘It is splendid, -but it is incongruous,’ said a friend. ‘Why should it be incongruous?’ -was my reply. ‘It is a hotel, not a private house.’ There is, -nevertheless, a sufficiency of uniformity in the building and -decorations, while the general principle of the furnishing is in -harlequin style, which is most pleasing to the mass of visitors. Each -work of art (of which there are hundreds and hundreds) is chosen by some -one who has exercised taste of high order. The objects are good, each -worthy of examination. The many large tapestries are costly, and are -fine works. The paintings are of extraordinary rank. There is no more -striking feature of the furniture than the table porcelains. These are -exquisite works of ceramic art. The plates are of infinite variety. You -may have your beef on a very charming bit of French porcelain, your -salad on a reproduction of an old Vienna plate of semi-Saracenic -pattern, your ice on one of the little plates designed by Moritz -Fischer, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_186" id="page_186"></a>{186}</span> copied elsewhere, your coffee in a very perfect repetition -of one of Wedgewood’s simple and lovely bordered cups. In fact, there is -no end to the variety of these lovely porcelains. And just here I may -add, that the cooking and the service are unexceptionable. The table is -of the very best class, and equal to that of any hotel in the world. -This, too, is miraculous, in a new house at this remote point.</p> - -<p>“I may sum up a sketch of the hotel in a few words. There is nothing -cheap, nothing inferior in it. Money has been freely expended in the -purchase of the most costly objects, in all departments of art, for -furniture and decorations; good taste has been exercised in the -selection of these objects, and they are brought together in lavish -profusion. The building is vast in extent. The grounds around it have -been rescued from savage nature and reduced to order and beauty. The -river is in front and Tampa lies across the river, which is narrowed to -less than three hundred feet wide. Some hundred palmetto trees have been -transplanted to form a grove near the river. Orange blossoms in -neighboring orchards fill the air with their odor. Pineapples grow in -luxuriance. To one who knew this spot as I knew it years ago, the -gorgeous hotel and its surroundings may well seem the creation of a -dream.”<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_187" id="page_187"></a>{187}</span></p> - -<p>Mr. Henry G. Parker, in the Boston <i>Saturday Evening Gazette</i>, writes:</p> - -<p>“It was reserved for the sagacious and enterprising railroad and -steamboat magnate, Mr. H. B. Plant, to reap the honor of erecting in -tropical Florida the most attractive, most original, and most beautiful -hotel in the South, if not in the whole country; and it is a hotel of -which the whole world needs to be advised. It has one vase, which is the -admiration and wonder of all who behold it, in the grand office rotunda, -where ladies and gentlemen congregate at all hours of the day and -evening. The entire estate, including land and building, cost two -millions of dollars, and the furniture and fittings half a million more. -No one who does not see it and dwell in it for at least a day, can form -the faintest idea of the comprehensiveness of its purpose, the breadth -of its plan, the ideal refinement of its comforts, the noble scale of -its luxuries. Nothing offends the eye or the taste at any point, and -while the first view of the hotel exteriorly is impressive, the effect -produced by a first glance on entering its broad and inviting portals is -one of astonishment and delight.</p> - -<p>“The architecture of the Tampa Bay Hotel is Moorish, patterned after the -palaces in Spain. The horseshoe and crescent are everywhere visible in -its design, and minarets and domes tower above the great building, which -is five stories high above the basement.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_188" id="page_188"></a>{188}</span> The house is constructed of -Atlanta red brick with rolled steel beams, and brick partitions, floors, -and ceilings, and so is absolutely fire-proof.</p> - -<p>“Numerous flights of stone steps lead up by easy ascent to the long -verandas that extend along each side of the structure. These piazzas -vary in width from sixteen to twenty-six feet. The length of the main -building is 511 feet, but with the solarium and dining-room, which are -connected with it, the house affords a continuous walk of twelve hundred -feet, and the walk around it on the outside is exactly one mile. On the -building there are thirteen minarets and domes, each surmounted with a -gilt crescent, making in all a complete lunar year. The hotel contains, -nearly five hundred rooms.</p> - -<p>“The drawing-room, in perfect taste throughout, is a museum of beautiful -things, embracing fine contrasts, rich harmonies, and pleasant -innovations that render it indeed ‘a joy forever.’ Here there is an -inlaid table which once graced the Tuileries, as did also three ebony -and gold cabinets. On the table is a rare bit of sculpture, <i>The -Sleeping Beauty</i>, in Carrara marble. There are a sofa and two chairs -that were owned by Marie Antoinette. A set of four chairs may be seen -that belonged to Louis Philippe. Then there are numerous French and -Japanese cabinets, and above each is suspended a dazzling crystal -mirror. All these and hundreds of other wonderful<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_189" id="page_189"></a>{189}</span> things were -personally secured in Europe by Mr. Plant and his accomplished wife, -while Boston, New York, and Grand Rapids have been drawn upon for what -is best in their specialties in useful and ornamental furniture.</p> - -<p>“The dining-room is octagon in shape, lighted from above, and is -decorated with costly and elegant tapestries and Japanese screens. Its -tables and nicely upholstered chairs are the very acme of comfort, and -the whole apartment is tempting, aside from the unsurpassed excellence -of the cuisine. The waiters are well groomed and well trained, having -gained their knowledge and their courtesy in the leading hotels and -clubs of New York. The <i>chef</i> is Joseph P. Campazzi, celebrated all over -this country. He has fourteen first-class assistants, besides a dozen -others, in his kitchen, which is the largest, most thoroughly equipped -and most convenient to be found in the United States. He has arranged -his departments for the care of meats, game, and fish on a plan of his -own, which is worthy the attention and examination of every <i>chef</i> in -the land. His ice-box contains between four and five tons, and he -provides also for The Inn (also Mr. Plant’s property), at Tampa Port, -and for the Havana steamers of the Plant Line. Meats are shipped in a -refrigerator car from New York, while game goes from Baltimore, and -largely from the sportsmen in and about Tampa. Fish is to be<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_190" id="page_190"></a>{190}</span> found in -great variety and abundance in Southern Florida, at very low prices, and -red snapper, pompano, sheepshead, and shad, deliciously cooked, are -always to be found upon the table. Giovanni Carretta, who for fifteen -years enjoyed a remarkable fame in New York at Delmonico’s and the Union -Club, is the pastry-cook, and his deft hand has lost none of its wonted -cunning. Rossi, from the Manhattan Club, is the baker.</p> - -<p>“There are two hundred employees in the Tampa Bay Hotel, all of them -carefully selected with a view to their special fitness for the places -they fill. The chambers and suites are handsome and convenient -proportionately with the public rooms. The carpets everywhere are -harmonious in color, restful to the eye, and in the best of taste; more -than thirty thousand yards of them have been laid.</p> - -<p>“The music-room is a special feature. It is large, well ventilated, -attractive in its circular form, simple in decoration, has a raised -stage, and its acoustic properties are fine. Moreover, the band is -superb. It consists of sixteen picked and skillful musicians, six of -whom were taken from the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Their performances -of classical music, as well as of the tuneful and delicious dance music, -will stand the test of severe criticism, and not be found wanting. This -important feature of entertainment is to be maintained at any cost, and -it affords a great<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_191" id="page_191"></a>{191}</span> deal of pleasure to all who visit the Tampa Bay -Hotel.</p> - -<p>“Tampa is of interest historically, being the place where Ferdinand De -Soto landed, May 25, 1539. From there he started on his search for the -mines of wealth supposed to exist in the New World, which resulted in -the discovery of the Mississippi River. There also Navarez, having -obtained a grant of Florida from Charles V. of Spain, landed with a -large force, April 16, 1528. Tampa is on the Gulf coast of Florida, 240 -miles from Jacksonville. There are two trains daily, with Pullman cars, -from Jacksonville and St. Augustine to Tampa, passing through Palatka, -Sanford, and Winter Park, both having direct connection with all Eastern -and Western cities, and one being a through train from New York. Its -rapid growth during the past seven years, from eight hundred inhabitants -to as many thousands, has been brought about by the Plant System having -completed the South Florida Railroad to Tampa for the purpose of -developing it commercially. The climate is perfect, and it is the only -city in Florida with all the advantages of both inland and coast without -the inconvenience of either; the only city that affords all the delights -of a sportsman’s life to hunter and fisher, yachtsmen and horsemen, -along with first-class business facilities in all directions. No malaria -ever infects the delicious air, and the water is as soft as lavender. It -is the place of places for invalids, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_192" id="page_192"></a>{192}</span> a lapse of two years will see -Tampa the most important business city in its State. We are writing, not -for the interest of the Tampa Bay Hotel alone, fine as it is, but to -impart information and to convey suggestions that may be valuable to -many of our readers. By no means fail to go as far as Tampa if you visit -Florida in this tempestuous winter.”</p> - -<p class="c"> -AT TAMPA BAY.<br /> -</p> - -<p>“Was it not some old reportorial ruse played upon the credulity of the -ancients that made the story of Aladdin’s wonderful lamp to live in -literature and come down to us through the ages to make us listen with -open ears, gape with open mouth, and wonder with open eyes at the -wonders of it—and I wonder if that ancient reporter could prove in any -way the foundation of his story of the lamp and the rubbing of it. Aye, -there’s the rub—I think he couldn’t prove it. He might show the lamp, -but no palace would rise up at his rubbing, however hard. <i>But</i>, to-day, -the vision may be produced and the palace reared, and yet no lamp to -rub. I would lead to a land where balmy breezes blow and sigh among the -pines, and make the feathery palm trees wave as nodding plumes. Coming -out from under these, on a night when the moon is bright, to the banks -of a beautiful river with banks fringed with ferns, look<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_193" id="page_193"></a>{193}</span> across its -waters where the moon and stars are reflected and so many, many lights -that are on the river’s other shore, there the palace is, a brighter -than Aladdin’s, and more beautiful. That’s Tampa Bay. That your coming -under these pines and palms may be in a palace car, produces no -disillusion,—there’s a palace at Tampa Bay.</p> - -<p>“It might have been, in the long centuries agone, when his ship floated -lazily and his barges glided noiselessly over the waters to the -fern-fringed banks of Tampa’s river, that that ancient and original -tourist, on the same mission bent as those of to-day, in search of the -fount of perpetual youth, might have looked, disheartened, on the -tangled forest and heard the moaning of the winds through the pines that -brought no tidings of a land of life.</p> - -<p>“I wonder if in his dreams that night, when his ship came in to Tampa -Bay, this grand old Grandee was back in his castles in Spain, and -sported in fantastic fandango with the dark-browed Señorita of fair -Castile. Was his dream a prophetic vision that it seemed to be an -Alhambra just there under the lee of his ship, or did some grander -palace with Moorish minarets and silvered domes, glistening with more -silvery brightness under the rays of a tropic moon, topped with golden -crescents that could only come from the Orient to ornament its towers -high above the pines, seem to be here in this far-off<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_194" id="page_194"></a>{194}</span> land—a dream -passing all realization. And what a disappointing awakening awaited this -ancient cavalier who sought the waters that would make him young again, -for when the morning came, and the sun shone brightly, the knight must -have trod the deck with restless impatience; the vision of last night -carried him back to lordly Spain, the awakening brought him here again, -and only a lofty pine stood in the place of the tallest tower, the -swaying top was not a silver dome, and the mournful moaning in its -boughs fell not as sweetly on his ear as the tinkling tingle of guitars -and his dream-made mandolins. And I am sure, in haste he left a spot so -disappointing, and perhaps to the tune of ‘Over the Hills and Far Away,’ -marched to find the great Mississippi.</p> - -<p>“I say, perhaps old De Soto dreamed all this when he landed here at -Tampa, and if he did, behold ’t was prophecy—for the swaying pines have -toppled and in their places have risen higher the golden crescents of -the Orient, and the silvered domes and Moorish minarets that ornament a -palace, and here at Tampa Bay the Spaniard’s dream has been realized two -hundred years after.</p> - -<p>“The tourist of to-day does not approach from the direction of his -illustrious predecessor, but has the decided advantage, whether the -coming be by night or day. If by day, the grandly magnificent picture -comes suddenly upon the view as the train makes a<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_195" id="page_195"></a>{195}</span> turn and stops -between the little town and the river. The foreground is the river, the -middle distance, green sloping lawns dotted with flowers, around whose -beds are winding walks that circle fountains and lead through groves of -palms and oranges to the pines beyond, the same great pines that De Soto -walked under in the struggle to get off his ‘sea legs.’ In the -brightness of a semi-tropic sun the domes and crescents glisten -intensely, and the massive pile grows to immensity. The broad galleries -extend all along the front, the roof commencing above the third-story -windows, slopes gently, so as not to obstruct the view, and at its outer -edge drops in huge ornaments, in arched and hanging pendants ending in -brackets at every column, and at the walls; the grateful shade inviting -as on a summer’s day.</p> - -<p>“The lawn, carefully kept and green as one of Kentucky’s own, has a -miniature fort with mounted cannon and a flagstaff that floats the -country’s colors by day, and sports a crescent of electric fire at -night. The fountains, the flowers, and tropic fruits growing here as if -’twas their natural home, serve as ornaments. A dainty little boat-house -at the bottom of the lawn is headquarters for all sorts of boats for -rowing or sailing, as well as for naphtha and steam launches. The view -from the cars comprises all this, as also from the bridge that spans the -river from the hotel to the town. The intending guest need not<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_196" id="page_196"></a>{196}</span> leave -the train here; after a short stop it will cross the river and come -right to the galleries of the west entrance and stop under the shadow of -the great hotel at Tampa Bay.</p> - -<p>“If in the ecstacy of a first impression I likened this to a palace of -Spain that Ponce de Leon might have dreamed of, I had no retraction to -make when the second day of my visit came and I saw it with modern -surroundings of railway and steamer—it is a palace still, and more of -that than the hotel, and in its appointments more like a gentleman’s -residence on a scale exaggerated to positive magnificence—totally -unlike any other, and it is no disparagement to any to say it is the -most unique in the world—I was about to say of its kind—it has no -kind; there is none other in similarity with it, and taken all in all is -the finest in the world.</p> - -<p>“I say this not without thought of what it means—the Ponce de Leon at -St. Augustine may have cost more dollars to build, decorate, and -furnish, and the name and fame of the Ponce de Leon has gone to the four -quarters, and ’tis not intended to compare invidiously. Here at Tampa -Bay, the surroundings take one back through the centuries even before De -Soto came, and this may have been the very spot where he landed.</p> - -<p>“The horseshoe arches of the Moorish curve are everywhere, from the -grand galleries to the rotunda<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_197" id="page_197"></a>{197}</span> doors, in the salon entrances and to the -grand banquet hall, for it is nothing less, and every minaret is -crescent crested, and passing under them leads to some old picture, -antique, or cabinet that ornamented some palace hall before the land on -which this one stands had been discovered,—and herein is the argument -that this is the only one in the world. The others boast of their -‘especially made’ appointments, while these were made before the land -was discovered.</p> - -<p>“The rotunda is a grand assembly hall with its polished floors, rich -carpets and hangings, antique vases and bric-a-brac, divans and -luxurious lounges, as little like a hotel office as the ‘east room’ of -the White House is like a railway station. The apartment is -seventy-eight feet square and is thirty feet from the floor to the -ceiling. The massive doors are of Spanish mahogany, highly polished, -encasing heavy plates of bevelled glass, the frames are carved in -designs of great beauty. Thirteen marble columns support a balcony that -looks over from the second floor, around which is a carved rail, also in -Spanish mahogany.</p> - -<p>“The Moorish and Spanish styles which prevail in the architectural work -do not always obtain in the decorations and furnishings—the divans in -the rotunda were once in the Tuileries salons, and there is an original -portrait in oil of Louis XIV. of France,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_198" id="page_198"></a>{198}</span> also a clock of the same -period. The paintings are varied in design, as they are in age and -history, and every one, every antique and cabinet, has its history. On -one wall is a beautiful canvas, the <i>Return from the Masquerade</i>, on -another, <i>Wine, Woman, and Song</i>, these suggest the gay side of life, -while some of the old faded examples of the school of long ago carry one -back to the old masters. Two dwarfs in bronze that suggest the Black -Forest legends guard the entrance to the hall of the grand salon, and -near them are two Japanese vases, six feet high, which were exhibited at -the Vienna exposition.</p> - -<p>“Mirrors in antique frames rich in gilded carvings are on the walls, -massive doors in bevelled glass lead to parlors, halls, libraries, and -writing rooms, electric lights are imbedded in the ceilings and walls, -and hang down in chandeliers. This is the rotunda. The business office -occupies the smallest corner, as if it was of the smallest importance in -a hall so replete with ornament and so devoted to comfort and luxury. -The telegraph and ticket offices are also in the rotunda, and everything -that pertains to the more prosaic business ideas—but they do not -intrude upon the dreamy existence that obtains from the antique -surroundings.</p> - -<p>“The grand parlor is magnificent. Every nook and corner has some dainty -bit to show a woman’s hand has been here, and in all the grand -apartment<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_199" id="page_199"></a>{199}</span> shows what might have been done by a princess in her own -house. It was a woman’s design that this divan should have growing -flowers from its centre, and between the seat-arms, that roses and -calla-lilies should mingle their perfume where beauty holds sway. Her -idea that this cabinet, three hundred years old, should be brought from -some castle in Seville or Salamanca to ornament this salon. It is an -exquisite piece with inlaid woods, ebony, pearl, and ivory, with quaint -little paintings under marvellously clear glass in the carved panels. -The bronzes, gildings, and inlaid woods of the cabinets contrast with -the white and gold of the surrounding decorations in pleasing effect. -The white and gold of the upholstery and the hangings have their beauty -enhanced by the shaded electric lights in ground glass, softly tinted, -that are set in the arched dome above; the light falls on these -cabinets, tables inlaid in a hundred woods and pearl and ivory, -bric-a-brac and candelabra from every land. Paintings not from this shop -or that, but from the old masters to salon celebrities of modern times. -One is a portrait of Marguerite de Valois and another of the Duc de -Savoy. On the mantels and cabinets are some beautiful, exquisitely -chased ewers and drinking cups in silver, and busts of Elizabeth of -England and Mary, Queen of Scots, in very rare silver bronze.</p> - -<p>“There is marble statuary in exquisite designs<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_200" id="page_200"></a>{200}</span> from the chisels of the -best sculptors—some Sedan chairs with the eagle of France in their -decorations.</p> - -<p>“The drawing-room is a museum of beautiful things, embracing fine -contrasts, rich harmonies, and pleasant innovations that render it -indeed ‘a joy forever.’ Here, there is an inlaid table which once graced -the Tuileries, as did also three ebony and gold cabinets. On the table -is a rare bit of sculpture, ‘The Sleeping Beauty,’ in Carrara marble. -There, are a sofa and two chairs that were owned by Marie Antoinette. A -set of four chairs may be seen that belonged to Louis Philippe. Then -there are numerous French and Japanese cabinets, and above each is -suspended a dazzling crystal mirror.</p> - -<p>“There are eight cabinets of antique pattern that have been brought from -this or that province of old Spain, gathered in their travels by Mr. and -Mrs. Plant, and <i>not</i>, as I have said, ordered from this factory or -that, in the ordinary way of the modern hostelrie.</p> - -<p>“The carpet—scarlet, with its black lions rampant, made in France—is a -replica of one of Louis XIV., and covers the entire floor of this -splendid salon, in which are chairs of gold and silk and plush of the -same era—as there are also tapestries of incalculable values and -richness that have hung in palaces before they came to this one. The -writing and reading rooms just off the rotunda are furnished<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_201" id="page_201"></a>{201}</span> in the -same unique manner—one which might be called ‘the Louis XIV. room’ has -all its decorations and appointments of the era of that monarch; these -are replicas, or in some cases originals.</p> - -<p>“In the grand chambers the style is not less regal; in magnificence -these surpass anything I have ever seen; no two of them are alike. They -range in size from the grand suite of complete living apartments with -parlors and libraries, to the chamber for two, with silken hangings of -gros-grain watered silk, in white and delicate rose color; a canopied -dressing-case, as dainty as the bride who may stand before it to attire -her pretty self for the grand halls outside her door. The guest rooms on -the floors above have every convenience known to modern inventive -genius, including telephone connection with the office and through a -‘central’ to every other room in the house. A grand hall-way extends -from south to north seven hundred feet, passing through the rotunda. -Just south of the rotunda is the grand staircase, with its life-size -bronzes, holding groups of electric lights, and near by are the -elevators to the upper floors. The north hall passes from the rotunda by -the grand parlors to the gracefully rounding curve of the solarium till -it ends, where shall I say it ends?—in modern parlance at the -dining-hall, but what might be the banquet-room of a Moorish king, with -its lofty dome and arches that rest on fluted pillars.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_202" id="page_202"></a>{202}</span></p> - -<p>“There is no more striking feature than the table porcelain. These are -exquisite works of ceramic art. The plates are of infinite variety. You -may have your beef on a very charming bit of French porcelain, your -salad on a reproduction of an old Vienna plate of semi-Saracenic -pattern, your ice on one of the little plates designed by Moritz Fischer -and copied elsewhere, your coffee in a very perfect repetition of one of -Wedgewood’s simple and lovely bordered cups. In fact, there is no end to -the variety of these lovely porcelains. And just here I may add that the -cooking and the service are unexceptional. The table is of the very best -class and equal to that of any hotel in the world.</p> - -<p>“The room may not be faithfully described in its frescoes and its lights -and pictures, any more than I could satiate your appetite by copying the -menu here—it can’t be done.</p> - -<p>“Just at the end of this hall and very near the entrance to the -dining-room is a grand orchestrion, which, with interchangeable rollers, -plays the latest music, from the popular airs of the day to the classic -productions of the great composers.</p> - -<p>“Just off the rotunda is the music-room with its waxed floor for -terpsichorean uses. There is a perfect stage suitable for concert, -lecture, or tableau, there are foot-lights, and overhead, the electric -fire gleams in a star and crescent group. The room is<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_203" id="page_203"></a>{203}</span> circular in form -with broad galleries extending around it, so the company may sit in the -open air and listen to the music or look in upon the dancers. These -broad galleries extend on the west and east side, forming a grand -promenade for the gay company such a place attracts.</p> - -<p>“The interior scenes under the brilliant glow of the lights is -entertaining, but I remember in more dreamy way a stroll by moonlight, -down by the river under the palmettos. The moon shone bright and made a -wide silver ribbon far up the broad river and across it, and here came -to me the idea of Ponce de Leon’s dream.</p> - -<p>“The arched and towered façade, the silvered dome, again silvered by the -moon’s rays, lifted up more brightly against the star-lit sky, the -crescented minarets, the electric-fired crescent on the color-staff, the -lights from a hundred windows, the soft patter of the water in the -fountains falling on the lily-pads, the perfume of the flowers, the -splash of an oar and the half murmur of a love song from him who -splashed the oar. Think you this is not an Alhambric picture? Then you -have not read of the Alhambra nor seen Tampa Bay.”</p> - -<p class="c"><img src="images/ill_244.jpg" alt="[text decoration not available.]" /><br /> -</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_204" id="page_204"></a>{204}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XV" id="CHAPTER_XV"></a><img src="images/ill_245.jpg" alt="[text decoration not available.]" /><br /> - CHAPTER XV.</h2> - -<div class="blockquott"><p class="hang">Programme of Plant Day Ceremonies—Ringing of the Liberty -Bell—Presentation of Addresses to Mr. Plant in the great -Auditorium—His Reply—Resolutions from the Different Departments -of the System, from the Savannah Board of Trade, etc.—Mr. Morton -F. Plant’s Acknowledgments.</p></div> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">K</span>NOWING that all employees would be unable to attend the celebration in -Atlanta, President Plant requested the superintendents of the railways, -steamship, and express interests to allow such men as could be spared -from duty without detriment to the operative departments to be present, -and also requested that special train service should be provided for -their accommodation. This request of the president was so heartily -carried out by the superintendents, and so willingly accepted by the -employees, that three special trains of the Plant System, carrying -several thousand employees, rolled into the Union Depot in Atlanta at an -early hour Monday morning, October 28th. In order that all might be -fully informed of the movements of their worthy president, and of the -programme of the day, the following notice was published in the Atlanta -<i>Constitution</i> of October 28, 1895:<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_205" id="page_205"></a>{205}</span></p> - -<p>“Mr. Plant will call on Governor Atkinson at 10 o’clock this morning.</p> - -<p>“He will be at the Exposition grounds at 12 o’clock, when the Columbian -bell will ring for the first time, in his honor.</p> - -<p>“At 1 o’clock all the employees of the Plant System will assemble at the -Auditorium on the grounds, at which time addresses will be delivered by -President Collier, on behalf of the Exposition Company, and Mayor King, -on behalf of the city of Atlanta. Mr. Plant will respond to these -addresses.</p> - -<p>“Music will be furnished by Innes’s band, and, after Mr. Plant’s speech, -resolutions, congratulatory and otherwise, will be read on behalf of the -employees of the system and commercial bodies.</p> - -<p>“At 3 <small>P.M.</small> Mr. Plant will be at the Plant System Building, which is one -of the most picturesque on the grounds. He will spend some time making a -close inspection of the exhibit that has been placed there and which has -attracted such attention all the while from visitors to the great fair.</p> - -<p>“At 8 o’clock this evening a banquet will be tendered Mr. Plant at the -Aragon.”</p> - -<p>Mr. Plant placed himself in the hands of his friends for the day, and -carried out to the letter the programme as above set forth, in order -that he might have opportunity of meeting the employees at the -Exposition. Such of us who had the pleasure of being<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_206" id="page_206"></a>{206}</span> present and of -personally congratulating the gentleman will be pleased, no doubt, to -read the following account of the day’s proceedings, and to those who -were less fortunate it will be interesting to hear what the Atlanta -<i>Constitution</i>, of the 29th of October, had to say of “Plant System Day -at the Exposition.”</p> - -<p>“Eloquent indeed was the demonstration of affection and loyalty by the -employees of the Plant System to their great chieftain, Henry B. Plant, -yesterday at the celebration of Plant System Day at the Exposition.</p> - -<p>“Never was there such an ovation to any living railroad magnate in the -Southern States. The day was beautiful and bright and most auspicious, -and the exercises in the auditorium at the Exposition grounds were -profoundly interesting and impressive.</p> - -<p>“Early in the morning Mr. Plant was driven to the Exposition grounds in -a carriage, the rest of his party accompanying him in other carriages. -They drove through the grounds, and at 12 o’clock sharp they stopped at -the Columbian bell, near the Forestry Building, and, in accordance with -the programme as arranged, the bell was rung many times over in honor of -the great railroader. The bell was rung by Mr. and Mrs. H. B. Plant, -assisted by Mrs. Wood, Mrs. B. W. Wrenn, Major O’Brien, and Mrs. Tilley.</p> - -<p>“Those present at the ringing of the bell were:<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_207" id="page_207"></a>{207}</span> Mrs. H. B. Plant, Mrs. -W. A. Wood, Mrs. B. W. Wrenn, Mrs. George H. Tilley, Mrs. Porter King, -Mr. H. B. Plant, Mr. R. G. Erwin, Mr. M. F. Plant, Dr. G. H. Smythe, Mr. -G. H. Tilley, Major M. J. O’Brien, and Col. B. W. Wrenn.</p> - -<p>“The party then drove through the grounds, and after a brief glimpse of -the splendid Exposition from the carriages while passing, they went to -the Auditorium, where the regular programme of the day was to be carried -out.</p> - -<p>“Long before they arrived at the auditorium the hall was fairly packed -with the employees of the Plant System of Railroads and of the Southern -Express Company, of which Mr. Plant is president. The distinguished -party, consisting of Mr. Plant and his family and a number of friends, -arrived at the eastern side of the auditorium and entered the vast hall -through the doorway to the stage.</p> - -<p>“At the first sight of them the vast multitude of people within gave a -round of applause which lasted for a long time, and which was a becoming -greeting from the several thousands of Mr. Plant’s employees to him at -such a season.</p> - -<p>“When Mr. Plant and his companions were seated on the stage, the -applause ceased and order was restored in the hall. On the platform, -Mrs. H. B. Plant was seated on the left of Mr. Plant. There were also -there Mrs. W. G. Wood, Mrs. G. H. Tilley,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_208" id="page_208"></a>{208}</span> Mrs. B. W. Wrenn, Mr. M. F. -Plant, Mr. R. G. Erwin, Mr. M. J. O’Brien, Mr. S. G. McLendon, Mr. G. H. -Tilley, Mr. A. A. Wiley, Mayor Porter King, Vice-President W. A. -Hemphill, of the Exposition Company; Mr. W. F. Vandiver, Mr. Fleming G. -duBignon, Mr. W. C. Bibb, Judge Robert Falligant, Hon. W. B. Thompson, -formerly Second Assistant Postmaster-General; Hon. W. H. Brawley, U. S. -District Judge; Mr. F. Q. Brown, Mr. G. W. Adair, and others.</p> - -<p>“After music by the Innes Band, Vice-President W. A. Hemphill, of the -Exposition Company, acting as president in the absence of President -Charles Collier, arose and addressed the vast audience on behalf of the -Exposition Company, bidding them a cordial welcome to the fair.</p> - -<p>“Mr. Hemphill said:</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>Mr. President, Ladies, and Gentlemen:—I have no doubt that the -welcome that Mr. Collier was to have given you to-day would have been -the most pleasant duty he would have had to perform since the opening of -the Exposition, but he was suddenly called away, and wired me to welcome -you.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>This is an hour of thanks and congratulations. The Board thanks you -for the interest you have taken in our Exposition. We thank you for the -magnificent exhibit of the resources along your line that you have made -at our Exposition, and for the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_209" id="page_209"></a>{209}</span> competent people you have placed in -charge of it. We thank you for your presence here to-day, and we are -highly honored that so many distinguished people are here with us.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>Mr. President, we congratulate you upon the magnificent system of -railroads and steamships that you have builded up. Your life and example -have been a great thing for the young men of this country to profit by -[applause], showing them what it is possible for them to attain. We -congratulate you, sir, upon your birthday, and we wish that you may live -to observe many happy birthdays and that each one may be brighter than -the one preceding it. [Applause.]</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>What an opportunity this Exposition has given to the States of this -section! The State that has neglected to be represented here has missed -the opportunity of its history. I am glad, sir, from your side, that -Florida is represented here. Her grand resources of factory, of mines, -of forest, of rivers, her fruits and flowers, are here to show our -visiting friends from the North what a great country Florida is. -[Applause.]</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>We thank you, sir, for being such a friend to the South. You have -spent more money and developed more territory in this section than any -other man in the Union. [Great applause.] We thank you and honor you for -it, and we hope you will live<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_210" id="page_210"></a>{210}</span> to see the day when your railroad lines -will extend all over this country [applause]; when your steamships will -plow the Atlantic Ocean and reach the ports of Europe. We hope, sir, -that you will live to see the building of the Nicaragua Canal; when your -steamships shall go through that canal, and, crossing the Pacific Ocean, -reach the ports of China, Japan, and Australia—all these lines pouring -immigration and wealth into this section, making it the most powerful, -most populous and richest section of this Union, and your System the -greatest upon the face of the earth. [Continued applause.]</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>I now have the honor and pleasure of introducing to you Mayor King, -who will welcome you for the city of Atlanta.’<span class="lftspc">”</span></p> - -<p>“Mayor Porter King was greeted with applause and spoke as follows:</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>Mr. President, Ladies, and Gentlemen:—On the part of the city of -Atlanta it is to me a matter of peculiar pleasure and pride to welcome -in our midst that broad-minded, grand, glorious, golden-hearted -gentleman and the splendid men who come with him. [Great cheering and -applause.]</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>I but re-echo the sentiment so beautifully expressed by Colonel -Hemphill, who preceded me, that if Georgia, the South, and Atlanta owe -aught to any man, it owes as much to Colonel Plant as to any one whose -name I could call. I speak a truth<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_211" id="page_211"></a>{211}</span> which is perhaps not generally -known, so modest is this gentleman, that to-day he is one of the largest -real estate owners in the city of Atlanta. [Applause.] We think in that, -he has shown the wisdom of his judgment.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>I honor the head of this great System because of the policy that he -has pursued—to build up himself, not by pulling down another, but by -carrying others up with him. [Applause and cheers.] And not alone to -him, but to this vast army of employees, who are themselves but -representatives of the magnificent System of which he is at the head, I -extend a cordial welcome. [Applause.] I am sure it is not in his heart -to detract one bit from any progress, or any forward movement of the -very lowest employee connected with his whole System. [Applause and -cheers.] Rather than to grow up that way, I believe he would rather see -his whole System wrecked.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>We thank you for your presence here to-day. We thank you for the -magnificent exhibit which your System has placed upon these grounds. To -you, one and all, Mr. President and gentlemen, we bid you welcome to -Atlanta; all that she has is yours. We gladly turn it over to you.’<span class="lftspc">”</span> -[Great and continued applause and cheering.]</p> - -<p>“Colonel Hemphill proposed three cheers for President Plant. The cheers -were given.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_212" id="page_212"></a>{212}</span></p> - -<p>“Here the Innes Band gave a splendid rendition of the popular medley, -‘Plantation Echoes,’ including ‘Way Down Upon the Suwanee River,’ which, -was loudly cheered.</p> - -<p>“Mr. Plant’s Address was as follows:</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>Mr. President of the Cotton States and International Exposition -Company, and the Honorable Mayor of the city of Atlanta:—In behalf of -my associates and employees of the Plant System, and friends, gentlemen -and ladies, whom I see around me and before me, I scarcely know how to -thank you for this glorious welcome, this grand reception. I can but say -that we are here to witness a very magnificent Exposition, quite beyond -any conception of mine, and, I believe, of any of the gentlemen who have -come here with me to-day, to examine and make a study of this monument -to the enterprise and energies of the good people of the city of Atlanta -and of the State of Georgia.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>When I was called upon in Jacksonville, Florida, in December, 1894, by -a committee of gentlemen of the Exposition Company, and requested by -them to make an exhibit here of interesting products from the country -bordering our lines of roads in South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and -Florida, the four States that our rail lines traverse, I was backward to -do so, for the reason that I feared we had nothing that would do credit -to our line, our interests and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_213" id="page_213"></a>{213}</span> our patrons; and had I known, sir, of -the extent and the grandeur of this Exposition, I believe that I should -have continued to hesitate.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>It has been some years since I have visited Atlanta, and I was hardly -prepared to see the growth, the tremendous growth, that I find has -occurred in my absence. I see you are rapidly going forward; that you -are becoming a metropolis. You represent, sir, the capital of one of the -greatest States of the Union—the Empire State of the South. [Applause -and cheers.]</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>You never need be backward to represent Atlanta; it appears to me that -within a very short time, without saying anything to the detriment of -any of the other cities in this country, that it will be called The City -of the South. [Applause.] Other cities may advance, and do advance; many -cities and many communities in the South advance rapidly; they advance -in population and in wealth, but, sir, nothing have I seen in many years -to admire like your city of Atlanta.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>I hardly know what language to use that will fittingly present to you, -sir, and to my audience, the opinions I hold in regard to this great -Exposition. It is a surprise, it is a marvel, it is to me wonderful, -and, sir, it proves what can be done by people acting in unison, united -in their enterprise, united in their progress and their desires to -benefit their people and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_214" id="page_214"></a>{214}</span> their country, and united through their -capital. Without this unity, and without the other qualifications that -have made the representative men of Atlanta and of this Exposition what -they are, this Exposition could never have been what it is. It is a -visible proof of the importance of united action; it shows what may be -accomplished through union. Without union none of us would be what we -are to-day.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>To my friends and associates, and to the officers and employees of the -Plant System I desire to express my thanks for the numbers they show -here to-day. I commend you all for your good judgment in embracing this -opportunity afforded by the Cotton States and International Exposition -Company, to come here and witness this great work that has been going on -almost without our knowledge. We have all read in the newspapers about -the Cotton States and International Exposition, but I believe that very -few of us had any idea what we were to see and to meet here to-day. But -we are here, most of us only for the day, and I hope that we will -earnestly avail ourselves of all the time possible, not only for the -gratification of our curiosity, but for our further education as well. -Everything we see should be made useful to us; it is such an opportunity -as some of us may never have again, and I therefore say to you -all—while you are in Atlanta, emulate my<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_215" id="page_215"></a>{215}</span> example, and make this -Exposition a study. [Cheers and applause.]</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>As I said before, I am pleased to see such a large representation -here. It is very gratifying to me. It is gratifying to know that so many -could be spared from their duties without disadvantage to the public -whom we serve. You all know the general principles that have influenced -us in the formation of the Plant System. It was to prepare the way to -make as good means of communication as possible with the resources we -had at hand. We have used of our means freely; not only myself, but my -associates have not been sparing in this particular. We have expended -capital and energy in the hope of some day reaping a benefit, which is -proper. As you know, all men seek to benefit themselves; but there has -been behind it, as the President of this great Exposition and the -Honorable Mayor have to-day stated, a desire to do good to our -fellow-man. [Applause.] We have at least been able to furnish good means -of transportation, and I am pleased to say that it is appreciated by our -patrons. I would, however, have you recollect that we are the servants -of the people, who are our patrons, to the extent that we must treat -their property, while in our possession, with all the care we would our -own. We must be careful in our manners and our speech; we must see to it -that no patron of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_216" id="page_216"></a>{216}</span> Plant System ever comes to an officer or employee -for information without getting it to the fullest. [Applause.]</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>We must also see that our connecting lines of railways receive proper -treatment from us. Be sure that we cannot well serve the public unless -we treat our allied lines fairly, justly, and properly; be sure of this. -Be sure that we are not all for ourselves. We are public servants, and -we must serve all well, and always recognize the rights of our patrons. -We must never take a customer’s money without giving him his money’s -worth. All this is very easy to say, but it is very difficult for human -nature to carry it out, and we must, therefore, school ourselves in the -effort to learn how best to serve our patrons, and at the same time be -just to ourselves.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>How are the railroads built? Where does the money come from that -constructs and maintains them? It is through the union of men, and the -combination of means and labor. This is how it is accomplished. -[Applause.] There can be but little success in any effort to accomplish -good, in this age, without union. This Exposition could not have been -created and carried on, could not have presented the grandeur it does -now, except through the combination of capital and the energy of men of -enterprise. Look at the States that are represented here. We see not -only many of the States of the United States,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_217" id="page_217"></a>{217}</span> but also many foreign -States as well. I find the Central American Republics are represented -here; those unions that are dependent upon the voice of the people for -their government are here. They are getting in line with us. They are -here to co-operate with us of the South in this great work. Even our -United States Government has made a large appropriation, and has sent -down many of its people and many of its products to illustrate itself -and its people. It is through union that success is attained. Look over -this city to-day, I suppose it is so every day, we see floating from the -house-tops, from the towers, and from the flagstaves, that emblem of -Union, the Star Spangled Banner! [Great applause.] Long may it wave over -us [applause], and we be fit and proper citizens to represent it in this -“Land of the free and the home of the brave!”<span class="lftspc">’</span> [Long continued -applause.]</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>We are going to have some resolutions read,’ said Mr. Hemphill, ‘and, -Mr. President, I wish you would commission me a brakeman in order that I -may vote with the boys.’</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>I do,’ said Mr. Plant.</p> - -<p>“In presenting the resolutions passed by the Commercial and Industrial -Association of Montgomery, Alabama, Mr. W. C. Bibb, Jr., chairman of the -committee appointed to convey them to Mr. Plant, said:</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>Mr. Chairman, Ladies, and Gentlemen: Among<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_218" id="page_218"></a>{218}</span> the ancient Greeks and -Romans the laurel was the symbol of triumph; the laurel wreath was -second only to a kingly crown. Shafts of stone and marble and statues of -bronze commemorated the deeds of demigods, kings, and conquering heroes. -History teems with names and deeds of men who carved out a niche in the -Temple of Fame with a bloody sword. To raze a fair city, invade, -overwhelm, and destroy a smiling land, hew down and slaughter its -inhabitants, or drag them in chains to slavery, were the only deeds by -which Fame might be won.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>In this fair land and enlightened age, he who makes two blades of -grass to grow where was one before; who links new cities with the old by -shining bands of steel; who masters the sea and brings the forces of -nature subservient to the will, the comfort, and the uses of his -fellow-man; who builds up, develops, and makes the land to abound in -plenty, while thousands of happy men and women rise up and call him -blessed—he it is for whom the laurel blooms, he it is who has builded -for himself a monument more enduring than brass and more lasting than -marble. We are gathered here to celebrate the natal day of such a man.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>Sir, it is the pleasure of this committee, in behalf of the Commercial -and Industrial Association, of the people of Montgomery, and of Alabama, -to read in the presence of this audience and to present to you<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_219" id="page_219"></a>{219}</span> the -resolutions I have in my hands, and to wish for you many happy returns -of your birthday.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span><span class="smcap">Whereas</span>, The 28th day of October, 1895, has been set apart by the -Cotton States and International Exposition Company, of Atlanta, Georgia, -to do honor to H. B. Plant, the genius and controlling spirit of the two -great Southern enterprises—the Southern Express Company and the Plant -Investment Company; and</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span><span class="smcap">Whereas</span>, We deem the time and occasion fit and opportune to unite with -other Southerners in paying homage to one so richly endowed with merit -and worth, yet so unpretentious; so eminently successful, yet -unassuming; who has, by his latest achievement on land and sea, given to -the three States of Alabama, Georgia, and Florida a system of railroads, -steamships, and palatial hotels in the interest of commerce, travel, and -internal development unsurpassed in the civilized world. Therefore, be -it</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span><i>Resolved</i>, That we, the members of the Commercial and Industrial -Association of the City of Montgomery, Alabama, by unanimous rising -vote, do most heartily congratulate Mr. Plant upon his continued health -and prosperity upon this his birthday; that we convey to him by these -resolutions tidings that his name and fame are dear to us and to all -Alabamians.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_220" id="page_220"></a>{220}</span></p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span><i>Resolved</i>, That a copy of these resolutions be forwarded to Atlanta, -Georgia, to be publicly read and presented to Mr. Plant on October 28, -1895.’ [Applause and cheers.]</p> - -<p>“Colonel Hemphill:—‘I move these resolutions be adopted by a rising -vote. All in favor of the resolutions will stand.’ All present -responded.</p> - -<p>“On behalf of the Savannah Board of Trade, Judge Robert Falligant spoke -as follows:</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>Mr. Chairman: I was spending with my family a season of quiet and rest -amid the mountains of Georgia when we got news of this auspicious -occasion. In former years I had the pleasure of serving under the great -leader whose birthday we celebrate to-day, and I could not resist the -temptation of being present and adding my voice to the universal -acclaim, not only of Georgia, but of all Southern States. As I came in, -these resolutions were presented to me to read and I was requested to -make a few preliminary remarks. I really don’t know what I can say on -this occasion so replete with force and eloquence, both in speech and -resolutions, but my heart is impelled to say something in this -magnificent presence. I feel that not only Georgia is here, but the -entire South and the entire country. [Applause.]</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>I am proud to see that Atlanta has touched the high-water mark of -civilization in this illustrious<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_221" id="page_221"></a>{221}</span> display. I feel proud as a Georgian, -and, as the representative of Savannah, I bid her godspeed in the -magnificent tide of prosperity that awaits her. We have no envious -feeling upon the coast, but trust that her future may be as limitless -and as beautiful as the grand ocean that expands beyond her borders, the -image of infinity.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>I say this is an occasion for patriotic emotions, and we should all -unite in doing honor to the citizen who has devoted himself to the -public good. Let us honor the man who plants his high purposes in his -native land, who knows no South, no East, no West, no North, but is an -American, heart and soul.’ [Great and continued applause and cheering.]</p> - -<p>“Then the following was read:</p> - -<p class="r"> -“<span class="lftspc">‘</span><span class="smcap">Atlanta, Georgia</span>, October 28, 1895.<br /> -</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span><span class="smcap">Mr. H. B. Plant</span>, Atlanta, Ga.—My dear Sir:—On behalf of the Savannah -Board of Trade I congratulate you most heartily upon this auspicious -occasion of your seventy-sixth birthday. You have, in the providence of -infinite power, been permitted to dwell among your fellows beyond the -allotted period of man, and it has also been your most favored privilege -in that period to bring to completion undertakings of vast magnitude for -the uplifting of the South especially, and for the whole country in -general, which will stand a monument to your foresight,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_222" id="page_222"></a>{222}</span> zeal and -patriotic devotion to our common country long after the shaft or statues -of marble or bronze have lost their significance as finger posts -pointing to martial renown or the triumph of the forum. For your works, -engraven upon the hearts of your generation with the stylus of -commercial probity, will always be recalled with pleasant memory because -free from the painful associations of sanguinary fields or the bitter -words of fierce debates. May the mighty God, in His providence, as He -spares you for the years to come, continue to bless you with bodily -strength to pursue your active career of usefulness, until your eyes can -look upon the full fruition of the great works in the interests of -commerce, with which your name will ever be inseparably associated in -fruitful memory through the multiplying cycles of time. With profound -esteem, very truly and sincerely yours,</p> - -<p class="r"> -“<span class="lftspc">‘</span><span class="smcap">D. G. Purse</span>,<br /> -“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>President Savannah Board of Trade.’<br /> -</p> - -<p>“The resolutions were adopted by a rising vote.</p> - -<p>“The Plant System employees were represented by Hon. A. A. Wiley, who -spoke as follows:</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>Mr. President, Mr. Plant, Ladies, and Gentlemen: These men who wear -these badges to-day, whether they come from South Carolina, Florida, -Georgia, or Alabama, are the employees of the Plant<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_223" id="page_223"></a>{223}</span> System, consisting -of telegraph, express, railway, and steamship lines. They number perhaps -three thousand, but represent more than twelve thousand employees, and -have come from the smoke and the dust of the workshop, from the railway -car, from the locomotive, from express and law offices, to pay their -tribute of respect, and to manifest their love for our distinguished -chief, their admiration and appreciation of him. [Applause and cheers.]</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>This great day becomes a national day, because it is replete with -mighty consequences to both North and South.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>Here we may forget our business cares and worldly contests, for the -soft hand of kindness, friendship, and hospitality smoothes down the -ruffled brow. A quarter of a century ago, ruthless and unpitying war, -with all the devastations that follow in its wake, swept with relentless -fury over our fair and fruitful fields.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>When that fratricidal struggle was ended and the soldiers who survived -it returned to their desolated homes to find poverty and want at every -door, Mr. Henry B. Plant, a Union man, who, notwithstanding his loyalty -to the North, had been commissioned by President Davis, because of his -honesty and integrity, to go at will everywhere throughout Dixie, was -also true to the South. He recognized the fact that the war was over. He -had<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_224" id="page_224"></a>{224}</span> confidence in the reserved energy, loyalty, devotion, and -patriotism of the men who wore the gray. [Applause and cheers.]</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>He had faith in the magnificent possibilities of this land of golden -summers. He knew that we would never again renew hostilities against the -Union of our fathers; and he was right.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>Mr. Plant began anew with us the battles of life. He poured out his -wealth like water, to build up and beautify our waste places. He put -activity and intelligent direction into the industrial life of the -South; and his confidence was not misplaced. He has built grandly and -well—wiser, perhaps, than he knew—and has rolled onward the car of -progress and prosperity. The whole South has felt the touch of his -magical hand, and recognized in him a potential factor in the -advancement of commerce and civilization. To-day about fifty thousand -people owe food, shelter, and raiment to his bounty and munificence. -[Applause and cheers.]</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>He has carried happiness and plenty to many a fireside, and poured the -sunshine of peace and gladness into many a weary heart. [Great cheering -and applause.]</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>We, his servants and employees, have now assembled here, not only to -do him honor on this, his birthday, but we desire to keep his name and -memory forever fresh and green in our heart of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_225" id="page_225"></a>{225}</span> hearts; and no more -fitting method, it seems to me, can be devised, than by setting apart -the 27th day of October, in each succeeding year, as a memorial day, to -be commemorated by appropriate services and the planting of trees. With -this object in view, I offer the following resolutions, and move their -unanimous adoption by a rising vote:</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span><span class="smcap">Whereas</span>, It is meet and proper that we, the employees of the Plant -System, should in some appropriate manner observe the birthday of Mr. -Plant, our worthy and honored President; therefore, be it.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span><i>Resolved</i>, 1. That the 27th of October in each and every year -hereafter shall be set apart and observed and duly celebrated in honor -of the life and character of Mr. H. B. Plant.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span><i>Resolved</i>, 2. That on said 27th day of October, water-oak trees shall -be planted at all station grounds and about all section houses on all -the lines of the Plant System, this tree being the favorite of our -much-loved chief.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span><i>Resolved</i>, 3. That the general superintendent and the division -superintendents are hereby created a permanent board, with the request -that Mr. Plant’s birthday be honored as herein set out.’</p> - -<p>“These resolutions were adopted unanimously by a rising vote and with -great enthusiasm.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_226" id="page_226"></a>{226}</span></p> - -<p>“The Tampa (Florida) Band then furnished music.</p> - -<p>“Mr. M. F. Plant addressed the crowds as follows:</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>Colonel Hemphill, Ladies and Gentlemen, and Members of our Family, the -Plant System [Great cheering and applause]: I desire to thank you in -behalf of my mother, of my wife, who is absent, and my boy, for the -great compliment you have paid my father. [Great applause.] It is, -indeed, a great treat to me to be here and to thank you for your -kindness, not only to my father, but to the name of the System which, by -your very careful, studious, and painstaking application to its -business, you have built up. Gentlemen, I thank you.’ [Great applause -and cheers.]</p> - -<p>“Mr. Hemphill announced that at 3 o’clock P. M. Mr. Plant would hold a -reception in the Plant System Building.</p> - -<p>“This reception was most pleasant. Mr. Plant sat beneath the tropical -foliage of the Plant Building display and shook hands with all his -employees, who passed him by the hundred. He was driven back to the -Aragon Hotel late in the afternoon.”</p> - -<p class="c"><img src="images/ill_267.jpg" alt="[text decoration not available.]" /><br /> -</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_227" id="page_227"></a>{227}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVI" id="CHAPTER_XVI"></a><img src="images/ill_268.jpg" alt="[text decoration not available.]" /><br /> - CHAPTER XVI.</h2> - -<div class="blockquott"><p class="hang">Banquet at the Aragon Hotel Ends the Festivities of the Day—Sketch -of the Southern Express Company—Distinguished Callers on President -Plant during the Day—Many Telegrams and Letters of Congratulation -Received—Many Press Notices of the Day, and many Tributes of -Respect and Esteem for him who Called it forth.</p></div> - -<p>“The banquet at the Aragon last night,” says the Atlanta <i>Constitution</i>, -“given in honor of Mr. H. B. Plant, was a fitting climax to the day set -apart for the celebration of the seventy-sixth birthday of that -distinguished man.</p> - -<p>“The occasion was one that must have been gratifying to the honored -guest, in that he received the warmest assurances of the high esteem in -which he is held by the people of the South from the eloquent -representatives of many of the States. He was the toast of the evening, -and he bore the distinguished honors with his characteristic demeanor.</p> - -<p>“When Captain Evan P. Howell called upon the fifty prominent guests to -rise and drink to the health of the guest of honor, Mr. Plant, there was -an enthusiasm and love for the latter inspired in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_228" id="page_228"></a>{228}</span> heart of every -man around the banquet tables, which found vent in the many eloquent -speeches of tribute which followed. Upon Mr. Plant there was bestowed -the highest encomiums of praise, admiration, and love, and he was made -to feel the enthusiasm of the sentiment in the hearts of the speakers.</p> - -<p>“The dinner in honor of Mr. Plant was given by the Exposition directors. -It was the concluding honor bestowed upon the South’s benefactor in -connection with the great Plant System Day at the Exposition. About -fifty guests assembled to do honor to the occasion, and among them were -some of the best-known and most influential men of the country. The -South was represented by distinguished men from many States.</p> - -<p>“At the conclusion of the dinner, Captain Howell, who acted as -toast-master, arose and proposed a toast to the distinguished guest of -honor. At the request, every guest arose and drank to the health of Mr. -Plant in silence.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>I have been offered many toasts and received some honors,’ said Mr. -Plant, in response, ‘but none has ever afforded me more pleasure than -this. I feel that I am among friends to-night, and it is useless to -assure you that I am deeply appreciative of this honor. I have had -something to say to you already to-day, and am almost talked out. There -is so much talent and so many men here to-night<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_229" id="page_229"></a>{229}</span> who can entertain you -with a ventilation of the English language, and I am so hoarse that I -will yield to them and not detain you. I thank you, Mr. Toast-master, -and gentlemen.’</p> - -<p>“Captain Howell, in introducing the speakers of the evening, took -occasion to say many happy things about Mr. Plant and the guests around -the tables. He was in his happiest vein, and with wit, wisdom, and -story, he entertained the assemblage. Each effort of the toast-master -was received with applause.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>We are indebted to the distinguished gentleman we have gathered -to-night to honor,’ said Captain Howell, ‘for one of the best exhibits -at our great Exposition. His is an exhibit of which we should feel -proud; one that reflects credit on his effort and the Exposition. He has -shown us loyalty, fidelity, and love for the South by the work he has -done for us. We are pleased and honored to have him among us, and to -call him one of us. This Southland owes to him much of gratitude. He has -benefited every section of the Southeast, and done work which will last -as a monument to his fame for years to come.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>We regret that our zealous president, Mr. Collier, is unable to be -with us this evening to extend to Mr. Plant in person the welcome felt -by the Exposition Company, but in that absence we have a man to speak -for him who can do so fittingly.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_230" id="page_230"></a>{230}</span> We ask Mr. Alexander W. Smith to -return to Mr. Plant the thanks of the Exposition Company for the -splendid exhibit he has sent us and for the good work he has done, not -only in our interest, but for the State and the entire South.’</p> - -<p>“Mr. Smith paid a fitting tribute to the worth of Mr. Plant to the State -of Georgia, the South, and to the Exposition. He thanked him on behalf -of the Exposition Company for the complete and magnificent exhibit sent -by Mr. Plant, and warmly congratulated him on his birthday, which gave -occasion for such a great day as yesterday had been to the Exposition. -Colonel George W. Adair was called upon and he made one of his best -speeches. He entertained his hearers with stories and reminiscences of -his boyhood and manhood days, referring to the time when he first met -Mr. Plant. The speaker had assisted in forming the Southern Express -Company, and he proposed to share the honors with Mr. Plant, for the -evening at least.</p> - -<p>“Among the other speakers were Colonel H. S. Haines, Colonel A. A. -Wiley, of Alabama; Speaker Fleming, Major J. W. Thomas, of Nashville; -Judge Falligant, of Savannah; Hon. Fleming du Bignon, of Savannah; Dr. -Smyth, and several others. All of the speakers paid high tribute to Mr. -Plant and his work for the South. He was eulogized in the language of -highest praise, and declared to be a man<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_231" id="page_231"></a>{231}</span> worthy of all honors that -could be bestowed upon a citizen.</p> - -<p>“Some of the speakers referred to the esteem in which Mr. Plant is held -by his twelve thousand employees, and laid stress on that fact as being -the best evidence of the noble character of the man, one who treated all -men with justice, moderation, and kindness. Mr. Plant was made to feel -that the welcome extended him was sincere, and he left the banquet table -honored as perhaps no other man will be honored during the Exposition -period. To him was shown the appreciation of the Exposition Company of -his work, by setting aside a special day in his honor, something that -will not be accorded to any other individual.</p> - -<p>“The banquet was one of the most elaborate of the season, and reflected -credit on the committee in charge and Manager Dodge, of the Aragon, who -supervised it in person.”</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p>With the banquet at the Aragon, tendered to President Plant by the -directors of the Exposition Company and the citizens of Atlanta, the -festivities directly incident to “Plant System Day” were brought to a -close. This history, however, would be incomplete without reference to -the Southern Express Company, to which Mr. Plant has been pleased to -allude as his “first love.” It numbers among its officers<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_232" id="page_232"></a>{232}</span> some of the -men whom Mr. Plant had in mind when he said on Sunday morning, October -27th, “I see here present those who were with me in troublous times and -bore with me the heat and burden of the fight,” and this may be -considered a fitting place to give a brief history of the company as -published in the <i>Constitution</i> of October 29, 1895.</p> - -<p>From the Atlanta <i>Constitution</i>, Tuesday, October 29, 1895:</p> - -<p>“Among the thousands who gathered at the Exposition yesterday to do -honor to Mr. Henry B. Plant, the great ‘man of affairs,’ the officers -and employees of the Southern Express Company formed a notable group, -the central and most prominent figure of which was Mr. M. J. O’Brien, -the vice-president and general manager. It was fitting that this great -enterprise should be represented by its most prominent officials and a -large delegation of its employees on this day, for it was as an express -company employee that Mr. Plant began life, and the history of the -express business in the South is almost identical with Mr. Plant’s great -success. It was also appropriate that the representatives of the great -army of Southern Express Company employees should be headed by the man -whose master mind and admirable executive ability have contributed so -largely to every success of the mammoth enterprise over which he -presides with such marked distinction, for the history of the Southern<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_233" id="page_233"></a>{233}</span> -Express Company is not only the history of Mr. Plant but of Mr. O’Brien, -since the latter gentleman has been closely identified with the express -business of Mr. Plant for the past thirty-five years, and its -achievements have largely been his own.</p> - -<p class="c"> -“HISTORY OF THE SOUTHERN EXPRESS COMPANY.<br /> -</p> - -<p>“On July 5, 1861, a charter was granted for the Southern Express Company -for fourteen years, with H. B. Plant as President; R. B. Bullock, -Superintendent of the Eastern Division; E. Hulbert, Superintendent of -the Central, and D. P. Ellwood, Superintendent of the Western Division, -who, however, shortly resigned, and was succeeded by A. B. Small, with -James Shuter as Assistant Superintendent.</p> - -<p>“As the Federal forces advanced into Dixie the Southern Express Company -abandoned its lines, which were immediately utilized by the Adams -Express Company. In fact, the Southern Express Company was operated -under difficulties throughout those belligerent times, arising from the -changing lines of armies, destructions of railroads, and from the -conscription acts, until express employees were exempted from service in -the army and navy.</p> - -<p>“At the close of the war another source of danger presented itself. -Gangs of disbanded soldiery and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_234" id="page_234"></a>{234}</span> raiding parties, ever ready to -appropriate portable property wherever it could be found, in many cases -plundered the express offices, their horses being taken and nothing -valuable left. But it’s a long lane that has no turn. A reaction soon -set in, and the marvellous prosperity of the ‘Sunny South’ has been only -equalled by the growth and development of the Southern Express Company. -To-day its service extends from Richmond, Louisville, and St. Louis on -the North; Charleston and Savannah on the East; Springfield, Missouri, -and Houston, Texas, on the West, and New Orleans, Mobile, and Tampa, -Florida, on the South, reaching twelve States and embracing about three -thousand agencies, with a through line to New York and direct -communication with Cuba.</p> - -<p>“In 1875, a renewal of the company’s charter was applied for and -granted, and, in 1886, the Georgia Legislature granted the company a -charter for thirty years from December 21st of that year. The little -concern organized at Augusta, Georgia, in 1861, has now become one of -the strongest and most successful express companies in the United -States.</p> - -<p>“The <i>Constitution</i> to-day publishes excellent portraits of General -Manager M. J. O’Brien, Assistant General Manager T. W. Leary, Traffic -Manager C. L. Loop, and Superintendent W. W. Hulbert, all of whom have -been intimately identified with the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_235" id="page_235"></a>{235}</span> growth and development of the -Southern Express Company.</p> - -<p>“General Manager O’Brien began service with the Adams Express Company at -Memphis, in 1859. He next served as way-bill clerk and then as -messenger, being later promoted to the cashier’s office at New Orleans. -Evincing a remarkable aptitude for the express business, he was next -appointed agent at Montgomery, Alabama, and, in rapid order, -successively became President Plant’s secretary, secretary of the -Southern Express Company, general superintendent, general manager, and -vice-president and general manager.</p> - -<p>“Assistant General Manager Leary commenced as secretary to General -Superintendent O’Brien and for years was his faithful lieutenant. -Subsequently he was made assistant to the general manager and then -appointed assistant general manager.</p> - -<p>“Traffic Manager Loop began his express career as messenger in the Adams -Express Company’s service, and was particularly prominent in express -operations during the war. He was for many years auditor and cashier of -the western department of the Southern Express Company, and upon the -consolidation of the eastern and western departments was made general -auditor, succeeding from that position to his present office.</p> - -<p>“Superintendent Hulbert began service as local<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_236" id="page_236"></a>{236}</span> agent at West Point, -Georgia, in 1858, and with the exception of four years, during which -time he was in the war, has been continuously in the service of the -Southern Express Company ever since.</p> - -<p>“To give some idea of the magnitude of the Southern Express Company’s -business, it is only necessary to say that should their employees, with -their families and others dependent for their living upon services -rendered to this great enterprise, move to the State of Nevada, and the -present population of that State should leave it, Nevada would have a -much larger population than she has at present. In other words, the -officers and employees of the Southern Express Company who are in -Atlanta to-day represent a larger number of citizens of this country -than do the two United States Senators who represent the State of Nevada -in the upper House of Congress. Again, the amount of money invested in -horses, wagons, etc., is simply fabulous, while their stationery bill -for one year would make a man independently wealthy.</p> - -<p>“The business of the company must necessarily be enormous to support and -justify such an expense. It consists of forwarding freight, money, and -valuables of all descriptions by the fastest passenger trains, in charge -of special messengers. As forwarders of money, bonds, and valuables, -they successfully compete with the government mail service. Absolute<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_237" id="page_237"></a>{237}</span> -safety is guaranteed in all transactions, and in case of damage to, or -loss of goods, the delay, almost inevitable in government red tape, is -avoided.</p> - -<p>“THE HANDSOME EXHIBIT.</p> - -<p>“The Southern Express Company’s office on the Exposition grounds makes -one of the handsomest exhibits to be seen. It is not, however, -altogether for show, but the express business in all its branches is -conducted just as it is in the Atlanta office. The pretty, tasty little -office is doing a thriving business, if one can judge from the crowds -which are constantly about it. Mr. M. W. Wooding is in charge of the -Exposition office, and yesterday happily sustained the reputation which -he has earned of being a most delightful host. Mr. Wooding is an old -Atlanta boy, and has been with the Southern Express Company for the past -twelve years.</p> - -<p>“Among the well-known gentlemen who called yesterday at the express -office were: H. B. Plant, President, New York City, New York; M. J. -O’Brien, Vice-President and General Manager, New York City, New York; M. -F. Plant, Vice-President, New York City, New York; T. W. Leary, -Assistant General Manager, Chattanooga, Tennessee; C. L. Loop, Traffic -Manager, Chattanooga, Tennessee; G. H. Tilley, Secretary and Treasurer, -New York; F. J. Virgin, Auditor,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_238" id="page_238"></a>{238}</span> Chattanooga, Tennessee; -Superintendents—H. Dempsey, Augusta, Georgia; C. T. Campbell, -Chattanooga, Tennessee; O. M. Sadler, Charlotte, North Carolina; H. C. -Fisher, Nashville, Tennessee; G. W. Agee, Memphis, Tennessee; W. J. -Crosswell, Wilmington, North Carolina; C. L. Myers, Jacksonville, -Florida; V. Spalding, Roanoke, Virginia; C. A. Pardue, New Orleans, -Louisiana; Assistant Superintendent Mark J. O’Brien, Chattanooga, -Tennessee; Route Agents—J. B. Hockaday, Greenville, South Carolina; K. -C. Barrett, Florence, South Carolina; S. R. Golibart, Suffolk, Virginia; -P. B. Wilkes, Monroe, North Carolina; J. Cronin, Waycross, Georgia; John -Lovette, Atlanta, Georgia; W. C. Agee, Memphis, Tennessee; Agents—F. L. -Cooper, Savannah, Georgia; W. A. Dewes, Chattanooga, Tennessee; W. M. -Shoemaker, Montgomery, Alabama; F. M. Folds, Messenger, Montgomery, -Alabama.</p> - -<p>“It would not do to close this article without giving due meed of praise -to Daniel Davis, the urbane colored boy who, under the direction of Mr. -Wooding, dispensed ‘the hospitalities of the house’ in the most approved -and satisfactory manner.</p> - -<p>“Were we to record herein the numerous telegrams and letters of -congratulation received by Mr. Plant from his many friends who were -unable personally to be present in Atlanta, we would have to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_239" id="page_239"></a>{239}</span> publish a -second edition to retain a pamphlet form of this little volume. We must, -therefore, content ourselves with saying to one and all who so -thoughtfully remembered Mr. Plant on the occasion of his anniversary, -that their kindly sentiments were highly appreciated by him, and to each -and every one, through these columns, he returns his sincere thanks.</p> - -<p>“To our newspaper friends, who so kindly espoused our cause, prior to, -at the time of, and since the festivities in Atlanta, and who are always -ready to deal kindly by us, we return our thanks. To them we would most -heartily accord the space necessary in which to reprint all of the nice -things they have said of us, but for the same reason as given in the -foregoing paragraph, we must abbreviate. However, we feel that it is not -just to them or to ourselves entirely to ignore all quotations from -their columns, and with their permission we give below, in so far as our -limited edition will permit, some of the many pleasant references made -by our journalistic friends.</p> - -<p>“Among the many telegrams of congratulation received by Mr. H. B. Plant, -President of the Plant System, we give below two, together with copies -of Mr. Plant’s responses, which were omitted in our report of -proceedings in yesterday’s issue.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_240" id="page_240"></a>{240}</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="r"> -“<span class="lftspc">‘</span><span class="smcap">Montgomery, Alabama</span>, Oct. 28, 1895.<br /> -</p> - -<p class="nind"> -“<span class="lftspc">‘</span><span class="smcap">Henry B. Plant</span>, Atlanta, Georgia:<br /> -</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>Montgomery Division, No. 98, Order of Railway Conductors, tenders -you its heartiest congratulations. It is the uniform hope of all -its members that you may live to see many more years of such -usefulness and happiness, and that your every wish may be realized.</p> - -<p class="r"> -“<span class="lftspc">‘</span><span class="smcap">John C. Elliott</span>,<br /> -“<span class="lftspc">‘</span><span class="smcap">Chas. J. Read</span>,<br /> -“<span class="lftspc">‘</span><i>Committee</i>.’<br /> -</p></div> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="r"> -“<span class="lftspc">‘</span><span class="smcap">Atlanta, Georgia</span>, Oct. 29, 1895.<br /> -“<span class="lftspc">‘</span><span class="smcap">Jno. C. Elliott</span> and <span class="smcap">Chas. J. Read</span>, Committee,<br /> -No. 98, Order Railway Conductors, Montgomery,<br /> -Alabama:<br /> -</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>Of the many telegrams of congratulation I have received, none are -appreciated more than the one from you, as representatives of the -Order of Railway Conductors, and my best efforts in the future, as -in the past, will be to deserve the commendation of all members of -your order.</p> - -<p class="r"> -“<span class="lftspc">‘</span><span class="smcap">H. B. Plant.</span>’<br /> -</p></div> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="r"> -“<span class="lftspc">‘</span><span class="smcap">Tampa, Florida</span>, Oct. 27, 1895.<br /> -</p> - -<p class="nind"> -“<span class="lftspc">‘</span><span class="smcap">H. B. Plant</span>, Atlanta, Georgia:<br /> -</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>Recognizing in you a friend of Tampa and of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_241" id="page_241"></a>{241}</span> Florida, our city -congratulates you on this the anniversary of your birthday, and -indulges the hope that you may live to celebrate many others and to -reap the fruits of your labor and enterprise.</p> - -<p class="r"> -“<span class="lftspc">‘</span><span class="smcap">F. A. Salomonson</span>, Mayor.’<br /> -</p></div> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="r"> -“<span class="lftspc">‘</span><span class="smcap">Atlanta, Georgia</span>, Oct. 28, 1895.<br /> -</p> - -<p class="nind"> -“<span class="lftspc">‘</span><span class="smcap">F. A. Salomonson</span>, Mayor:<br /> -</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>I thank you personally, and through you the good people of Tampa -and Florida, for your hearty congratulations and well wishes. I -shall hope to celebrate many more anniversaries of my birthday, and -as each milestone is passed I trust we may all look back and see -that I have contributed in a measure to the interests of the good -people of your State and city.</p> - -<p class="r"> -“<span class="lftspc">‘</span><span class="smcap">H. B. Plant.</span>’<br /> -</p></div> - -<p class="c"> -“A REMARKABLE OVATION.<br /> -</p> - -<p>“President H. B. Plant, of the Plant System, was a happy man yesterday -when he looked into three thousand smiling faces at the Exposition -Auditorium and saw among them about one thousand five hundred of his -faithful employees, who were assembled to celebrate his seventy-sixth -birthday.</p> - -<p>“It was a rare tribute to a great and a good man. Probably no railway -president in the world could have commanded such an ovation.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_242" id="page_242"></a>{242}</span></p> - -<p>“Mr. Plant was overwhelmed with graceful attentions from his employees, -the Exposition directors, and our citizens generally. The day at the -Exposition was a celebration in his honor, and at night the directors -entertained him at a banquet.</p> - -<p>“It goes without saying that this tribute is worth more to Mr. Plant -than presents of silver and gold. It will touch his heart as nothing -else could. That he may long hold his honored place among us is the -earnest wish of all who know him.</p> - -<p class="c"> -“MR. PLANT AND THE NEGROES.<br /> -</p> - -<p>“In addition to what has been said of Mr. Plant and his great System, -the negroes are grateful for what he has done for them. There are over -two thousand negroes employed by Mr. Plant. A great number of them have -accumulated homes, educated their children, and have nice bank accounts, -and they all love him. He has contributed liberally to churches, -school-houses, and other negro enterprises; in fact, he has built -several institutions of learning for negroes. A number of negroes hold -positions of trust, with good pay attached, as is not the case with any -other system the size of his in the United States.</p> - -<p>“May the years of Mr. Plant’s usefulness in behalf of the South, colored -and white, be many more.”—Atlanta <i>Constitution</i>.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_243" id="page_243"></a>{243}</span></p> - -<p class="c"> -“HONORS TO MR. PLANT.<br /> -</p> - -<p>“Few men have done as much as Mr. H. B. Plant to develop the South, and -the <i>Journal</i> joins heartily in the tributes which are being paid to him -to-day.</p> - -<p>“He has reached the age of seventy-six with a record which any man might -envy, and we trust is good for many more years of usefulness. Mr. Plant -is the head of great corporations which have been of incalculable value -to the South. They have been so, not because they are rich and powerful, -but because, under his direction, they have been conducted on broad and -liberal lines. Mr. Plant’s policy has been to build up. His career -presents a splendid contrast to those of the railroad wreckers who have -enriched themselves at the expense of thousands of individual victims -and of great regions of the country.</p> - -<p>“Mr. Plant has used his power nobly. He has made it beneficial to -multitudes of his fellow-citizens, and has contributed immensely to the -general development of the South. As the president of a great railroad -system, of steamship lines, and of the Southern Express Company, and the -Texas Express Company, Mr. Plant enjoys, not only the kind regards of a -host of employees, but the respect and admiration of the public as well. -The many evidences which he receives to-day of the good-will and esteem -of his fellow-men must be exceedingly gratifying to him, but we are -justified in saying that seldom have<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_244" id="page_244"></a>{244}</span> tributes been more richly -deserved. We extend to Mr. Plant our cordial congratulations on his -seventy-sixth birthday, and hope that we shall have the pleasure of -seeing his honored and useful career continued for many years to come.</p> - -<p>“Mrs. H. B. Plant, the wife of the distinguished president of the Plant -System, is at the Aragon. She is a beautiful, cultured, travelled woman, -and as such receives everywhere the most flattering social attentions. -She will be the conspicuous social figure of this week, and several -brilliant affairs will be given in her honor. Mrs. Plant is one of the -New York Commissioners, and has proven her interest in Atlanta’s -Exposition in many satisfactory and assuring ways.”—Atlanta <i>Journal</i>.</p> - -<p>“A splendid banquet was tendered by the Southern Express Company to its -superintendents, route agents, and agents attending the Cotton States -and International Exposition, last evening in the Kimball House.</p> - -<p>“The occasion was a most happy one.</p> - -<p>“The banquet was held in honor of Plant Day—Mr. Plant being president -of the Southern Express Company.</p> - -<p>“Mr. T. W. Leary, the popular and genial assistant general manager of -the Southern Express Company, presided and acted as toast-master. In -this capacity<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_245" id="page_245"></a>{245}</span> he distinguished himself, and made some of the happiest -hits of the evening. The speeches were of the happiest character, and -befitted the occasion which they commemorated—the birthday of the -venerable president of the express company, who has done so much towards -the building up of this rich and powerful transportation company.</p> - -<p>“Among those who spoke were the following:</p> - -<p>“Mr. C. L. Loop, traffic manager of the Southern Express Company; Mr. H. -Dempsey, superintendent; Mr. H. O. Fisher, superintendent; Mr. G. W. -Agee, superintendent; Mr. V. E. McBee, general agent Seaboard Air Line; -Mr. J. L. McCollum, superintendent Nashville, Chattanooga, and St. Louis -Railway; Mr. F. H. Richardson, editor Atlanta <i>Journal</i>; Mr. C. S. -Gadsden, superintendent of the Plant System.</p> - -<p>“The entire occasion was marked by the greatest enthusiasm, and it will -be long remembered by those present. The following is a list of the -guests:</p> - -<p>“J. S. B. Thompson, assistant general superintendent Southern Railway; -V. E. McBee, general agent Seaboard Air Line; W. R. Beauprie, -superintendent Southern Railway; J. L. McCollum, superintendent -Nashville, Chattanooga, and St. Louis Railway; D. E. Maxwell, general -manager Florida Central and Peninsular Railway; L. M. Weathers, Memphis, -Tennessee; F. de C. Sullivan, E. M. Williams, George<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_246" id="page_246"></a>{246}</span> E. Carter, New -York; B. R. Swoope, Virginia; F. H. Richardson, Atlanta <i>Journal</i>, and -G. W. Haines, H. A. Ford, C. O. Parker, C. S. Gadsden, W. B. Denham, -Judge Brawley, of the Plant System; M. F. Echols, agent Southern Express -Company, Atlanta, Georgia; W. A. Dewees, agent Southern Express Company, -Chattanooga, Tennessee; F. L. Cooper, agent Southern Express Company, -Savannah, Georgia, and H. M. McCulloch, W. E. McGill, G. A. Wilkinson, -J. A. Cleary and F. M. Folds; C. L. Loop, traffic manager Southern -Express Company; H. Dempsey, superintendent; H. C. Fisher, -superintendent; C. T. Campbell, superintendent; O. M. Sadler, -superintendent; W. J. Crosswell, superintendent; G. W. Agee, -superintendent; C. L. Myers, superintendent; W. W. Hulbert, -superintendent; V. Spalding, superintendent; C. A. Pardue, -superintendent; J. C. Arnold, route agent; S. R. Golibart, route agent; -P. B. Wilkes, route agent; W. C. Agee, route agent; J. Cronin, route -agent; K. C. Barrett, route agent; John Lovette, route agent; H. E. -Williamson, route agent; J. B. Hockaday, route agent; W. M. Shoemaker, -agent Southern Express Company, Montgomery, Alabama.</p> - -<p>“The Exposition was crowded to-day with the employees of the Plant -System and the friends of Mr. H. B. Plant, the president of that System, -for it was Plant Day.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_247" id="page_247"></a>{247}</span></p> - -<p>“There is perhaps no more interesting figure in American business life -to-day than H. B. Plant, and his employees have for him that feeling of -love that is so rarely held by the employees of a great corporation for -its head. As an evidence of that love and kindly feeling the employees -gathered to-day to do him honor.”—Atlanta <i>Journal</i>.</p> - -<p>“The <i>Chronicle</i> publishes this morning an interesting sketch of Mr. -Henry B. Plant, by Mr. Clark Howell. The writer has a most excellent -subject for his theme, and he has handled it admirably. Than Mr. Henry -B. Plant there is not a better man to be found anywhere. Starting from -the plain people, unaided by the adventitious circumstances of birth or -wealth, he has, step by step, ascended the ladder of fame and fortune, -until he is now classed among the railroad magnates and the -multi-millionaires of the country. He has been the architect of his own -fortune, and he has done the work in the most artistic and substantial -manner. His work for Florida and the South cannot be exaggerated. He has -been one of the most potential factors in the upbuilding of this -section, and he is still full of hope and faith in the present and -future possibilities of the South. He knows thoroughly the advantages -which we possess, and he is enthusiastic for their full utilization. Mr. -Plant was for years<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_248" id="page_248"></a>{248}</span> a familiar figure in this community and a valued -citizen of Augusta.</p> - -<p>“Speaking of Mr. Plant yesterday, one of our prominent citizens observed -that he had the remarkable gift of always selecting the right man for -the right place. He is a capital judge of human nature. His life has -been a most exemplary and laborious one. He is the personification of -kindness and courtesy in his intercourse with his fellow-citizens, and -his consideration for his employees is most marked.</p> - -<p>“Monday was set apart by the Cotton States Exposition in honor of Mr. -Plant. This recognition of his services to the South is well deserved. -In his case it is an honor most worthily bestowed. At the age of -seventy-six, Mr. Plant possesses a sound mind in a sound body. Long may -he live to continue his good work for Florida and the South, and to -wield his influence for good among his fellow-men.”—Augusta -<i>Chronicle</i>.</p> - -<p>“The employees of the Plant System, who went to the Cotton States and -International Exposition on the invitation of President Plant, returned -yesterday very much gratified with their visit. And Mr. Plant was very -greatly pleased to meet them at the Exposition. The occasion was the -celebration of Mr. Plant’s seventy-sixth birthday.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_249" id="page_249"></a>{249}</span></p> - -<p>“Mr. Plant is still a very vigorous man. His mental faculties are as -bright and keen as they ever were. He looks back on a long life of great -activity and usefulness. He has built up a splendid monument to himself -in the Plant Railway and Steamship System. All his life he has been a -builder—never a wrecker. And the speech he delivered to his employees -on Monday shows that he has a just appreciation of the relations he -holds to the public.</p> - -<p>“No man has contributed more to the building up of the South than Mr. -Plant. The country tributary to his lines of railroad presents an -appearance vastly different from what it did a quarter of a century ago. -There are thousands of comfortable homes now where there was then only a -wilderness. Plant Day was a feature of the Exposition, as the Plant -System is a feature of the South.”—Savannah <i>Morning News</i>.</p> - -<p>“On this, the seventy-sixth anniversary of his birthday, we extend our -wishes to Mr. H. B. Plant, the head of the great system of railways -which bears his name. Long life and happiness to him.”—The <i>Bulletin</i>, -Savannah, Georgia.</p> - -<p>“The ceremonies attending the anniversary of Mr. Plant’s birthday -yesterday in Atlanta were very imposing. There was a large crowd on -hand, and Mr. Plant responded in a very feeling and appropriate<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_250" id="page_250"></a>{250}</span> speech. -There was a feeling and eloquent address by Judge Falligant. One of the -gems of the occasion was the excellent letter of Capt. D. G. -Purse.”—Savannah <i>Press</i>.</p> - -<p>“To-day is a great one in Atlanta. The Plant System celebration of the -birthday of its great founder is perhaps the most remarkable event of -its kind that ever occurred in this country. It marks the beginning of a -distinctive era in progress—when the men who are leaders in material -progress are recognized and honored as public benefactors. While Florida -is under vast obligations to statesmen of the past and present, to the -heroes of several wars, to the pioneers who redeemed its lands to the -plow and hoe—it is not too much to say that the present generation owes -fully as much to the group of men who, having acquired large means -elsewhere, are expending and investing them in developing the resources -and advertising the resources of the State. And it is not overstating -the case to say that to no one on this list belongs so much credit as to -Henry B. Plant. He was the first, as he is to-day the leader, to see the -good points of our soil and climate, and to bring them to the notice of -the world. To him, and to his unwavering attachment to Florida, is due, -to a preponderating extent, the surprising and persistent growth of the -State. No pretense is made that he<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_251" id="page_251"></a>{251}</span> has done it all, but he led the way -and set the pace, and it is a pleasure to the intelligent and -fair-minded people of Florida to hold him in high esteem, and to testify -to it. As long ago as 1853, Mr. Plant saw and appreciated Florida, and -from that day to this he has been its unflinching friend. He has been -the direct agency for the investment of many millions of dollars here, -and the indirect cause of its duplication by others. He deserves the -honors and compliments that are paid him, and more.”—Tampa <i>Times</i>.</p> - -<p>“The birthday of Henry B. Plant, head of the Plant Railway System and of -the Southern Express Company, was yesterday celebrated in fine and -appropriate style at the Atlanta Exposition. It was Plant System Day. -Mr. Plant deserves such recognition. He has done much for the South, the -section of his adoption. He has brought a great deal of capital and -enterprise into the section, and built up important conveniences that -have proven highly profitable to the Southern country and people. No one -man has done more for the advancement of the South’s material -development. He was seventy-six yesterday, but looks twenty years -younger, in spite of the big load of care and the big amount of work he -has done in the last fifty years. Long may he live to enjoy the fruits -and honors of his good works.”—<i>Daily Times</i>, Chattanooga.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_252" id="page_252"></a>{252}</span></p> - -<p>“The west coast of Florida, Alabama, and the portions of the country -around the Plant System in Georgia, sent thousands of people to the -Atlanta Exposition for the celebration of Plant System Day at the -Exposition. They have been coming on special trains since yesterday -morning. To-day Mr. H. B. Plant celebrated his seventy-sixth birthday, -and to-day is Plant System Day at the Exposition. Officials and -employees from all the railway, steamship, and express lines controlled -by Mr. Plant, and numbering nearly 5000 men, are here to celebrate the -day. The public exercises occurred in the Auditorium, and the Plant -System people were welcomed by Mayor King. Mr. Plant made a response to -the welcome.”—New Orleans <i>Times-Democrat</i>.</p> - -<p>“The following invitation for last Monday the <i>Marine Journal</i> regretted -very much not having been able to accept:</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>The Cotton States and International Exposition, Atlanta, Ga., having -designated October 28, 1895, as Plant System Day, the officers and -employees of the system will meet there to commemorate the birthday of -their president, Mr. Henry B. Plant. You are invited to be present.’</p> - -<p>“Advices from Atlanta since Monday announce that the event was a -brilliant success, as befitted such an occasion. Mr. Plant was weighed -down with congratulations, both personal, telegraphic, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_253" id="page_253"></a>{253}</span> by mail, and -presented himself in such an excellent state of health and enjoyment -that no one would have imagined he had so far passed the regulation -threescore years and ten as the day commemorated. Mr. Plant saw much -that must have deeply gratified him on the occasion, not only the result -of his own labor and enterprise, but in the encouraging presentation of -things that give evidence of such a restored measure of prosperity -throughout the South as only men like himself, who have worked so hard -to accomplish such a happy state of affairs, can thoroughly appreciate. -The recognition of the Plant System in such an auspicious manner by the -management of the Atlanta Exposition was a fitting testimonial to the -prominent part that the System is recognized to hold in conducing to the -well-being of the South, not only from a commercial point of view, but -from the excellent reputation among the best classes of people that must -necessarily attach to the places where the Plant hotels for winter -tourists are situated. Thus the day became a fitting compliment to the -true worth of the founder and president of the Plant System and an -additional ray in the glory with which his deeds crown him in the -fulness of his days. Long may he enjoy it.”—<i>Marine Journal</i>.</p> - -<p>“To-day the anniversary of the birth of Mr. H. B. Plant, President of -the Plant System of Railroads<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_254" id="page_254"></a>{254}</span> and Steamships, the Southern Express -Company and the Plant Investment Company, is being celebrated by the -officers and attaches of these companies and friends of Mr. Plant at -Atlanta—principally by the Plant System men.</p> - -<p>“H. B. Plant is a remarkable man, and though well advanced in years, he -is just as active in business to-day as he was a half-century ago. -Thousands of his employees to-day assemble to pay tribute to his worth -as a man; besides, thousands of acquaintances and admirers extend their -heartiest congratulations.</p> - -<p>“No better place or time for such celebration could be had than at the -Atlanta Exposition, where is another, and the latest, monument to Mr. -Plant’s worth as a developer and as a man of enterprise and genius. The -building and the exhibits there of the Plant System are similar to his -good works all over the country, and every Floridian, South Carolinian, -Georgian, and Alabamian must feel proud of these representatives of the -products and enterprise of their States collected and displayed to such -an advantage by the great System that benefits the States.</p> - -<p>“The best men in Florida acknowledge H. B. Plant as one of the State’s -truest friends, and willingly in heart, if not in person, join in doing -him honor on this, his seventy-sixth birthday, and all<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_255" id="page_255"></a>{255}</span> hope he may be -spared many more years to the grateful people.”—Jacksonville -<i>Metropolis</i>.</p> - -<p>“The reception given to the venerable president of the great Plant -System of hotels in Florida on Monday, October 28, at Atlanta, was a -deserved recognition of the work he has done in developing Florida and, -indirectly, the whole South.”—New York <i>Hotel Register</i>.</p> - -<p>“As a rule, men of large interests are charmingly simple and unaffected -in manner, and this is eminently true of H. B. Plant, President of the -famous Plant System Railway and Steamship Lines, a millionaire, and the -controlling power of three great hotels, the Tampa Bay, the Seminole at -Winter Park, and the Inn at Port Tampa, all in Florida.</p> - -<p>“Mr. Plant resides in New York much of the time, in an elegant home, but -is also to be found a good deal in Florida, while he takes trips to -Jamaica and other places where he has business to transact.</p> - -<p>“Personally, he is a delightful conversationalist, and remarkably young -for his years, which are not few. He is quite up to date in every way, -and never lets a business chance go by him. The magnitude of his orders -may be understood from the fact that he has recently given an order at -Newport News for the largest coastwise steamer ever built,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_256" id="page_256"></a>{256}</span> 440 feet in -length, and having every comfort and modern arrangement for safety. He -is deeply interested in the Cotton States and International Exposition, -and has a building of his own at the grounds, with a comprehensive -exhibit.”—New Haven <i>Evening Register</i>.</p> - -<p class="c"> -“THE ATLANTA EXPOSITION.<br /> -</p> - -<p>“We hardly think the Northern Press has been as generous in its good -offices to the Southern Exposition as it might. We have just returned -from a visit to Atlanta, and were delighted with the beautiful landscape -order of the grounds, the large and elegant buildings, and, above all, -the wonderful exhibits they contained. The farm products will astonish -our Northern visitors. Canned fruits and garden produce are varied, -numerous, and luxuriant. The manufactures, especially of cotton, were -very fine, and their machinery equal to the best in the country—was so -pronounced by the Manufacturers’ Committee from the New England States. -The Art Building; is a model of artistic taste and elegance. The -Industrial Building, in which France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, -and other nations are represented would require an entire day to -explore. The minerals, fossils, photo plates, gold and silver ores, -coal, salts, lime, and peculiar clays found in the Southern States, will -repay close inspection. I saw beautiful<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_257" id="page_257"></a>{257}</span> china made from a white clay -found in Florida only four months ago; also great blocks of salt as they -were taken from the mine, that needed only to be crushed to fit them for -immediate use.</p> - -<p>“One of the things that has given a great uplift to the Cotton States -has been the improvement of its railroads. A quarter of a century ago -these were in a very depressed condition, crippled, bankrupt, and -unremunerative, and about this time, H. B. Plant, of New York, -interested Northern capitalists in them, bought, combined, reorganized, -and improved them in every way, adding steamboat lines to the West -Indies, and perfecting an express system unsurpassed in any part of the -country, for the whole South. This so increased travel to the South, -especially in the winter season, by health-seekers and pleasure-seekers, -that better hotel accommodations were demanded. These were soon -provided, at a large outlay, giving the South, especially Florida, the -finest hotels in the world. St. Augustine, Palm Beach, and Tampa Bay, -especially the latter, are unsurpassed for healthful, comfortable, and -luxuriant appointments. Hence, Plant Day was one of the great days of -the Exposition, when some two thousand of the more than twelve thousand -employees of the Plant System came to do honor to the man who had done -so much for the Southern section of our country. Receptions, addresses, -silver cup, compass, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_258" id="page_258"></a>{258}</span> flowers, and a grand banquet in the evening at -the Aragon Hotel, were cordially tendered to this benefactor of the -Cotton States. Labor and capital clasped hands in the most friendly -accord, and this problem of the age was here solved, where peace and -good-will abounded among these men. We saw the man of war, the admiral -of the fleet at Hampton Roads, pay his respects to this man of peace, -whose guest we were, and whose power for good has been so widely felt in -our land.”—<span class="smcap">An East Orange Dominie</span>, <i>East Orange Gazette</i>, East Orange, -New Jersey.</p> - -<p class="c"> -“EXPOSITION ECHOES.<br /> -</p> - -<p>“Mr. A. B. Wrenn, special agent of the Southern Pacific, who has been in -Atlanta for the past few days, returned to the city yesterday, and gives -a glowing account of the Exposition. He says that the number of people -who visited the great show on President’s Day was something over 78,000, -and that on Atlanta Day the number will be considerably more.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>One of the prettiest sights I saw while in Atlanta,’ said Mr. Wrenn, -‘was that of the thousands of the employees of the Plant System, when -Plant Day was celebrated. Mr. H. B. Plant, president and owner of the -Plant System of railroads, gave the thousands of his employees, who -could possibly get<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_259" id="page_259"></a>{259}</span> off duty, a free trip to the Fair, and on Plant Day -there were several thousands of them present. A grand reception was -given, and section bosses, freight agents, clerks, and even negro -laborers who worked on the sections, were given an opportunity of -shaking hands with Mr. Plant, who is now an elderly gentleman. Mr. Plant -made a speech and expressed his satisfaction at meeting so many of his -men, and the affair passed off most pleasantly.’</p> - -<p>“Mr. Wrenn says that the Exposition is well worth seeing.”—<i>Daily -Picayune</i>, New Orleans, Louisiana.</p> - -<p class="c"> -“THE ATLANTA EXPOSITION.<br /> -<br /> -“BY THE REV. GEORGE H. SMYTH, D.D.<br /> -</p> - -<p>“Coming so soon after the great Exposition at Chicago,—the greatest the -world has ever seen,—and considering the general depression of the -country, and the short time taken for preparation, the Exposition of the -Cotton States, at Atlanta, Georgia, is a marvel. The terraced ground, -selected and laid out with such beautiful landscape effect, the -architectural designs of the buildings, the artistic skill displayed in -locating them, together with the drives, walks, ponds, fountains, lawns, -and ornamentations of the whole Fair grounds, reflect great credit on -the committee of distinguished gentlemen who had the matter in charge, -and who spared neither pains nor expense to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_260" id="page_260"></a>{260}</span> make the Exposition a great -success. Atlanta alone contributed $1,000,000 to the enterprise.</p> - -<p>“Plant Day was the great day of the Fair thus far. It was set apart by -the Committee of Management in honor of Henry B. Plant, who has done so -much for the progress, prosperity, and welfare of the Southern States. -More than a quarter of a century has passed since he began his -patriotic, not to say philanthropic, work of uplifting a prostrate -section of our country. Up to this time the railroads of the Cotton -States were poor, crippled, and some of them bankrupt. In 1879, Mr. -Plant interested other capitalists in purchasing, reorganizing, and -improving the railroads of the South. He organized and perfected an -express system, steamboat system, railroad system—until now, the Plant -System, as it is called, embraces nearly two thousand miles of railway -lines and over twelve hundred miles of steamship lines. Of course, the -facilities for comfortable travel to and through the South brought the -health-seeker, the pleasure-seeker, investor, and permanent settler to -the South; and this influx of population continues with increasing -numbers each year. ‘To-day, the South is universally acknowledged to be -the most prosperous portion of the great Union, and that portion over -which the Plant System ramifies itself is known as the garden-spot. Mr. -H. B. Plant is the mainspring that moved the whole, and he is, in every<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_261" id="page_261"></a>{261}</span> -sense, a public benefactor.’ This is only the briefest intimation of the -reasons for Plant Day at the Exposition.</p> - -<p>“Sunday, October 27th, was Mr. Plant’s seventy-sixth birthday. I had the -pleasure of being one of a party of friends that filled his private car -in going to the Exposition, and occupied one of the large and elegant -rooms of his suite at the Aragon Hotel, Atlanta. On the morning of that -day a few gentlemen—and they were gentlemen in every sense of the -term—representing the more than twelve thousand employees of the Plant -System, adroitly entertained their president in his own room, while the -others took possession of his parlor. When everything was in readiness, -Mr. Plant and his guests were invited into the parlor. He was most -cordially greeted and congratulated on the seventy-sixth return of his -birthday. Then written addresses, couched in choice language, were read -from the three different departments—railroad, express, and -steamboat—of the Plant System, followed by presentation of flowers, of -a silver compass, suggesting the straight and upright course of his -life, and a silver cup, large and massive,—a ‘loving-cup,’—‘filled, -Mr. Plant, with the esteem, affection, and best wishes of your -associates and employees, to whom you have been a benefactor and -friend.’ Mr. Plant’s response was beautiful, tender, and touching, as -kindly eyes<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_262" id="page_262"></a>{262}</span> looked through their tears at this grand old man whom they -esteemed as a father.</p> - -<p>“Next day, the reception given Mr. Plant in the Auditorium, by the -employees of the Plant System, where addresses and resolutions of -appreciation, esteem, and gratitude for what he had done for the South, -were presented to him, was grand beyond description. In the evening of -the same day a banquet was tendered him at the Aragon Hotel by the -managers of the Exposition. Judges, lawyers, merchants, the mayor of -Atlanta, and a large company of distinguished gentlemen sat down to a -sumptuous repast. But it was ‘the feast of reason and the flow of -soul’—the eloquent and patriotic sentiments expressed in the -after-dinner speeches that gave this choice chapter of Plant Day its -chief significance and greatest charm. Never was Southern eloquence more -eloquent or tongues more fluent in giving forth the overflow of heart. -‘No North, no South, but one united, happy country—the land of the free -and the home of the brave.’</p> - -<p>“When, near the close, we were most unexpectedly called on for a speech, -what could we say but express the pleasure experienced in all we had -seen and enjoyed this whole day. We had witnessed the solution of the -greatest problem of the age, a problem that many say will never be -solved, that will yet bring on universal revolution. We had to-day seen<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_263" id="page_263"></a>{263}</span> -labor and capital—employer and employed—clasp hands in mutual sympathy -and most friendly accord. We had seen, everywhere we travelled in the -South, the Plant System men vie with each other in doing honor to their -chief. His presence was the signal for willing hands and happy faces in -any service they could render him. Men felt better for his presence. The -Czar of all the Russias might well envy this modest, quiet, Connecticut -man, the connecting link between North and South, the harmonizer of -differences, and the promoter of peace and good-will among men; and -around whom cluster the respect and manly affection of 12,000 employees -and many more thousands of invalids who find lost health travelling in -the luxuriant cars and dwelling in the luxuriant hotels of the Plant -System. Mr. Plant was first led to Florida in 1854 in search of health -for his invalid wife, whose life he believes was prolonged many years by -her residence in the soft, balmy air of this State. Travel then was so -uncomfortable, and hotel accommodations so poor, that he began to think -what could be done to improve both. Verily, ‘There is a divinity that -shapes our ends, rough hew them as we may,’ and well is it when our own -sufferings lead us to discover means of alleviating those of our -fellow-men.”—<i>The Christian Intelligencer</i>, New York.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_264" id="page_264"></a>{264}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVII" id="CHAPTER_XVII"></a><img src="images/ill_305.jpg" alt="[text decoration not available.]" /><br /> -CHAPTER XVII.</h2> - -<div class="blockquott"><p class="hang">Some Changes that have Taken Place in the Configuration of the -Globe—Islands Born and Buried—French Revolution—Napoleon’s -Influence on Europe—England’s Long Wars—Barbarous Treatment of -Prisoners—Slavery Abolished—English Profanity and -Intemperance—Temperance Movements—Duelling—Penny -Postage—Expansion of the Press—Canals, Erie and Suez—Railroads -in England and the United States—First Steamer to Cross the -Atlantic—First Steamship Line.</p></div> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">T</span>HE changes that have taken place on the globe itself, and in its -inhabitants during the life of Mr. Plant, are varied, numerous, and -wonderful.</p> - -<p>The configuration of the earth has altered to a degree incredible to any -but those observant of such changes. Winchell has tabulated some of -these undulatory movements that have taken place along the Atlantic -shore line of the American continent and elsewhere. “At St. Augustine, -in Florida, the stumps of cedar trees stand beneath the hard beach -shell-rock, immersed in water at the lowest tides. Some of the sounds -upon the coast of North Carolina, which have been navigable within the -memory of living sea-captains, are now impassable bars, or emerging -sand-flats. Along the coast of New Jersey the sea has encroached, within -sixty years, upon the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_265" id="page_265"></a>{265}</span> sites of former habitations, and entire forests -have been prostrated by the inundation. In the harbor of Nantucket the -upright stumps of trees are found eight feet below the lowest tide, with -their roots still buried in their native soil.” Similar ruins of ancient -submarine forests occur on Martha’s Vineyard, and on the north side of -Cape Cod, and again at Portland. In the region of the Saint Croix River, -separating Maine from New Brunswick, the coast has been raised, carrying -deposits of recent shells and sea-weeds, in one instance, to the height -of twenty-eight feet above the present surface of the sea. The island of -Grand Manan, off the mouth of the Saint Croix River, is slowly rotating -on an axis, so that, while the south side is gradually dipping beneath -the waves, the north is lifted into high bluffs. Near the River St. John -is an area of twenty square miles containing marine shells and plants -recently elevated from the sea. One hundred and fifty miles east of this -place, the shore is experiencing a subsidence.</p> - -<p>The north side of Nova Scotia is sinking, while the south is rising, -insomuch that breakers now appear off the southern coast in places -safely navigable in years gone by. The ancient city of Louisburg, on the -island of Cape Breton, is another testimony to the uneasy condition of -the land. This place was once the stronghold of France in America, and -one<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_266" id="page_266"></a>{266}</span> of the finest harbors in the world. It was well fortified and had a -population of twenty thousand souls within its walls.</p> - -<p>It was destroyed during the French and Indian War, and the inhabitants -dispersed, but Nature had herself ordained its abandonment. The rock on -which the brave General Wolfe landed has nearly disappeared. The sea now -flows within the walls of the city, and sites once inhabited have become -the ocean’s bed. In 1822, the entire coast of Chili was elevated to a -height varying from two to seven feet, an area equal to that of New -England and New York, having been lifted up bodily. In 1831, an island, -since called Graham’s Island, sprang from the bed of the Mediterranean -between Sicily and the site of ancient Carthage. The island is now but a -sunken reef. Another island, as recently as 1866, rose from the bottom -of the Grecian Archipelago, before the very eyes of the American Consul, -Mr. Chanfield, bearing upon its slimy back fragments of wrecks that had -been sunken in the little harbor of Santorin.</p> - -<p>“An island in the Missouri River, broken into fragments and washed away, -was the unusual spectacle witnessed by the people of Atchison, Kansas. -For years an island of 600 or 700 acres has been one of the attractions -of Atchison. It was as fertile as a garden, and was known all over the -West for<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_267" id="page_267"></a>{267}</span> the excellence of the celery, asparagus, sweet potatoes and -melons it produced. It had the appearance of a veritable oasis in a -desert, and its green shrubbery, generous shade trees, velvet lawns, and -cool spring, were a perpetual joy. Upon this island a shooting club had -a home, and the base-ball enthusiasts had their grounds, and grandstand. -Altogether, it was a most pleasant resort. In a single night this island -was dissolved into fragments.</p> - -<p>“The big June rise in the Missouri River struck it, and to-day it is -only a reminiscence. What was Kansas’s loss, however, was Missouri’s -gain. With the obliteration of the island the current left the Missouri -shore and struck hard against the Kansas bluffs. The result of this is -that the Missouri banner has been planted a mile westward, and hundreds -of acres of rich bottom land have been added to its domain, while Kansas -mourns the loss of its green island and pleasant park.”</p> - -<p>The wonderful changes going on in the configuration of England are -recorded in a well-known London paper (<i>Tit-Bits</i>) in the following -words:</p> - -<p>“Is England disappearing? Readers may pucker up their lips and ejaculate -‘Absurd!’ but facts, nevertheless, remain and show pretty clearly that -England is positively disappearing, and may in years to come be marked -on the map as a vanished isle.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_268" id="page_268"></a>{268}</span></p> - -<p>“On the coast the sea is encroaching upon the land at an astonishing -rate. Seaside towns and villages, holiday resorts, are gradually being -eaten up and the inhabitants driven inland. In many parts the sea runs -up on a beach which was once far inland. In other cases churches which -were at one time far from the sea now stand at the edge of cliffs and -have the sea lapping almost at their doors.</p> - -<p>“The Goodwin sands, about five miles off the coast of Kent, were at one -time a portion of the mainland itself and the property of Earl Goodwin. -But the sea has swallowed them up.</p> - -<p>“The coast of Norfolk is minus three villages which it once -possessed—Shipden, Eccles, and Wimpwell—all of which have been taken -into the arms of the encroaching ocean. The Cromer of to-day stands -miles inland of the original Cromer.</p> - -<p>“Auburn and Harlburn, two Yorkshire villages, once promised to develop -into seaport towns of considerable importance; but, like the will of -Canute, the will of the inhabitants of these villages was ignored by the -rising sea, and Auburn and Harlburn now exist in mere names and -sand-banks.</p> - -<p>“Dunwich, on the coast of Suffolk, is gradually being swallowed up. -Every now and then the inhabitants move a distance inland, rebuild their -houses and shops and wait patiently and philosophically for the next -“notice to quit” from the sea.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_269" id="page_269"></a>{269}</span> Many other seaside places have suffered -or are suffering a similar fate.</p> - -<p>“It may be argued, on the other hand, that some seaside towns are -gradually becoming inland towns by the failure of the sea to ‘come up to -the mark,’ and running out only to run in for a shorter distance. -Winchelsea, Sandwich, Rye, and Southport are all suffering in this way. -Winchelsea and Rye were originally two of our cinque ports, but the sea -has left them standing high and dry. Sandwich was once a highly -important seaport town. It now stands two or three miles inland.</p> - -<p>“The sea is leaving Southport quite in the lurch—so much so indeed that -the inhabitants have had to sink extensive lakes down on the beach to -keep the sea from running off altogether and leaving merely an ordinary -inland town.</p> - -<p>“But the extension of our island in this way is very much less than the -encroachment of the sea at other points, and while our land is certainly -becoming more extensive in one direction, it is contracting, and with -much greater rapidity, in some other. And the ultimate effect may be -that our mountain peaks may form small islands, and eventually be -pointed out by posterity as ‘the position in which Great Britain is -reputed to have stood.’<span class="lftspc">”</span></p> - -<p>The nineteenth has been the most remarkable century in the world’s -history. It was the most<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_270" id="page_270"></a>{270}</span> destructive and wasteful of life and property -in the early part of its career, and in the latter half has been the -most constructive and uplifting to the human race of any of the past -centuries. The population of all Europe at the beginning of the century -numbered one hundred and seventy millions, of whom four millions were -engaged in the murderous work of war. The demoralization of society and -the miseries inflicted on the people by these wars are beyond the power -of pen to describe. France had an absolute monarchy. “The King held in -his hands the unquestioned right to dispose, at his will, of the lives -and property of the people. He was the sole legislator. His own pleasure -was his only rule. He levied taxes, asking no consent of those who had -to pay. He sent to prison men with no crime laid to their charge, and -kept them there, without trial, till they died.” Political corruption -was rampant. For sixty years the court of Louis XV. had festered in the -most filthy debauchery. Then followed the bloody Revolution, -unparalleled in history. The guillotine, worn out with its butchery of -more than a million lives stood idle, and peace—rather, the lull of an -unfinished storm, for a time rested upon unhappy France. Then the -tumultuous hurricane burst out anew in the wars of Napoleon, which -terminated only at Waterloo in 1815.</p> - -<p>“The influence which Napoleon exerted upon the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_271" id="page_271"></a>{271}</span> course of human -affairs,” says McKenzie, “is without a parallel in history. Never before -had any man inflicted upon his fellows miseries so appalling; never -before did one man’s hand scatter seeds destined to produce a harvest of -change so vast and so beneficient. It was he who roused Italy from her -sleep of centuries and led her towards that free and united life which -she at length enjoys. It was he, who by destroying the innumerable petty -states of Germany, inspired the dream of unity which it has required -more than half a century to fulfil.” The progress made by these two -countries during the century, in liberty, education, and all that -conduces to the welfare of the individual and the strength of the -nation, has been great beyond precedent.</p> - -<p>England has perhaps outstripped all other nations in the advancement she -has made during this period of the world’s greatest progress. Her long -and terrible wars with France and her allies had wasted her people and -depleted her treasury. Taxes were enormous, food was high, wages low, -and work scarce. The introduction of machinery in some departments -reduced hand-labor a hundred-fold. The power loom threw thousands of -people out of employment. England was badly governed. The laws were all -made in the interests of the rich. Multitudes of the poor were famine -stricken, one in eight being fed on charity, and many died of -starvation.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_272" id="page_272"></a>{272}</span> Hunger maddens men, and hence crime abounded. Laws, -numerous and terrible, were enacted for its prevention and punishment. -Capital offences numbered two hundred and twenty-three. Some of the -offences were ridiculous trifles. If a man appeared disguised in public, -cut down young trees, shot rabbits, or stole property worth a dollar and -a quarter, he was at once hanged. The treatment of prisoners was most -barbarous. Young and old of both sexes were huddled together like -cattle. Vermin, filth, and starvation were the common lot of all. John -Howard and Elizabeth Fry inaugurated reforms in the interests of the -prisoners that have since engaged the thought and effort of the best men -and women of the nation.</p> - -<p>War was carried on in the most cruel and brutal manner. Conscription and -the press gang forced men from their families, and from peaceful -occupation, and drove them to an unwilling military or naval, bloody -field-servitude. Five hundred lashes was no uncommon punishment for some -trifling offence. “The men who applied the torture were changed at short -intervals, lest the punishment should be at all mitigated by their -fatigue. The doctor stood by to say how much the victim could bear -without dying. When that point was reached, he was taken down and -carried to the hospital, to be brought back for the balance of his -punishment when<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_273" id="page_273"></a>{273}</span> his wounds were healed. There is record of a soldier -sentenced to one thousand lashes, seven hundred of which were actually -inflicted. In the Crimean war two thousand six hundred British soldiers -were killed, while eighteen thousand died in hospital of wounds and -disease.”</p> - -<p>Scientific skill directed by generous-hearted Christian philanthropy has -now mitigated these horrors, reducing them almost to a minimum. The same -may be said of the brutality endured by women and little children -working in mines from twelve to sixteen hours a day.</p> - -<p>Slavery, which was almost universal at the beginning of the century, has -been abolished. Forty millions in Russia, four millions in the United -States, and many more millions in other lands have been made free.</p> - -<p>Nor has this freedom been confined to the chattel slave. The courts of -Europe were debauched beyond description. Even in England among the -higher classes, “the supreme crowning evidence that an entertainment had -been successful was not given till the guests dropped one by one from -their chairs, to slumber peacefully on the floor till the servants -removed them.”</p> - -<p>The temperance movement belongs to our present century, and while it has -not yet accomplished all that could be desired, it has done much to -lessen<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_274" id="page_274"></a>{274}</span> some of the grossest evils of society, and is full of promise -for final triumph. The first temperance society was only eleven years -old when the subject of this biography was born. It was organized in -April, 1808, at Morean, Saratoga County, New York, with forty-three -members. The American Temperance Society was formed at Boston, February, -1826, and, in 1829, the New York State Temperance Society, which in less -than a year had one thousand local societies with a hundred thousand -members. Soon the movement extended to the Old World, and a society was -formed at New Ross, County Wexford, Ireland, and within a year sixty -other societies were formed in different parts of the country. The -Father Mathew crusade began in 1838, and it resulted in the enrollment -of one million eight hundred thousand men and women in the temperance -cause. The wave spread to Scotland, England, Wales, and the Continent. -The Washington movement, started at Baltimore in 1840, doubtless -advanced the cause of temperance in our country, half a million having -signed the pledge. The great progress made in this direction is seen not -so much in the number of temperance societies as in the fact that while -there is difference of opinion as to the moderate use of wines and -liquors, there is but one opinion among respectable people as to the -immoderate use, and any one indulging in orgies such as those<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_275" id="page_275"></a>{275}</span> to which -we have alluded would be excluded from all participation in decent -society. No man of standing in good society glories in the shame of -beastly intoxication; multitudes do not use liquor at all, and many -others use it only as a medicine or aid to health.</p> - -<p>The duel was made a legal way of settling disputes between gentlemen, -and even, “Fox, Pitt, Castlereagh, Canning, O’Connell, and Wellington, -had all attempted the slaughter of a foe.”</p> - -<p>Profanity was almost universal. “Erskine swore at the bar. Lord Thurlow -swore on the bench. The King swore incessantly. Ladies swore orally and -in their letters. The chaplain cursed the sailors, because it made them -listen more attentively to his admonition.” Obscene books were exposed -for sale by the side of bibles and prayer-books.</p> - -<p>Education was limited in its range and extent, and only the more wealthy -could enjoy its benefits. In 1818, more than one half the children in -England were without school advantages. In manufacturing districts, -forty per cent. of the men and sixty-five per cent. of the women could -not write their own names.</p> - -<p>Penny postage, first proposed by Rowland Hill in 1837, adopted by Act of -Parliament in 1839, and followed since then by every civilized country -in the world, has proved to be a great adjunct in the education of the -people.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_276" id="page_276"></a>{276}</span></p> - -<p>The freedom and expansion of the press during this century have also -been a great power for the enlightenment of mankind. True, it has not -been an unmixed good, but let us hope the good has been, and will -continue to be in the ascendant.</p> - -<p>Canals, before the days of railroads and steamships, did much for the -transportation of merchandise and intercommunication of the people. The -Erie Canal, 363 miles in length, commenced in 1817, and finished in -1825, is said to have been one of the first impulses given to New York -City in its ascendancy over every other city in the United States. On -account of its great cost many of the people were opposed to it; “but in -1866, it was ascertained that besides enlarging many of the principal -cities, and adding to the comfort and wealth of nearly all the people of -the State, it had returned into the public treasury $23,500,000 above -all its cost, including principle, interest, repairs, and -superintendence.”</p> - -<p>In this same year, 1825, New York City was first lighted, partially -only, with gas.</p> - -<p>The Suez Canal, opened in 1870, was used by only 486 vessels, with a -total net tonnage of 436,609, but its use was steadily increased, until -in 1891, it rose to 8,698,777. When the canal was opened, it had cost -$100,000,000, that is, $1,000,000 a mile, and since then $40,000,000 -more have been expended in improvements. These are large amounts,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_277" id="page_277"></a>{277}</span> but -the canal pays annually from $4,000,000 to $5,000,000 over the interest -of its bonded debt.</p> - -<p>The introduction of railroads into England and the United States marks a -great era in the progress of these two nations, not to say that of the -whole world, though the event is of comparatively recent date, as the -following account taken from a recent issue of the New York <i>Tribune</i> -goes to show:</p> - -<p>“The Chicago <i>Record</i> says that Edward Entwistle who has lived in Des -Moines, Iowa, for forty years, ran the first passenger engine. He was -born at Tilsey’s Banks, Lancashire, England, in 1815, and was -apprenticed to the Duke of Bridgewater, who had large machine shops at -Manchester. The first railroad for general passenger and freight -business was completed in 1831, between Manchester and Liverpool, a -distance of thirty-one miles. The Rocket, the first locomotive or -passenger engine, was built under the direction and according to the -plans of George Stephenson, in the works where young Entwistle was -serving as an apprentice. Stephenson engaged Entwistle as his assistant -in the engine. The line being opened for general traffic, young -Entwistle was put in charge of the Rocket, and for two years made two -round trips every day between Liverpool and Manchester, one in the -forenoon and the other in the afternoon. He came to this country in -1837.”<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_278" id="page_278"></a>{278}</span></p> - -<p>When Mr. Plant was nine years old, there were only three miles of -railroad in the United States. They were completed in 1827. Now there -are 173,453 miles, and the speed of trains has been increased from ten -miles an hour to more than seventy miles. The sleeping-and parlor-cars -have made travel one of the great luxuries of this most luxuriant -century. The first ocean steamer that crossed the Atlantic was the -<i>Savannah</i>, which made the trip to Europe in the year 1819, the year Mr. -Plant was born, and in 1838, the first regular line of Atlantic steamers -was established.</p> - -<p class="c"><img src="images/ill_319.jpg" alt="[text decoration not available.]" /><br /> -</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_279" id="page_279"></a>{279}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVIII" id="CHAPTER_XVIII"></a><img src="images/ill_320.jpg" alt="[text decoration not available.]" /><br /> - CHAPTER XVIII.</h2> - -<div class="blockquott"><p class="hang">Railroads Established—Engineering Progress—Steel, Iron -Steamships—Horse Railroad—Kerosene Oil in Use 1830—Sewing -Machines—Agricultural Implements 1831-51—Sanitary -Progress—Philanthropic and Christian Progress—Higher -Education—Medical Progress—Humane Care of the Insane—Sailors’ -and Seamen’s Home—World’s Fairs—Religious -Reciprocity—Arbitration—Numerous Inventions and -Discoveries—Concluding Remarks.</p></div> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">E</span>NGINEERING skill has greatly improved, and by its daring achievements -has added much to the progress of the world during the last forty years. -This is seen in the construction of railroads of vast dimensions, four -of which span our own continent, and stretch over vast prairies, deep -chasms, and great rivers, penetrating through the Rocky Mountains, -seemingly impassable as they rear their snow-capped peaks to the clouds. -The Mont Cenis Tunnel connecting the railways of France and Italy, on -the direct railway route from Paris to Turin, is a marvel of engineering -skill. It is seven miles, four and three fourths furlongs in length. -Fourteen years passed during its construction, and it cost about six -millions and a half of dollars. It was begun in 1857 and completed in -1871. The Saint Gothard Tunnel<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_280" id="page_280"></a>{280}</span> which runs through a section of the Alps -to Italy, six thousand feet below the top of these mountains, is another -great achievement of engineering daring. The work consumed ten years’ -time, the labor of over three thousand men daily, and cost over eleven -millions of dollars. The Sutro tunnel, in our own Rocky Mountains, was -another grand feat of mechanical progress during the last half of the -century.</p> - -<p>In 1830, the first steel pen was made and the first iron steamship was -built. One year before this, the first lucifer match was made; and nine -years afterwards, envelopes were first used. In 1826, the first -horse-railroad was built, and kerosene oil was first used for lighting -purposes. In 1846, Howe’s sewing-machine was given to the public, but it -took eight years’ hard work to convince the public that the new -invention was of any great value. Many other sewing-machines have since -come into use, but all are modifications of Howe’s. They have -revolutionized the whole “make up” of men’s and women’s wearing apparel, -not to mention horse harness, upholstering, and all departments of life -where fine stitching is called for. The delicate services of this -wonderful machine have increased certain industries a thousandfold, -though at first, like all other improved methods of work, it was -supposed to be the destroyer of these industries, and to bring untold -miseries upon all who lived by the needle. The manufacture of these -machines,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_281" id="page_281"></a>{281}</span> sales, and repairs have employed tens of thousands of people, -and added millions to the wealth of a nation; to say nothing of the -comfort and betterment of the life of the people.</p> - -<p>Agriculture has made great strides during the last half century by -reason of the increasing use of scientific methods. Rotation of crops -and artificial manures have preserved the land from exhaustion and -maintained it at a high power of production. Machinery also has added -largely to the facilities for its cultivation. Ploughing, sowing, -reaping, threshing, and other machines have made it possible for the -farmer of comparatively limited means to produce immense quantities of -food for man and beast, so that starvation in almost any part of the -globe can be averted by the over-production in other parts. In 1855, at -a great trial of threshing-, reaping-, and mowing-machines in France, -the American machines gained a complete victory. In 1862, the United -States Government established the Agricultural Department at Washington. -Agricultural societies and colleges, in many of the States, have greatly -advanced this most important department of the nation’s strength. It is -as true now as when the wise Solomon spoke it, “The profit of the earth -is for all: the king himself is served by the field.” A better knowledge -of agricultural chemistry has contributed much to the more profitable -uses of the soil. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_282" id="page_282"></a>{282}</span> sanitary conditions of living have greatly -improved, especially among the poor, during the last half-century. -Underground sewerage in cities, drainage of swampy grounds, removal of -the cesspool which often poisoned the well which supplied the family for -cooking and drinking, and the introduction of pure water in abundance, -cleaner streets, and better homes for the working-classes, have lessened -the death rate about one half. From McKenzie we learn that “In 1842, the -average length of life among the gentry and professional men of London, -was forty-four years: in the laboring-class it was twenty-two years. -Filth and bad ventilation cost England more lives annually than she had -lost by death in battle or by wounds during the bloodiest year of her -history. The annual waste of adult life from causes which ought to be -removed was estimated at from thirty to forty thousand.” Food is -abundant and of great variety in our favored land, and the canning -industry supplies the luscious fruits of summer at low prices throughout -the entire year.</p> - -<p>One noteworthy feature of the progress of the last fifty years is that -it touches all classes; the workingman especially shares largely its -advantages. The general and rapid diffusion of knowledge, by means of -the greatly improved press, is one of the marvels of this most wonderful -age. The “Hoe” octuple press can print 96,000 copies of a newspaper<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_283" id="page_283"></a>{283}</span> per -hour, or 1600 every minute; the paper travels through the press at the -rate of 32½ miles an hour; is printed, pasted, cut, folded, counted, and -delivered in bundles of twenty-five, automatically. Three of these -presses would be able to print 748,000 eight-page sheets, equal to -forty-two tons per hour of printed matter.</p> - -<p>Mr. Plant might stand on the roof of his office at Twenty-third Street -in New York City, and say, “How changed is this city since I first saw -it when a boy.” It had no horse-cars, no trolley-cars, no cable-cars, no -elevated roads, no large hotels, no buildings of more than three stories -in height, few stores more than twenty-five feet wide. It had no -telegraph, telephone, phonograph, or electric lights,—only oil -lamps,—no asphalt pavements. No steam-cars, no photograph galleries, no -sewing-machines or type-writers, or bicycles, or horseless carriages, or -public baths. No time-lock safes, stem-winding watches. No submarine -cables, or Bessemer steel, or great suspension bridges. In 1820, the -population of New York City was only 123,706; now it is over a million -and a half. In the same time he has seen the population of the country -grow from 9,628,131, (of whom 1,528,064 were slaves) to upwards of -70,000,000, and he has seen the inauguration of nineteen of the -twenty-five Presidents of the United States. The territory of the United -States<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_284" id="page_284"></a>{284}</span> has nearly doubled during his lifetime, and its accumulated -wealth can hardly be measured during the same period. The development of -our coal mines, iron mines, gold and silver mines, oil wells, natural -gas stored up in the bowels of the earth—these, too, have made giant -strides. The great railroad industries of the country, furnishing work -for hundreds of thousands; the increase and enlargement of our -manufactories, the great cities that have been built, some of them -burned and rebuilt, as was the case with Boston, Portland, and Chicago; -all these have added to the enormous wealth of the nation. In 1831, a -dozen families around Fort Dearborn formed the nucleus of the present -city of Chicago. Minneapolis this summer removed its first house, built -in 1849, to a more convenient place, to be kept as an heirloom of that -city of phenomenal growth. With the increase of wealth, large fortunes -have been accumulated and have enabled their earners and owners to build -the large railroads which have done so much for the development and -progress of the country; to lay ocean cables, and work large mines, -providing work and wages for millions of men.</p> - -<p>The humane and philanthropic progress of this period is seen in the -reforms instituted in prisons. Up to the present century punishment for -crime seems to have been the leading idea of prison management.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_285" id="page_285"></a>{285}</span> -Instruction in the common-school elementary branches of education was -introduced with encouraging results. Then libraries were established, -and moral and religious instruction tended greatly to the reformation of -the criminal. Wholesome rules and regulations were adopted. Various -kinds of work, adapted to the prisoners’ intelligence and strength, were -given. Rewards were apportioned for good behavior, which shortened the -period of confinement. Better classification was made of the inmates, -and generally just and kind treatment was instituted. All this had an -uplifting influence on the crushed and degraded men, and turned many -from being the enemies of society to be its friends, and to appreciate -the efforts made for their recovery from lives of vice. Reformatories -for youthful offenders caused their separation from old and hardened -criminals, and caused many of them to become useful members of society. -The first of these was “The House of Refuge” on Randal’s Island, in New -York City.</p> - -<p>The “Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals,” established by -Henry Bergh in New York, proved to be the seed from which germinated -hundreds of other similar societies throughout our country. Later, the -“Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children” has saved many an -unprotected child from inhuman treatment, often received from<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_286" id="page_286"></a>{286}</span> its own -parents. It is by far the best age of the world for children. Many -millions of dollars are invested in the manufacture of toys and in -preparation of books, papers, and magazines especially devoted to the -interests of children. Life-saving stations along the coast of dangerous -seas have rescued thousands of lives from a watery grave, and saved many -millions worth of property. Travel by sea and land has become one of the -greatest luxuries and means of education in this most enlightened -century. The circumnavigation of the globe is no longer the daring feat -of the skilled mariner. The human race is coming closer together, and is -massing into cities. Clubs are being formed for the discussion of -literary, scientific, æsthetic, historic, political, dramatic, musical, -and social topics, and admit to their membership young and old of both -sexes.</p> - -<p>It is also an age of conventions,—scientific, political, and religious. -Christianity is exerting a mighty influence in various forms. Throughout -the world this is shown by the multitudes it has lifted out of barbarism -in India, China, Japan, Australia, Africa, and made them law-abiding, -peace-loving, and self-governing Christian peoples. Cannibalism and -human sacrifice have now disappeared from the earth, with many other -practices too horrible to name. For the care of the poor and -unfortunate, New York City alone spends annually more than $6,000,000. -It has<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_287" id="page_287"></a>{287}</span> homes for the aged, for orphans and for half-orphaned children, -also for crippled, and the deformed. Poor women about to become mothers -may go to a suitable institute where medical attendance and trained -nursing are furnished free, or they may have both free in their own -homes. The advance in the higher education, as well as great improvement -in our common-school system, is a marked feature of our times. Most of -our colleges have greatly raised the course of study, and several have -become fully equipped universities, while other new universities have -been added to the number; one in Chicago, two in Washington City, one in -California, and one in Baltimore. Probably the most marked feature in -the education of our time is the throwing open the doors of so many -colleges and universities to women. These have flocked thither to take -equal stand with the men, who have had a monopoly of these privileges -since colleges and universities were founded: and they have entered the -learned professions of medicine, law, and divinity, professions once -thought to be forever barred against their sex. Co-education, the higher -education of women, and their aspiration to lead a professional life, -fifty years ago would have been considered the dream of fanatics only. -Some even now doubt the wisdom of the movement, but, good or bad, it is -here to stay, and will advance with ever increasing velocity.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_288" id="page_288"></a>{288}</span></p> - -<p>There are homes for incurables where their hopeless condition receives -such treatment as not unfrequently returns them to their homes restored -to a measure of health. The blind, deaf, and dumb are kindly cared for, -educated, and made useful members of society. That class once considered -hopeless, women fallen from virtue, are sought out, cared for, and -restored frequently to society, and often become rescuers of their own -sex from like degredation. Discharged criminals are looked after and -provided with temporary homes, and work is sought out for them. The -children of the street are taken up, taught, and placed in homes in the -West, away from the city temptations that were destroying them. For -young men, and now for young women, coming from the country to our large -cities, the Christian Associations find safe lodgings, work, schools, -and churches, and throw around them every safeguard. The reading-room, -gymnasium, lecture course, evening classes, and devotional meetings are -all intellectual and moral forces in character building, and in -preparation for the great work of life.</p> - -<p>The higher education of medical science has made rapid progress during -the last century, and especially during the last half of it. Health -boards have done much in the way of sanitation to prevent disease and -protect communities against epidemics and virulent plagues that have -scourged the world<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_289" id="page_289"></a>{289}</span> for centuries. The use of anæsthetics has saved an -incalculable amount of agony, and has greatly aided physicians in -improved methods of surgery. Operations are now performed, with almost -universal success, which would not have been thought of fifty years ago. -Improved medical apparatus and instruments for examining the body have -proved of great value in the treatment of bronchial and internal -affections. The Roentgen Ray, which can bring to light the whole inside -of a man, is the latest and greatest discovery of the period under -consideration. The discovery of disease-producing germs or microbes is -worthy of mention in this connection. Pasteur’s cure for hydrophobia has -lessened the dread of one of the most terrible maladies that has -afflicted the human family.</p> - -<p>It might be supposed that humane treatment of those most unfortunate -beings who have been deprived of their reason would be found even in the -least civilized period of the world’s history, but alas! the opposite -has been true. Until within a comparatively recent date it was customary -to confine these poor creatures in jail, along with the vilest -criminals, a custom still prevailing in some places. “In 1826, a young -clergyman, rendered insane by overwork, was found in the Bridewell -Prison of New York, herded with ruffians and murderers. At that time -there was in the prisons of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_290" id="page_290"></a>{290}</span> Massachusetts thirty lunatics. One had been -in his cell nine years, had a wreath of rags around his body, and -another around his neck. This was all his clothing. He had no bed, -chair, or bench; a heap of filthy straw like the nest of a swine was in -the corner. He had built a bird’s-nest of mud in the iron grate of his -den.” Many were chained, kept in cages, “whipped, scourged, ironed, shut -in close cells, and left for years in filth, naked, hungry, exposed to -bitter cold, frozen,” had lost toes or feet, and suffered torture until -death ended their misery. All this is happily changed, and medical skill -and intelligent, humane care, have taken its place, with some exceptions -perhaps. Sailors were once the legitimate prey of the worst class of men -and women the world ever produced, when they landed in large cities, -often after most tempestuous voyages, and dangers most terrible to -contemplate. In so-called sailor’s boarding houses they were drugged, -robbed, stripped naked, and thrown out on the street at midnight to -groan and suffer and die.</p> - -<p>Seamen’s Friends Societies and Sailors’ Homes, with hospitals, -libraries, Christian ministry of godly men, and kindly care for the -sick, disabled, or aged sailor until he enters the haven of eternal -rest, is now in all Christian countries the provision made for this -brave man to whom the world owes so much. Similar provision is made for -the old or disabled<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_291" id="page_291"></a>{291}</span> soldier who has fought his country’s battles. The -“Soldier’s Home” is one of the institutions for which America has reason -to be proud.</p> - -<p>The World’s Fairs, first organized by Prince Albert in London in the -year 1851 and continued in different countries until the present time, -the last and greatest of them all held at Chicago in the United States -in 1893, have done much to stimulate progress in every department of -life, and to strengthen the spirit of friendly reciprocity that should -bind the human family closer together in mutual helpfulness and -good-will. The international congress of all religions held at the -Chicago Fair, the first and only congress of the kind ever held, was in -the line of the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man.</p> - -<p>The bitterness of the sectarian spirit among all Christian denominations -is happily passing away, and a desire for closer relations, even for a -union of all peoples of the Christian faiths, is fast taking its place. -The Roman Catholic Church through its head, Leo XIII., and the Episcopal -Church through its Bishops have both expressed their desire for the -union of all Christian peoples. Arbitration for the settlement of -disputes between labor and capital, and even between nations, is -advancing towards a blessed consummation, and the day cannot be far -distant when peace and good-will among men shall<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_292" id="page_292"></a>{292}</span> become universal, and -Jesus of Nazareth shall reign, Prince of Peace and King of Nations -through the whole world. Who knows but that the six hundred and one -thousand miles of telegraph in the United States and the one hundred and -sixty thousand miles of submarine telegraph in the world, shall soon -flash the news round the globe, “The Lord is come.”</p> - -<p>The following item taken by permission of Charles Scribner’s Sons from -<i>The Last Quarter of the Century</i>, by Andrews, is significant in this -connection:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“During the great Electrical Exposition in New York City, May, -1896, a message was transmitted round the world and back in -fifty-five minutes. It was dictated by Hon. Chauncey Depew, and -read—‘God creates, Nature treasures, Science utilizes electrical -power for the grandeur of nations and the peace of the world.’ -Starting at eight thirty-five these words sped over the land lines -to San Francisco, thence back to Canso, Nova Scotia, where they -plunged under the sea to London. A click of the key four minutes -later announced the completion of this part of the journey.</p> - -<p>“Cannon were fired in honor of the achievement, while the throng on -the floor of the Exhibition Building cheered.</p> - -<p>“Meantime, the general manager of the Western Union Company had -despatched the same message<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_293" id="page_293"></a>{293}</span> over his lines to Los Angeles, -Galveston, City of Mexico, Valparaiso, Buenos Ayres, Pernambuco, -across the Atlantic to Lisbon, and back to New York by way of -London, a journey of ten thousand miles, in eleven and one half -minutes.</p> - -<p>“At nine twenty-five, just fifty minutes from the start, the -receiving instrument clicked and Mr. Edison, for the nonce again a -simple telegraph operator as of yore, copied from it the Depew -message.</p> - -<p>“It had travelled from London to Lisbon, thence to Suez, Aden, -Bombay, Madras, Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Nagasaki, and -Tokio, returning by the same route to New York, having traversed a -distance of 27,500 miles.”</p></div> - -<p>We have thus tabulated, in the briefest manner, a few of the advances -made in various departments of life during the period covered by this -biography: and we have done so because Mr. Plant loves to recount the -progress of the human family. He has kept in touch with it all, enjoyed -it all, and has himself contributed no small share to its furtherance. -It enhances one’s estimate of the marvellous progress of the age in -which we are living when we think how much has been accomplished in the -comparatively brief period of one life. It gives ground for believing, -too, that the next decade will surpass any that has preceded it, and -that the twentieth century will outstrip the nineteenth as<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_294" id="page_294"></a>{294}</span> far as the -nineteenth has outstripped any of its predecessors. It inspires the -wish, also, that the subject of this biography may live to enjoy much of -the world’s era of peace and progress in science, art, industry, -philanthropy, and Christian alleviation and uplifting power. May this -very imperfect history of a very instructive life prove helpful to those -taking their place in the onward march of the race towards its great and -final destiny.</p> - -<p>The wish expressed above for the continued health and life of the -subject of this biography was written one year ago, and what follows -affords strong hope of its realization.</p> - -<p>The winter after the Atlanta Exposition found Mr. Plant with signs of -failing health, somewhat alleviated by his sojourn in the South; but on -his arrival in New York in the spring of 1896, he was taken violently -ill and was constantly under the doctor’s care for four or five months. -The next winter he passed in the South, resulting in marked evidences of -improved health. The next spring, however, another malady developed, -greatly impairing health and threatening life for several weeks. Early -in the spring he had so far recovered that he went by rail to San -Francisco, in his own private car, thence by ocean to Japan and China, -and, returning to Japan, spent a large part of the summer there, from -whence he sailed for San Francisco<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_295" id="page_295"></a>{295}</span> and returned to New York early in -November, nearly all evidences of past diseases having disappeared, and -he has passed his seventy-eight birthday in apparently good health.</p> - -<p>It is needless to say that honors, courtesies, and kindnesses were -liberally tendered him throughout his whole trip in the East, which he -enjoyed to the full.</p> - -<p>The following incident is one among many that occurred to Mr. Plant -during his very interesting tour in the land of the Rising Sun, and -shows how promptly he improved every opportunity that came in his way, -not only for learning all about the customs, manners, and ways of the -Japanese, but of recalling old acquaintances, and renewing old -friendships of his early boyhood in his native State, and town of -Branford. On his return voyage via the Hawaiian Islands, the steamer -stopped for a few hours at Honolulu. Mr. Plant at once set out to find a -Branford lady who had long been a resident in these islands. Soon his -search was rewarded by finding Mrs. Mary Parker, widow of a missionary -of that name, and now in the ninety-fourth year of her age. Mr. Plant -was present at the marriage of this good lady in Branford, Connecticut, -when only a boy of seven, and doubtless some of the happy boyhood -emotions of that occasion came back to him when he clasped the hand of -this aged woman so far away from their native Branford.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_296" id="page_296"></a>{296}</span></p> - -<p class="c"> -HENRY B. PLANT IN WAR AND IN PEACE.<br /> -</p> - -<p>Few men are more blessed with a peaceful disposition and an inborn -dislike of the antagonisms that arise so frequently between men and -nations than is the subject of this sketch. Nor has it fallen to the lot -of many to take such an important part in the two greatest wars of our -country. In the former chapters of this biography we have spoken of the -valuable services rendered to both sides of the contestants in our Civil -War by the Plant System, then only in its embryo state of development. -At the banquet given to Mr. Plant at the Atlanta Exposition we heard, -from some of the representative men of the South, patriotic speeches -full of native eloquence, that thrilled us in every fibre of our being. -“Mr. Plant,” said one of the distinguished speakers, “you have done more -to bring the North and South together than any other man living.” Mr. -Plant has been privileged to have a large part in the present conflict -that has completely cemented the whole nation as never before. This is -by no means the smallest benefit that has come to our country out of -this great conflict, for it is as true now as when it was uttered by one -of the greatest American statesmen, “United we stand, divided we fall.” -The following description of the facilities afforded for shipment at -Port Tampa is from the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_297" id="page_297"></a>{297}</span> pen of one who is well acquainted with every -foot of land and water about which he writes.</p> - -<p>“The war with Spain directed attention more to Port Tampa than any one -place in the United States. This was for the reason that the largest -military expedition that ever left the shores of the United States was -loaded and sailed from the docks there. The work was done in a very -short time, considering the lack of experience of the government -officials in charge.</p> - -<p>“So much has been said and written about the loading of General -Shafter’s expedition, with its fleet of thirty-six steamships, that the -public will appreciate some detailed information about the immense -facilities which are found ready for use at Port Tampa. This was through -the foresight and business sagacity of the head of the Plant System, for -he built largely for the great business that must pass through that port -at no distant day.</p> - -<p>“The railroad yards of over thirty-six miles of track, at Port Tampa, -Port Tampa City, and Tampa, belong to the Plant System, and have a -capacity of over two thousand cars, leaving working room for all the -business that this number of cars would bring to the place. The tracks -are perfectly arranged, and experienced railroad men say that no -railroad yard in the South will compare with this for conveniences in -handling a big business. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_298" id="page_298"></a>{298}</span> business is in the hands of railroad men -of experience, and no delays were traceable to them. Between Tampa and -Port Tampa is a stretch of nine miles. To illustrate the perfect system -employed in handling the business, it is only necessary to say that from -six o’clock in the morning until 11:40 at night, twenty-six passenger -trains passed over this nine miles every day. Besides this, the freight -trains numbered more than this, comprising the various sections of -regular trains and the large number of troop and supply-trains for the -movement. There was no delay and not an accident.</p> - -<p>“Of the facilities at the docks, as much can be said. It is the only -port in the country where vessels drawing twenty-four feet of water can -come alongside and load in such numbers. There is room for twenty-four -vessels of that draught, three hundred and twenty feet long, to lie end -for end, and receive cargoes at the same time. These steamers are all -loaded from the railroad tracks, just twenty feet removed from the edge -of the pier, and nothing stands in the way of the quick work. Vessels of -less length make it possible to increase the number, and at one time -there were thirteen vessels loading end to end at one side of the pier. -According to this calculation, thirty-two vessels could be accommodated. -At these docks are to be found berths for phosphate vessels where their -cargoes are<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_299" id="page_299"></a>{299}</span> loaded from electric elevators, which are the latest -improved. Just across the slip is the government coal dock, and here are -electric elevators for handling this business. A large amount of coal is -now stored in these docks for the government.</p> - -<p>“It was not necessary to provide any of these facilities for the -especial purpose of handling the government war business. They were all -there and in use before the war, and the government used them in sending -off this fleet of thirty-six vessels, under convoy of a large number of -war vessels. It was one of the most imposing sights of the age to see -this great fleet steaming down the bay; flags flying and bands playing, -and sixteen thousand American soldiers cheering as they felt the vessels -move over the waters of Tampa Bay, all bound for a victorious campaign -against the enemy.</p> - -<p>“The Plant System has done well its part in the great modern war, and is -equally well prepared to do its part in carrying on the great commerce -between the United States, Cuba, the West India Islands, and all of the -South American countries.”</p> - -<p>The <i>Marine Journal</i> of New York of July 9, 1898, has the following -editorial:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“<span class="smcap">Port Tampa</span>—Phœnix-like Rose and Met the Occasion—Over Thirty -Troop Ships Loaded and Departed from its Piers—The Largest War -Fleet ever Sent from One Port at One Time<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_300" id="page_300"></a>{300}</span> in the Nation’s -History—The Port’s Immense Facilities.</p></div> - -<p>“It would take the entire reading space of the <i>Marine Journal</i> to -describe the great amount of work done at Port Tampa, Fla., in getting -Gen. Shafter’s army afloat, and the exhaustive facilities that were -found by the government to exist there available for this purpose; in -fact, only those who have visited the West coast of Florida within ten -years past have any idea of the extensive improvements that have been -made at Port Tampa by the Plant System with a view to bringing the -commerce of the United States within close communication with the Island -of Cuba, Jamaica, and other nearby Gulf ports. Millions of dollars have -been expended by Henry B. Plant and associates under the supervision of -the best known experts in railroad and harbor improvements that could be -obtained for this object, and the work was near completion when war was -declared with Spain, and the Island of Cuba became the base of -hostilities.</p> - -<p>“Fortunately the government was well informed as to the superior -facilities already in operation at Port Tampa, and the Quartermaster’s -Department of the Army was not slow in recommending this place for the -mobilization of troops and their preparation and embarkation to Cuba -therefrom. The vexatious delays caused by inexperience in handling such -a<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_301" id="page_301"></a>{301}</span> large body of men and munitions of war, reports of spook Spanish -fleets, etc., are more or less familiar to our readers, as well as the -detail of the fitting out and embarking of over 12,000 troops and their -supplies which were loaded on board over thirty transports at Port Tampa -in a very short space of time. The wharf facilities at some times -accommodated as many as thirteen of these troop ships strung along end -on.</p> - -<p>“Let the <i>Marine Journal</i> readers imagine for a moment that the Florida -terminus of the Plant System of railroads at Port Tampa extends out into -the harbor nearly a mile on two solidly built piers of sheet piling, -earth, and rocks between which is a canal or basin with twenty-five feet -depth of water its entire length, where a fleet of ships can lie and -load or unload from or into cars night and day. The south pier is -seventy feet wide, and has three tracks laid upon it, twenty feet of -this width is set apart for working cargo from car to ship, and vice -versa, also a promenade its entire length, midway of which is the famous -“Inn,” built out over the water, where passengers in transit to Cuba and -Key West, as well as tourists, can enjoy a cool, delightful rest after a -trip by sea or land. One can hardly imagine the amount of transportation -facilities afforded at this immense terminus, with its mile in length -railroad-yard, and Port Tampa is but twenty-four hours sail<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_302" id="page_302"></a>{302}</span> from Havana -by steamers of fair average speed. The <i>Olivette</i>, of the Plant Line, -has frequently made the trip in nineteen and a half hours.</p> - -<p>“There is twenty feet of water on the shoalest part of the bar at the -entrance of the (thirty feet) harbor of Port Tampa, and a very small -expense in dredging, which is now being arranged for, will enable -vessels to enter drawing twenty-five feet. Outside of the harbor, in -Tampa Bay, is a roadstead where the entire naval and transport fleet of -the United States could ride safely at anchor in the fiercest hurricane, -thereby adding another valuable argument for Port Tampa as a naval as -well as an army base.</p> - -<p>“It is a well-known fact to mariners who are familiar with West Indian -and Gulf navigation, that after July 15th, it is necessary to keep an -eye to windward for hurricanes up to the middle of September; then more -or less heavy weather occurs until the middle of March. And here comes -in another great advantage in favor of Port Tampa as against all other -ports in the United States as regards safety from the elements. With the -present able weather bureau, and its complete arrangements for signaling -the conditions of the weather from all important points, there is not -the slightest danger of encountering a hurricane between Port Tampa and -Cuba. The weather reports available make it not only easy to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_303" id="page_303"></a>{303}</span> avoid them -through reliable information of their coming, but enables the mariner to -prepare for them in the harbor of Port Tampa or Key West if there isn’t -time to reach Cuba. If the government is wise it will ship no more -troops to Cuba or Porto Rico this season from north or south of -Hatteras, as there is no need of subjecting them to the risk of -hurricanes. Our soldier boys should have as short and comfortable a sea -voyage as possible, and that is only obtainable in first-class shape -from Port Tampa, following down the west coast of Florida, always under -the lee of the land in case of an eastern gale or hurricane.”</p> - -<p>The caution contained in the above against storms, and the desire for a -safe and comfortable passage for our soldier boys, will find a tender -response in many hearts for him who facilitated the embarkation of the -brave men going from their native land to fight a foreign foe.</p> - -<div class="blockquott"><p class="hang"> -TESTIMONIAL ACCOMPANYING A SILVER SERVICE PRESENTED -BY THE OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES OF THE -SOUTHERN EXPRESS COMPANY TO MR. AND MRS. H. B. -PLANT ON THE CELEBRATION OF THEIR TWENTY-FIFTH -WEDDING ANNIVERSARY. -</p> - -<p class="r"> -“<span class="smcap">New York</span>, July 2d, 1898.<br /> -</p> - -<p class="c"> -“<span class="smcap">To Mr. and Mrs. H. B. Plant.</span><br /> -</p> - -<p>“<i>The following officers and employees of the Southern Express -Company ask that you accept this<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_304" id="page_304"></a>{304}</span> ‘SERVICE’ as an evidence of the -affectionate regard in which they hold their honored President and -his Wife.</i></p> - -<p>“<i>It has appeared to them that upon a day commemorative of the -ceremony which twenty-five years ago united in affection your -lives, they should give some enduring expression of the esteem in -which they hold you both.</i></p> - -<p>“<i>They gratefully recognize the wise direction, the patient -forbearance and the friendly counsel of their President, which has -done so much to guide and aid them, in their respective spheres of -duty, and they are equally sensible of the fact that under -advancing years, and multiplicity of duties, only the ceaseless -care and affectionate heed of a devoted Wife has made this -possible.</i></p> - -<p>“<i>They beg that you accept the testimonial in the spirit which has -prompted it, and with the assurance that to your ‘wedded love’ is -indissolubly linked their respect, admiration and affection.</i></p> - -<p>“H. Dempsey, J. Cronin, N. S. Woodward, W. J. Crosswell, C. A. -Pardue, Mark J. O’Brien, W. A. Dewees, W. W. Allen, F. G. du -Bignon, W. A. Blankenship, A. M. Richardson, H. E. Williamson, L. -H. Black, J. L. S. Albright, L. Spaulding, A. Montgomery, J. B. -Hockaday, G. C. Crom, F. de C. Sullivan, W. Buckner, W. E. McGill, -G. A. Wilkinson, S. C. Hargis, G. W. Bacot, G. Sadler, C. C.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_305" id="page_305"></a>{305}</span> -Wolfe, P. B. Wilkes, W. J. Brown, F. R. Osborne, O. M. Sadler, C. -T. Campbell, V. Spalding, H. C. Fisher, M. F. Plant, F. J. Virgin, -C. Pink, C. L. Loop, W. C. Agee, F. Q. Brown, J. C. Stuart, L. -Minor, R. B. Smith, W. B. Menzies, John Lovette, E. J. Loughman, J. -T. James, W. H. Hendee, S. R. Golibart, E. M. Williams, J. C. -Barry, W. R. Twyman, E. C. Spence, L. Kuder, C. R. Smith, J. B. -Gartrell, M. Culliny, A. Welsh, G. W. Agee, C. L. Myers, W. K. -Haile, W. A. Mehegan, R. G. Erwin, C. H. Albright, W. M. Shoemaker, -H. C. Mendenhall, G. H. Tilley, A. McD. Mullings, J. W. Gaines, T. -W. Leary, C. G. McCormick, W. W. Hulbert, K. C. Barrett, M. F. -Loughman, E. F. Gary, J. J. Crosswell, E. J. Michelin, T. T. -Weltch, Thomas Grier, R. A. Buckner, H. M. Smith, M. J. O’Brien, W. -S. McFarland, E. G. Williams.”</p></div> - -<p class="c"> -MR. AND MRS. PLANT’S ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF TESTIMONIAL<br /> -AND SERVICE.<br /> -</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="r"> -“<span class="smcap">New York</span>, July 2nd, 1898.<br /> -</p> - -<p class="c"> -“<span class="smcap">Esteemed Friends and Associates</span>:<br /> -</p> - -<p>“<i>Twenty-five years ago, this second day of July, was a very happy -one for us, and, to-day, on our Silver Anniversary, we are most -pleasantly reminded of the occasion by the unexpected receipt of a -handsome token indicative of the affection in which we are held by -those who, during the last quarter of a century,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_306" id="page_306"></a>{306}</span> have surrounded -us as friends as well as business associates.</i></p> - -<p>“<i>The sentiments embodied in the testimonial accompanying the very -beautiful ‘Service’ are highly appreciated and accepted by us as an -evidence of the sincere feelings prompting your thoughtful -recollection of this memorable mile-stone in our lives.</i></p> - -<p>“<i>In returning our deep gratitude for your remembrance and kind -expressions, we indulge the hope that we will have many years -together to enjoy the gift which your generosity has provided, and -that while life lasts we may have the friendship of those whose -acts in the past and present have brought them so near to us.</i></p> - -<p class="r"> -“<i>Very sincerely</i>,<br /> -“<span class="smcap">Henry B. Plant</span>,<br /> -“<span class="smcap">Margaret J. Plant</span>.”<br /> -</p></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_307" id="page_307"></a>{307}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="PLANT_GENEALOGY" id="PLANT_GENEALOGY"></a><img src="images/ill_348.jpg" alt="[text decoration not available.]" /><br /> - PLANT GENEALOGY</h2> -<p class="cb"><small>PREPARED BY</small><br /> -G. S. DICKERMAN</p> - -<p class="c"> -THE PLANTS IN GENERAL<br /> -</p> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">T</span>HERE are many families of the Plant name. This will be seen on looking -into city directories and running the eye over lists there given. -Accounts show that these families have come from several progenitors who -arrived in this country at different times.</p> - -<p>Attention is paid here more particularly to the descendants of John -Plant, of Branford, Connecticut. But it may be of interest to glance at -certain other families.</p> - -<p>The Plants of St. Louis, Missouri, have occupied an honorable place in -the history of that city during the last fifty years. One of their -number<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> tells of having traced their ancestry back some three hundred -years to the County Palatine, of Chester, in England, where, about 1600, -were two brothers, Samuel Plant and John Plant. From the latter of these -they are descended in the following line: John,<sup>1</sup> Thomas,<sup>2</sup> -George,<sup>3</sup> Samuel,<sup>4</sup> who married Ann Haigh and lived in -Macclesfield,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_308" id="page_308"></a>{308}</span> England, Samuel,<sup>5</sup> who came to Boston, Massachusetts, -between 1790 and 1800, and married there Mary D. Poignaud, a Boston lady -of Huguenot ancestry.</p> - -<p>This Samuel<sup>5</sup> Plant was sent out by his uncle, Mr. Haigh, a -manufacturer of woollen cloths at Leeds, to sell his goods, which he -did, with his headquarters at Boston, though he travelled extensively, -going once as far as Charleston, South Carolina. Some years later he -brought over from England plans for cotton machinery and built, in -1808-9, the first cotton factory in Worcester County, Massachusetts, at -Clinton.</p> - -<p>He was the father of six sons and six daughters. The sons were George -P.,<sup>6</sup> Frederick William,<sup>6</sup> Samuel,<sup>6</sup> Alfred,<sup>6</sup> William M.,<sup>6</sup> -and Henry,<sup>6</sup> who all removed to St. Louis, and have been identified -with the enterprise and development of that city since 1840. Of these -sons Mr. Alfred<sup>6</sup> Plant is the only survivor.</p> - -<p>Another family has a representative<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a> in Chicago, who writes that his -branch came from Ireland to Massachusetts early in this century. His -father’s name was Thomas Plant and he had an uncle Robert, who also -settled in Massachusetts.</p> - -<p>Again the name appears in the annals of Newbury, New Hampshire, where -the Rev. Matthias Plant was rector of Queen Anne’s Chapel from April, -1722, till his death on December 23, 1751, a period of twenty-nine -years.<a name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a> Previous to his time the church had been weak, but under his -ministry its position became secure. St. Paul’s Church was built in -another part of the town from Queen Anne’s, and he officiated there -also. His wife was the youngest daughter of Samuel Bartlett, of Newbury. -No further knowledge of this family has been obtained.</p> - -<p>The name occurs twice in lists of persons embarking from<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_309" id="page_309"></a>{309}</span> England in -early times to settle in the colonies.<a name="FNanchor_5_5" id="FNanchor_5_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a> In one list William Plant is -reported to have died on a plantation in Virginia in 1624. In another -Matthew Plant, who was then twenty-three years old, was enrolled to sail -on the <i>Assurance</i> from Gravesend for Virginia, July 24, 1635. Under the -term “Virginia,” in those times, were included the New England colonies -as well as those in the South, so that it is quite supposable that -Matthew Plant may have settled in New England.</p> - -<p class="c"> -THE PLANT FAMILY<br /> - -OF BRANFORD, CONNECTICUT.<br /> -</p> - -<p>John<sup>1</sup> Plant, the progenitor of this family, was a soldier in the -Narragansett war. The Connecticut General Assembly, in October, 1696, -bestowed on the “English Volunteers” in this struggle a tract of -territory six miles square, to be divided among them, which was located -in New London County, and has since borne the name of Voluntown. In the -list of those receiving these grants John<sup>1</sup> Plant was numbered 59 in -the drawing of “Cedar Swamp Lots.”<a name="FNanchor_6_6" id="FNanchor_6_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a></p> - -<p>The Narragansett war ended in 1676. Soon after this the name of John<sup>1</sup> -Plant appears on the records of the town of Branford, January 21, 1677, -when a lot of two acres was granted to him on condition that he should -build upon it within three years. It seems unlikely that he was at -Branford much before this date, for the reason that his name is not in -the lists of residents enrolled in January, 1676. Nor do we find any -others of the Plant name previous to this date. Subsequently his name -occurs a number of times in connection with grants of land.<a name="FNanchor_7_7" id="FNanchor_7_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_7_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_310" id="page_310"></a>{310}</span></p> - -<p>He died about 1691, as evidenced by the inventory of his estate taken -June 4, 1691. The valuation of his property was £130 8<i>s.</i> 9<i>d.</i></p> - -<p>The indications concerning his family are not altogether clear.<a name="FNanchor_8_8" id="FNanchor_8_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_8_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a> He -had a son John,<sup>2</sup> concerning whom accounts are somewhat full. There -was a Martha Plant enrolled among the members of the church in 1704. She -may have been his daughter. There was also an Elizabeth Plant,<a name="FNanchor_9_9" id="FNanchor_9_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_9_9" class="fnanchor">[9]</a> who -may have been another daughter.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_311" id="page_311"></a>{311}</span></p> - -<p class="c"> -CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN<br /> -OF JOHN<sup>2</sup> AND HANNAH (WHEDON) PLANT.<br /> -</p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary="" -style="text-align:center;font-size:80%;"> -<tr><td class="bdr"></td><td> <span class="smcap">Hannah Plant</span></td><td class="lftbrd">Reuben Whedon</td></tr> -<tr><td class="bdr"></td><td> born July, 16, 1708</td><td class="lftbrd">William Whedon</td></tr> -<tr><td class="bdr"></td><td> married</td><td class="lftbrd">Noah Whedon</td></tr> -<tr><td class="bdr"></td><td> <span class="smcap">Abraham Whedon</span></td><td class="lftbrd">Hannah Whedon</td></tr> -<tr><td class="bdr"></td><td></td><td class="lftbrd">Martha Whedon</td></tr> -<tr><td class="bdr"></td><td></td><td class="lftbrd">Submit Whedon</td></tr> -<tr><td class="bdr"></td><td></td><td class="lftbrd">Sarah Whedon</td></tr> -<tr><td class="bdr"></td><td></td><td class="lftbrd">Deborah Whedon</td></tr> - -<tr><td class="bdr"></td><td> <span class="smcap">John Plant</span></td></tr> -<tr><td class="bdr"></td><td> born September 19, 1711</td></tr> -<tr><td class="bdr"> </td></tr> -<tr><td class="bdr"></td><td> <span class="smcap">Jonathan Plant</span></td></tr> -<tr><td class="bdr"></td><td> born July 29, 1714</td></tr> -<tr><td class="bdr"> </td></tr> -<tr><td class="bdr"><span class="smcap">John Plant, Jr.</span></td><td> <span class="smcap">James Plant</span></td><td class="lftbrd">Solomon Plant</td></tr> -<tr><td class="bdr">baptized March 3, 1678</td><td> born November 4, 1716</td><td class="lftbrd">James Plant</td></tr> -<tr><td class="bdr">died February 10, 1752</td><td> died February 7, 1795</td><td class="lftbrd">Samuel Plant</td></tr> -<tr><td class="bdr">married</td><td>married September 22, 1740</td><td class="lftbrd">Stephen Plant</td></tr> -<tr><td class="bdr"><span class="smcap">Hannah Whedon</span></td><td> <span class="smcap">Bathsheba Page</span></td><td class="lftbrd">Lois Plant</td></tr> -<tr><td class="bdr">died Nov. 5, 1754, aged 69</td><td></td><td class="lftbrd">Ebenezer Plant</td></tr> -<tr><td class="bdr"></td><td></td><td class="lftbrd">Sarah Plant</td></tr> -<tr><td class="bdr"></td><td></td><td class="lftbrd">Moses Plant</td></tr> -<tr><td class="bdr"> </td></tr> -<tr><td class="bdr"></td><td> <span class="smcap">Elizabeth Plant</span></td><td class="lftbrd">Josiah Parrish</td></tr> -<tr><td class="bdr"></td><td> born August 1, 1720</td><td class="lftbrd">Elizabeth Parrish</td></tr> -<tr><td class="bdr"></td><td>married September 21, 1748</td><td class="lftbrd">Sibil Parrish</td></tr> -<tr><td class="bdr"></td><td> <span class="smcap">Josiah Parrish</span></td><td class="lftbrd">Hannah Parrish</td></tr> -<tr><td class="bdr"></td><td></td><td class="lftbrd">Mary Parrish</td></tr> -<tr><td class="bdr"></td><td></td><td class="lftbrd">John Parrish</td></tr> -<tr><td class="bdr"> </td></tr> -<tr><td class="bdr"></td><td> <span class="smcap">Timothy Plant</span></td><td class="lftbrd">Lucy Plant</td></tr> -<tr><td class="bdr"></td><td> born April 6, 1724</td><td class="lftbrd">Hannah Plant</td></tr> -<tr><td class="bdr"></td><td> married February 12, 1745</td><td class="lftbrd">Timothy Plant</td></tr> -<tr><td class="bdr"></td><td> <span class="smcap">Lucy Parrish</span></td><td class="lftbrd">Joel Plant</td></tr> -<tr><td class="bdr"></td><td></td><td class="lftbrd">Ithiel Plant</td></tr> -<tr><td class="bdr"> </td></tr> -<tr><td class="bdr"></td><td> <span class="smcap">Abraham Plant</span></td><td class="lftbrd">Eli Plant</td></tr> -<tr><td class="bdr"></td><td>baptized September 23, 1727</td><td class="lftbrd">Electa Plant</td></tr> -<tr><td class="bdr"></td><td> married (1)</td><td class="lftbrd">Lydia Plant</td></tr> -<tr><td class="bdr"></td><td> <span class="smcap">Hannah Hoadley</span></td><td class="lftbrd">Abraham Plant</td></tr> -<tr><td class="bdr"></td><td> married (2)</td><td class="lftbrd">Anne Plant</td></tr> -<tr><td class="bdr"></td><td> <span class="smcap">Tamar Frisbie</span></td><td class="lftbrd">Hannah Plant</td></tr> -<tr><td class="bdr"></td><td></td><td class="lftbrd">Elizabeth Plant</td></tr> -<tr><td class="bdr"></td><td></td><td class="lftbrd">Rebecca Plant</td></tr> -<tr><td class="bdr"></td><td></td><td class="lftbrd">Jason Plant</td></tr> -<tr><td class="bdr"> </td></tr> -<tr><td class="bdr"></td><td> <span class="smcap">Benjamin Plant</span></td><td class="lftbrd">Hannah Plant</td></tr> -<tr><td class="bdr"></td><td> born 1732</td><td class="lftbrd">John Plant</td></tr> -<tr><td class="bdr"></td><td> died August 11, 1808</td><td class="lftbrd">Benjamin Plant</td></tr> -<tr><td class="bdr"></td><td> married (1)</td><td class="lftbrd">Anderson Plant</td></tr> -<tr><td class="bdr"></td><td> <span class="smcap">Lorana Beckwith</span></td><td class="lftbrd">Lorana Plant</td></tr> -<tr><td class="bdr"></td><td> married (2)</td><td class="lftbrd">Peggy Plant</td></tr> -<tr><td class="bdr"></td><td> <span class="smcap">Abigail Palmer</span></td><td class="lftbrd">Samuel Plant</td></tr> -<tr><td class="bdr"></td><td> married (3)</td><td class="lftbrd">Elias Plant</td></tr> -<tr><td class="bdr"></td><td> <span class="smcap">Lois Frisbie</span></td><td class="lftbrd"> </td></tr> -</table> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_312" id="page_312"></a>{312}</span></p> - -<p class="c">JOHN<sup>2</sup> PLANT, JR.—HANNAH WHEDON.</p> - -<p>John<sup>2</sup> Plant, Jr., son of John<sup>1</sup> Plant, was baptized at Branford, -March 3, 1678; died February 10, 1752, aged seventy-four; married Hannah -Whedon, a daughter of Thomas and Hannah (Barnes) Whedon, who was born in -1686; died November 5, 1754, aged sixty-nine.<a name="FNanchor_10_10" id="FNanchor_10_10"></a><a href="#Footnote_10_10" class="fnanchor">[10]</a></p> - -<p>Their children were born in Branford, and were as follows:<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_313" id="page_313"></a>{313}</span></p> - -<p class="hang">I. Hannah<sup>3</sup> Plant, born July 16, 1708; baptized August 7, 1715; -married Abraham Whedon, who died about 1762.<a name="FNanchor_11_11" id="FNanchor_11_11"></a><a href="#Footnote_11_11" class="fnanchor">[11]</a></p> - -<p class="hang">II. John<sup>3</sup> Plant, born September 19, 1711; baptized August 7, 1715; -died about 1788.<a name="FNanchor_12_12" id="FNanchor_12_12"></a><a href="#Footnote_12_12" class="fnanchor">[12]</a></p> - -<p class="hang">III. Jonathan<sup>3</sup> Plant, born July 29, 1714; baptized August 7, 1715; -living in Branford May 29, 1753, as shown by the “ear mark” for his -cattle entered on the records, May 29, 1753; died before October 7, -1772.<a name="FNanchor_13_13" id="FNanchor_13_13"></a><a href="#Footnote_13_13" class="fnanchor">[13]</a></p> - -<p class="hang">IV. James<sup>3</sup> Plant, born November 4, 1716; baptized November 18, 1716; -died February 7, 1795; married, September 22, 1740, Bathsheba Page, -daughter of Samuel and Mindwell Page, of Branford; born January 25, -1715-16; died, at Stratford, January 5, 1803. <i>Account continued on page -315.</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_314" id="page_314"></a>{314}</span></p> - -<p class="hang">V. Elizabeth<sup>3</sup> Plant, born August 1, 1720; baptized August, 1720; -married, September 21, 1748, Josiah Parrish, son of John and Hannah -Parrish, of Branford.<a name="FNanchor_14_14" id="FNanchor_14_14"></a><a href="#Footnote_14_14" class="fnanchor">[14]</a></p> - -<p class="indd">1. Josiah<sup>4</sup> Parrish, born April 6, 1749; married, December 25, 1770, -Thankful Plant, perhaps the widow of Samuel Plant.</p> - -<p class="indd">2. Elizabeth<sup>4</sup> Parrish, born August 3, 1751.</p> - -<p class="indd">3. Sibil<sup>4</sup> Parrish, born March 28, 1753.</p> - -<p class="indd">4. Hannah<sup>4</sup> Parrish, born July 11, 1756.</p> - -<p class="indd">5. Mary<sup>4</sup> Parrish, born June 7, 1759.</p> - -<p class="indd">6. John<sup>4</sup> Parrish, born May 16. 1762.</p> - -<p class="hang">VI. Timothy<sup>3</sup> Plant, born April 6, 1724; baptized May 17, 1724; -married, at Branford, Lucy Parrish. <i>Account continued on page 317.</i></p> - -<p class="hang">VII. Abraham<sup>3</sup> Plant, baptized September 23, 1727; married (1), May -(or March) 9, 1751, Hannah<sup>4</sup> Hoadley, daughter of John<sup>3</sup> and Lydia -(Rogers) Hoadley (John<sup>2</sup>, William<sup>1</sup>); born May 8, 1733; died April -4, 1755; married (2), January 12, 1763, Tamar Frisbie; born about 1740; -died 1793, aged 53. Children by second marriage, and born at Branford.</p> - -<p class="indd">1. Eli<sup>4</sup> Plant, born August 4, 1763; married, July 8, 1787, Sarah -Stent.</p> - -<p class="indd">2. Electa<sup>4</sup> Plant, born September 27, 1765.</p> - -<p class="indd">3. Lydia<sup>4</sup> Plant, born December 20, 1767; baptized, with the younger -children, May 2, 1784.</p> - -<p class="indd">4. Abraham<sup>4</sup> Plant, born August 3 or 4, 1770.</p> - -<p class="indd">5. Anne<sup>4</sup> Plant, born August 3 or 4, 1770, twin with Abraham.</p> - -<p class="indd">6. Hannah<sup>4</sup> Plant, born March 14, 1773.</p> - -<p class="indd">7. Elizabeth<sup>4</sup> Plant, born October 12, 1775.</p> - -<p class="indd">8. Rebecca<sup>4</sup> Plant, born March 7, 1777.</p> - -<p class="indd">9. Jason<sup>4</sup> Plant, born August 11, 1782.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_315" id="page_315"></a>{315}</span></p> - -<p class="hang">VIII. Benjamin<sup>3</sup> Plant, born about 1732; died August 11, 1808, aged -76; married (1), April 5, 1758, Lorana Beckwith, of Lyme; born about -1736; died March 16, 1789, aged 53; married (2), June 17, 1790, Abigail -Palmer; married (3), December 6, 1797, Lois Frisbie. <i>Account continued -on page 318.</i></p> - -<p><i>Authorities.</i>—New Haven and Branford Town and Church Records; Probate -Records at New Haven, Branford, and Guilford; <i>Atwater’s History of New -Haven Colony</i>; Orcutt’s <i>History of Stratford</i>.</p> - -<p class="c"> -JAMES<sup>3</sup> PLANT—BATHSHEBA PAGE.<br /> -</p> - -<p>James<sup>3</sup> Plant, son of John<sup>2</sup> and Hannah (Whedon) Plant (John<sup>1</sup>); -born November 4, 1716; baptized November 18, 1716, at Branford; died -there February 7, 1795; married, September 22, 1740, Bathsheba Page, -daughter of Samuel and Mindwell Page, of Branford; born January 25, -1715-16; died January 5, 1803, at Stratford, Connecticut. <i>See page -313.</i></p> - -<p>He had a farm near the head of Lake Saltonstall and raised a family, -most of whom left Branford. He was drowned while crossing the lake on -the ice, and his farm was sold by John and Samuel Plant to George -Townsend, of East Haven. His widow seems to have passed the closing -years of her life with their oldest son in the home he had made at -Stratford.</p> - -<p class="hang">I. Solomon<sup>4</sup> Plant, born May 1, 1741; died May 20, 1822; married (1), -November 16, 1769, Sarah Bennett, of Stratford, who died September 15, -1815; married (2), November 19, 1816, Mrs. Esther (Frost) Botsford. -<i>Account continued on page 320.</i></p> - -<p class="hang">II. James<sup>4</sup> Plant, born September 10, 1742; living at Southington, -Connecticut, as late as June 15, 1813, when he deeded land to his son -Ebenezer<sup>5</sup>; married, January 9, 1772, at New Haven, Lucy Judd, -daughter of Joseph and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_316" id="page_316"></a>{316}</span> Ruth (Thompson) Judd, of that place. <i>Account -continued on page 321.</i></p> - -<p class="hang">III. Samuel<sup>4</sup> Plant, baptized February 10, 1745; married, July 2, -1769, Thankful Towner, of Branford. He was lost at sea.</p> - -<p class="hang">IV. Stephen<sup>4</sup> Plant, baptized March 8, 1747; died before February 3, -1808, when his estate was admitted to probate in Litchfield, -Connecticut, and his widow was appointed administratrix. <i>Account -continued on page 322.</i></p> - -<p class="hang">V. Lois<sup>4</sup> Plant, baptized April 2, 1749; died April 21, 1833, aged 84, -at South Hill, Onondaga County, New York; married Obed Fellows, of -Canaan, Connecticut. Their son, Ephraim<sup>5</sup> Fellows, was the father of -Lucy<sup>6</sup> Fellows, who became the wife of William Agur<sup>6</sup> Plant. <i>See -page 328.</i></p> - -<p class="hang">VI. Ebenezer<sup>4</sup> Plant, born October 26, 1751; baptized December 15, -1751; died April or May, 1796; married, August 17, 1774, Esther<sup>6</sup> -Bassett, daughter of Lieutenant John<sup>5</sup> and Naomi (Wooster) Bassett -(Samuel,<sup>6</sup> Robert,<sup>3</sup> Robert,<sup>2</sup> John<sup>1</sup>), residence, Derby, -Connecticut.<a name="FNanchor_15_15" id="FNanchor_15_15"></a><a href="#Footnote_15_15" class="fnanchor">[15]</a></p> - -<p>Captain Samuel<sup>5</sup> Plant, his son, died at Norfolk, Virginia, in 1815. -His wife was Dorothy<sup>8</sup> Gorham, daughter of Isaac<sup>7</sup> and Sarah -(Atwater) Gorham (John,<sup>4</sup> Isaac,<sup>5</sup> Jabez,<sup>4</sup> John,<sup>3</sup> Ralph<sup>2</sup>, -James<sup>1</sup>), born February 22, 1775; died August 4, 1832, aged 57. Their -daughter, Sarah Atwater<sup>6</sup> Plant (born December 4, 1800, died June 16, -1880), married Nathaniel Jocelyn, of New Haven (born January 31, 1796, -died January 18, 1881).<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_317" id="page_317"></a>{317}</span></p> - -<p class="hang">VII. Sarah<sup>4</sup> Plant, born May 6, 1754; baptized June 9, 1754.</p> - -<p class="hang">VIII. Moses<sup>4</sup> Plant, born March 17, 1760; supposed to have settled at -Niagara, New York, and died there. He was in the Revolutionary War, -Sixth regiment, Connecticut line, Captain James Prentice, of New Haven; -enlisted, April 20, 1777, for eight months; discharged, January 1, 1778; -also enlisted, February 21, 1778, in the regiment of Artificers, from -Branford, for three years.</p> - -<p><i>Authorities.</i>—New Haven, Branford, Guilford, Litchfield, and -Southington Town and Probate Records; Branford Church Records; Orcutt’s -<i>History of Stratford</i>; Orcutt’s <i>History of Derby</i>; <i>The Tuttle -Family</i>; gravestones in Grove Street Cemetery at New Haven; private -records of Hon. Livingston W. Cleaveland, of New Haven, a grandson of -Mr. and Mrs. Nathaniel Jocelyn.</p> - -<p class="c"> -TIMOTHY<sup>3</sup> PLANT—LUCY PARRISH.<br /> -</p> - -<p>Timothy<sup>3</sup> Plant, son of John<sup>2</sup> and Hannah (Whedon) Plant (John<sup>1</sup>), -born April 6, 1724, at Branford; baptized May 17, 1724; married Lucy -Parrish, daughter of John and Hannah Parrish of that place. <i>See page -314.</i></p> - -<p class="hang">I. Lucy<sup>4</sup> Plant, born May 27, 1745; died February 26, 1825, aged 80, -at Saybrook, now Westbrook, Connecticut; married, December 24, 1764, -Daniel Dee, son of William Dee, of Saybrook; born about 1739; died -August 23, 1823, aged 84. Their gravestone is in the old cemetery at -Westbrook.</p> - -<p class="hang">II. Hannah<sup>4</sup> Plant, born March 15, 1747; married, at Saybrook, Jared -Baldwin, son of Jerjah Baldwin, of Milford, where they afterward lived -and are mentioned in the records, November 30, 1819, as occupying their -house with their daughter, Hannah Bassett. <i>See The Baldwin Genealogy.</i></p> - -<p class="hang">III. Timothy<sup>4</sup> Plant, born July 4, 1750; married, 1770, Mary<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_318" id="page_318"></a>{318}</span> Ann -Colberth, who died about 1788, residence, Litchfield, Connecticut. -<i>Account continued on page 323.</i></p> - -<p class="hang">IV. Joel<sup>4</sup> Plant, born March 25, 1753. He is supposed to have died -young.</p> - -<p class="hang">V. Ithiel<sup>4</sup> Plant, born in 1755; married, November 20, 1783, at -Saybrook, Connecticut, Hannah Denison, daughter of George and Jemima -(Post) Denison of that place; born October 25, 1758.<a name="FNanchor_16_16" id="FNanchor_16_16"></a><a href="#Footnote_16_16" class="fnanchor">[16]</a></p> - -<p><i>Authorities.</i>—Town and Probate Records at Deep River; gravestone at -Westbrook; <i>Early Connecticut Marriages</i>, by F. W. Bailey; <i>The Baldwin -Genealogy</i>; <i>Record of Connecticut Men in the War of the Revolution</i>; -United States Pension Records as given by Commissioner Evans.</p> - -<p class="c"> -BENJAMIN<sup>3</sup> PLANT—LORANA BECKWITH.<br /> -</p> - -<p>Benjamin<sup>3</sup> Plant, son of John<sup>2</sup> and Hannah (Whedon) Plant -(John<sup>1</sup>), born, about 1732, at Branford; died August 11, 1808, aged -76; married (1), April 5, 1758 (by Rev. Philemon<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_319" id="page_319"></a>{319}</span> Robbins), Lorana -Beckwith, of Lyme, Connecticut; born about 1736; died March 16, 1789, -aged 53; married (2), June 17, 1790, Abigail Palmer; married (3), -December 6, 1797, Lois Frisbie. He lived in Branford and his children -were born there. <i>See page 315.</i></p> - -<p class="hang">I. Hannah<sup>4</sup> Plant, born January 26, 1759; baptized April 25, 1759; -married, June 30, 1779, John Russell.</p> - -<p class="hang">II. John<sup>4</sup> Plant, born December 1, 1761; baptized January 17, 1762; -removed to Seneca Lake, New York; was twice married but left no -children.</p> - -<p class="hang">III. Benjamin<sup>4</sup> Plant, born October 1, 1763; died 1812; married, 1787, -Lucinda Potter, daughter of Captain Stephen and Sarah (Lindley) Potter; -born April 4, 1767, at Branford; died June 26, 1848. They removed to -Utica, New York, about 1795.</p> - -<p class="indd">1. Sally<sup>5</sup> Plant, born 1790; died 1808.</p> - -<p class="indd">2. Stephen<sup>5</sup> Plant, died 1793.</p> - -<p class="indd">3. Benjamin<sup>5</sup> Plant, born April 28, 1794; died August 7, 1876; -married, April 7, 1823, Sarah Mason, daughter of Arnold and Mercy Mason, -1798-1879.</p> - -<p class="indd">4. James<sup>5</sup> Plant, born June 16, 1798; died January 5, 1860; married, -November 27, 1833, Hannah A. Mason, daughter of Arnold and Mercy Mason; -born 1812.</p> - -<p class="indd">5. John<sup>5</sup> Plant, born June 16, 1789; died young.</p> - -<p class="indd">6. Mary Eliza<sup>5</sup> Plant, born June 9, 1800; died March 1, 1886; married, -September 9, 1820, Roswell Keeler, son of Timothy and Luranay (DeForest) -Keeler; 1791-1864.</p> - -<p class="indd">7. Frederick<sup>5</sup> Plant, born April 27, 1810; died January 31, 1884.</p> - -<p class="hang">IV. Anderson<sup>4</sup> Plant, born November 18, 1765; baptized November 24, -1765; was drowned in the Susquehanna River at the age of about 25.<a name="FNanchor_17_17" id="FNanchor_17_17"></a><a href="#Footnote_17_17" class="fnanchor">[17]</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_320" id="page_320"></a>{320}</span></p> - -<p class="hang">V. Lorana<sup>4</sup> Plant, baptized August 30, 1767; married Henry Garret and -went to Trenton Falls, New York. Their son Orrin Garret was a printer, -and one of the early missionaries to the Sandwich Islands.</p> - -<p class="hang">VI. Peggy<sup>4</sup> Plant, born May 26, 1769; baptized June 4, 1769; married, -March 23, 1793, Jonathan Frisbie.</p> - -<p class="hang">VII. Samuel<sup>4</sup> Plant, born April 1, 1772; baptized April 12, 1772; died -July 29, 1862, aged 90; married, February 11, 1795, Sarah Frisbie; born -May 15, 1774; died August 25, 1841, aged 67. <i>Account continued on page -324.</i></p> - -<p class="hang">VIII. Elias<sup>4</sup> Plant, baptized August 7, 1774; married (1), March 31, -1799, Ruhama Hall, daughter of Elias and Ruhama Hall, and widow of -Thomas Trowbridge; born January 16, 1776; married (2), November 10, -1843, Lydia Linsley. <i>Account continued on page 325.</i></p> - -<p><i>Authorities.</i>—Town, Church, and Probate Records at Branford and -Guilford; <i>History and Genealogy of the Potter Family</i>, Part V., p. 6.</p> - -<p class="c"> -SOLOMON<sup>4</sup> PLANT—SARAH BENNETT.<br /> -</p> - -<p>Solomon<sup>4</sup> Plant, son of James<sup>3</sup> and Bathsheba (Page) Plant -(John,<sup>2</sup> John<sup>1</sup>), born, May 1, 1741, at Branford; died, May 20, -1822, at Stratford; married (1), November 16, 1769, Sarah Bennett, of -Stratford, who died September 15, 1815; married (2), November 19, 1816, -Mrs. Esther (Frost) Botsford.<a name="FNanchor_18_18" id="FNanchor_18_18"></a><a href="#Footnote_18_18" class="fnanchor">[18]</a> <i>See page 315.</i></p> - -<p class="hang">I. Hannah<sup>5</sup> Plant, born October 25, 1770; married, October 7, 1787, -Asa Benjamin; born December 2, 1763.</p> - -<p class="hang">II. Sarah<sup>5</sup> Plant, born January 5, 1775; died August 14,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_321" id="page_321"></a>{321}</span> 1857; -married, September 10, 1797, Daniel Judson; born November 24, 1763; died -October 4, 1847.</p> - -<p class="hang">III. Cata<sup>5</sup> Plant, born December 30, 1777; died January 16, 1778.</p> - -<p class="hang">IV. David<sup>5</sup> Plant, born March 29, 1783; died October 18, 1851; -married, December 5, 1810, Catharine<sup>6</sup> Tomlinson; born October 9, -1787; died June 2, 1835. <i>Account continued on page 327.</i></p> - -<p><i>Authorities.</i>—Rolls of Soldiers in the State of New York; Orcutt’s -<i>History of Stratford</i>.</p> - -<p class="c"> -JAMES<sup>4</sup> PLANT—LUCY JUDD.<br /> -</p> - -<p>James<sup>4</sup> Plant, son of James<sup>3</sup> and Bathsheba (Page) Plant (John,<sup>2</sup> -John<sup>1</sup>), born September 10, 1742, at Branford; died May 16, 1814; -married, January 9, 1772, at New Haven, Lucy Judd, daughter of Joseph -and Ruth (Thompson) Judd; born 1742; died August 17, 1822. <i>See page -315.</i></p> - -<p class="hang">I. Lucy<sup>5</sup> Plant, born May 14, 1773; died May, 1863.</p> - -<p class="hang">II. Joseph<sup>5</sup> Plant, born March 26, 1775; died March 30, 1803.</p> - -<p class="hang">III. Rebekah<sup>5</sup> Plant, born February 6, 1778; died September, 1862.</p> - -<p class="hang">IV. James<sup>5</sup> Plant, born February 16, 1781; died March 23, 1806; -residence, Harwinton. Litchfield records say that he left a wife, Nancy, -and an infant daughter, Laura.</p> - -<p class="hang">V. Sally<sup>5</sup> Plant, born April 14, 1784; died May 23, 1874; married, -February 5, 1803, Zephi Brockett, son of Amos and Lucy (Dutton) -Brockett. <i>See “The Tuttle Family,” page 547.</i></p> - -<p class="hang">VI. Ebenezer<sup>5</sup> Plant, born January 10, 1787; died April 30, 1821, at -Southington, married, August 29, 1809, Lydia Neale, daughter of Jeremiah -and Anna (Fuller) Neale, of that place; born January 29, 1788; died -February 22, 1857. <i>Account continued on page 329.</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_322" id="page_322"></a>{322}</span></p> - -<p class="hang">VII. Vesta<sup>5</sup> Plant, born March 23, 1791; died January 30, 1815.</p> - -<p><i>Authorities.</i>—Town and Probate Records at Branford, Guilford, New -Haven, and Southington; gravestones in Quinnipiack Cemetery at -Plantsville; Letter of Mr. F. H.<sup>7</sup> Plant.</p> - -<p class="c"> -STEPHEN<sup>4</sup> PLANT—REBECCA ——.<br /> -</p> - -<p>Stephen<sup>4</sup> Plant, son of James<sup>3</sup> and Bathsheba (Page) Plant -(John,<sup>2</sup> John<sup>1</sup>), baptized March 8, 1747, at Branford; died before -February 3, 1808, when his estate was admitted to Probate in Litchfield, -Connecticut, and his widow, Rebecca Plant, was appointed -administratrix.<a name="FNanchor_19_19" id="FNanchor_19_19"></a><a href="#Footnote_19_19" class="fnanchor">[19]</a> <i>See page 316.</i></p> - -<p class="hang">I. Naomi<sup>5</sup> Plant, born September 2, 1776.</p> - -<p class="hang">II. Jerusha<sup>5</sup> Plant, born May 17, 1778.</p> - -<p class="hang">III. Orpah<sup>5</sup> Plant, born July 24, 1780.</p> - -<p class="hang">IV. Stephen<sup>5</sup> Plant, born June 25, 1782.</p> - -<p class="hang">V. Ruel<sup>5</sup> Plant, born March 21, 1785; married (1), September 18, 1807, -Phebe Spinyer; married (2), October 30, 1842, Hutsah Williams. Children -by the first marriage, and born in Litchfield.</p> - -<p class="indd">1. Isaac<sup>6</sup> Plant, born August 13, 1808.</p> - -<p class="indd">2. Maryan<sup>6</sup> Plant, born February 7, 1811.</p> - -<p class="indd">3. Hariot<sup>6</sup> Plant, born March 10, 1814.</p> - -<p class="indd">4. Stephen<sup>6</sup> Plant, born January 31, 1817.</p> - -<p class="indd">5. Jane<sup>6</sup> Plant, born February 4, 1819.</p> - -<p class="indd">6. David<sup>6</sup> Plant, born January 30, 1821.</p> - -<p class="indd">7. Phebe<sup>6</sup> Plant, born September 1, 1823.</p> - -<p class="indd">8. Charlotte<sup>6</sup> Plant, born July 1, 1826.</p> - -<p class="indd">9. Abigail<sup>6</sup> Plant, born October 21, 1828.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_323" id="page_323"></a>{323}</span></p> - -<p class="hang">VI. Rebecca<sup>5</sup> Plant, born May 21, 1787.</p> - -<p class="hang">VII. Ammi<sup>5</sup> Plant, born November 5, 1789; married, December 7, 1820, -Mary Barney, of Litchfield, the service being by Rev. Isaac Jones, of -St. Michael’s Church.</p> - -<p class="hang">VIII. Isaac<sup>5</sup> Plant, born March 31, 1793.</p> - -<p class="c"> -TIMOTHY<sup>4</sup> PLANT—MARY ANN COLBERTH.<br /> -</p> - -<p>Timothy<sup>4</sup> Plant, son of Timothy<sup>3</sup> and Lucy (Parrish) Plant -(John,<sup>2</sup> John<sup>1</sup>), born July 4, 1750, at Branford; died about 1777; -married, 1770, Mary Ann Colberth.<a name="FNanchor_20_20" id="FNanchor_20_20"></a><a href="#Footnote_20_20" class="fnanchor">[20]</a> <i>See page 317.</i></p> - -<p class="hang">I. Margaret<sup>5</sup> Plant, born December 11, 1771; married a Gleason.</p> - -<p class="hang">II. Timothy<sup>5</sup> Plant, born January 3, 1773; died April 7, 1836, aged -63; married, January 3, 1795, Chloe Dickerman, of New Haven. <i>Account -continued on page 330.</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_324" id="page_324"></a>{324}</span></p> - -<p class="hang">III. Lucy Parrish<sup>5</sup> Plant, born November 6, 1774; married a Dickinson -and went to the West.</p> - -<p class="hang">IV. Joel<sup>5</sup> Plant, born August 22 (or 24), 1776; died 1853, at -Meridian, New York. <i>Account continued on page 332.</i></p> - -<p class="hang">V. Avis<sup>5</sup> Plant, born 1777; unmarried; resided in Richmond, Virginia, -for some years and died there.</p> - -<p><i>Authorities.</i>—Town and Probate Records at Litchfield; <i>Connecticut -Soldiers in the War of the Revolution</i>; Family Records and Traditions.</p> - -<p class="c"> -SAMUEL<sup>4</sup> PLANT—SARAH FRISBIE.<br /> -</p> - -<p>Samuel<sup>4</sup> Plant, son of Benjamin and Lorana (Beckwith) Plant, born -April 1, 1772; baptized April 12, 1772, at Branford; died July 29, 1862, -aged 90; married, February 11, 1795, Sarah<sup>6</sup> Frisbie, daughter of -Joseph<sup>5</sup> and Sarah (Rogers) Frisbie (Joseph,<sup>4</sup> Joseph,<sup>3</sup> John,<sup>2</sup> -Edward<sup>1</sup>); born May 15, 1774; died August 25, 1841, aged 67. They -lived at Branford. He served as a coastguard in the War of 1812. <i>See -page 320.</i></p> - -<p class="hang">I. Anderson<sup>5</sup> Plant, born January 2, 1796; died October 29, 1826, aged -30; married, December 23, 1818, Betsey Bradley, of Branford. <i>Account -continued on page 335.</i></p> - -<p class="hang">II. Polly<sup>5</sup> Plant, born October 16, 1798; died April 20, 1800.</p> - -<p class="hang">III. Sally<sup>5</sup> Plant, born September 17, 1801; married Judah Frisbie, a -merchant in New Haven.</p> - -<p class="hang">IV. John<sup>5</sup> Plant, born May 19, 1806; died May 22, 1881; married -Angelina Beach, daughter of Asher S. and Statira (Baldwin) Beach; born -October 9, 1807; died January 13, 1883. He was a deacon of the church.</p> - -<p class="indd">1. Mary E.<sup>6</sup> Plant, born October 13, 1826; died September 19, 1879; -married, November 9, 1852, William Norton.</p> - -<p class="indd">2. Anderson W.<sup>6</sup> Plant, born March 21, 1829; died June 22, 1847.</p> - -<p class="indd">3. Sarah J.<sup>6</sup> Plant, born July 24, 1831; died May 30, 1846.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_325" id="page_325"></a>{325}</span></p> - -<p class="indd">4. George W.<sup>6</sup> Plant, born March 12, 1833; married, October 6, 1857, -Eliza E. Lane, of New Haven; born November 16, 1832; she died March 17, -1895.</p> - -<p class="indd">5. John B.<sup>6</sup> Plant, born May 5, 1836; died December 28, 1836.</p> - -<p class="indd">6. Angelina B.<sup>6</sup> Plant, born December 24, 1838; died July 20, 1841.</p> - -<p class="indd">7. Angelina B.<sup>6</sup> Plant, married, October 5, 1858, Henry T. Swift.</p> - -<p class="indd">8. Emily S.<sup>6</sup> Plant, born August 9, 1842; died June 11, 1856.</p> - -<p class="indd">9. Elizabeth R.<sup>6</sup> Plant, baptized August 9, 1846; married, July 12, -1871, Edward A. Anketelle.</p> - -<p class="indd">10. John A.<sup>6</sup> Plant, born April 7, 1848; died September 16, 1852.</p> - -<p class="hang">V. Mary R.<sup>5</sup> Plant, born October 9, 1808; died October 1, 1825, aged -17.</p> - -<p class="hang">VI. Samuel Orin<sup>5</sup> Plant, born June 24, 1815; married, February 26, -1839, Mary Ann Blackstone, daughter of Captain James Blackstone.</p> - -<p class="indd">1. Ellen Blackstone<sup>6</sup> Plant.</p> - -<p class="indd">2. Sarah Frisbie<sup>6</sup> Plant, married Hon. Lynde Harrison, residence, New -Haven.</p> - -<p><i>Authorities.</i>—Town and Church Records at Branford; gravestones at -Branford; Family Records; <i>Baldwin Genealogy</i>; Rokeby’s <i>History of New -Haven County</i>.</p> - -<p class="c"> -ELIAS<sup>4</sup> PLANT—RUHAMAH HALL.<br /> -</p> - -<p>Elias<sup>4</sup> Plant, son of Benjamin<sup>3</sup> and Lorana (Beckwith) Plant -(John,<sup>2</sup> John<sup>1</sup>), baptized August 7, 1774, at Branford; married (1), -March 31, 1799, Ruhamah Hall, daughter of Elias and Ruhamah Hall,<a name="FNanchor_21_21" id="FNanchor_21_21"></a><a href="#Footnote_21_21" class="fnanchor">[21]</a> -and widow of Thomas Trowbridge; born January 16, 1776; married (2), -November 10, 1843, Lydia<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_326" id="page_326"></a>{326}</span> Linsley. The children were by the first -marriage. <i>See page 320.</i></p> - -<p class="hang">I. William<sup>5</sup> Plant, born January 4, 1800; baptized with the four -younger children, September 30, 1810, at Branford; married Polly Beach, -daughter of Asher S. and Statira (Baldwin) Beach. Children born at -Branford.</p> - -<p class="indd">1. Anna Louisa<sup>6</sup> Plant, born February 14, 1832.</p> - -<p class="indd">2. Alonzo Austin<sup>6</sup> Plant, born October 27, 1834; married, July 2, -1857, Elizabeth Mary Hough, of New Haven.</p> - -<p class="indd">3. Edwin Ezra<sup>6</sup> Plant, born February 6, 1837.</p> - -<p class="indd">4. Margaret<sup>6</sup> Plant.</p> - -<p class="indd">5. Lucerne<sup>6</sup> Plant.</p> - -<p class="indd">6. William<sup>6</sup> Plant.</p> - -<p class="indd">7. Albert E.<sup>6</sup> Plant married Bessie Upson, of East Haven, and had two -children, Albert C. Plant and Mabel M. Plant.</p> - -<p class="hang">II. Mary<sup>5</sup> Plant, born September 3, 1801.</p> - -<p class="hang">III. Thomas<sup>5</sup> Plant, born April 14, 1804; died about 1873; married -Sarah Chidsey. His will, dated April 4, 1867, proved June 26, 1873, -appoints his brother James executor, and bequeaths all his estate to his -sister, Jane Maria<sup>5</sup> Plant; residence, Guilford.</p> - -<p class="hang">IV. Edward<sup>5</sup> Plant, born September 8, 1806; married, September 13, -1831, Harriette Jennette<sup>7</sup> Street, daughter of Elnathan<sup>6</sup> and -Clarissa (Morris) Street (Nicholas,<sup>5</sup> Elnathan,<sup>4</sup> Samuel,<sup>3</sup> -Samuel,<sup>2</sup> Nicholas<sup>1</sup>); born July 8, 1807; died June 14, 1866.</p> - -<p class="indd">1. De Forest Edward<sup>6</sup> Plant, born June 27, 1832; died March 7, 1875; -married, June 16, 1857, (by Rev. H. W. Beecher at Plymouth Church in -Brooklyn), Harriet Ely, daughter of C. H. Ely, of Hanover, New Jersey.</p> - -<p class="indd">2. Harriet Evelina<sup>6</sup> Plant, born January 18, 1834; died January 13, -1837.</p> - -<p class="indd">3. Marian Albertina<sup>6</sup> Plant, born April 1, 1839; died November, 1863; -married James La Hon.</p> - -<p class="indd">4. Ella Alexina<sup>6</sup> Plant, born July 29, 1849; died 1864.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_327" id="page_327"></a>{327}</span></p> - -<p class="hang">V. Jane<sup>5</sup> Plant, born March 1, 1808.</p> - -<p class="hang">VI. James<sup>5</sup> Plant, baptized April 28, 1811.</p> - -<p class="hang">VII. Harriet<sup>5</sup> Plant, baptized May 23, 1813; married, February 28, -1839, James Morris.</p> - -<p class="hang">VIII. Julianna<sup>5</sup> Plant, baptized July 22, 1815; married, August 6, -1839, James T. Leete.</p> - -<p class="hang">IX. Elias<sup>5</sup> Plant, baptized June 27, 1817; married, December 31, 1848, -Delia E. Beach. He died, and she married, November 24, 1874, Henry -Doolittle.</p> - -<p class="indd">1. Jane Frances<sup>6</sup> Plant, baptized September 3, 1851.</p> - -<p class="hang">X. Jane Maria<sup>5</sup> Plant, baptized July 4, 1819.</p> - -<p><i>Authorities.</i>—Town and Probate Records; <i>The Trowbridge Family</i>; <i>Hall -Family Record</i>; <i>The Street Genealogy</i>.</p> - -<p class="c"> -DAVID<sup>5</sup> PLANT—CATHARINE TOMLINSON.<br /> -</p> - -<p>David<sup>5</sup> Plant, son of Solomon<sup>4</sup> and Sarah (Bennett) Plant -(James,<sup>3</sup> John,<sup>2</sup> John<sup>1</sup>), born March 29, 1783, at Stratford; died -October 18, 1851; married, December 5, 1810, Catharine<sup>6</sup> Tomlinson, -daughter of Dr. William Agur<sup>5</sup> and Phebe (Lewis) Tomlinson (Agur,<sup>4</sup> -Zechariah,<sup>3</sup> Agur,<sup>2</sup> Henry<sup>1</sup>); born October 9, 1787; died June 2, -1835.<a name="FNanchor_22_22" id="FNanchor_22_22"></a><a href="#Footnote_22_22" class="fnanchor">[22]</a> <i>See page 321.</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_328" id="page_328"></a>{328}</span></p> - -<p class="hang">I. William Agur<sup>6</sup> Plant, born November 21, 1811, at Stratford; died -January 29, 1898, aged 86, at Syracuse, New York; married (1), April 29, -1832, Lucy Fellows, daughter of Ephraim Fellows, and granddaughter of -Obed and Lois (Plant) Fellows; she died in 1883, after a married life of -over fifty-one years, and he married (2), September 5, 1886, Abbie -Healey.<a name="FNanchor_23_23" id="FNanchor_23_23"></a><a href="#Footnote_23_23" class="fnanchor">[23]</a></p> - -<p class="hang">II. Catharine Tomlinson<sup>6</sup> Plant, married John W. Sterling, son of -David and Deborah (Strong) Sterling, residence, Stratford, Connecticut.</p> - -<p class="hang">III. Sarah Elizabeth<sup>6</sup> Plant, married Lauren Beach, residence, -Marcellus, New York.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_329" id="page_329"></a>{329}</span></p> - -<p class="hang">IV. Henry<sup>6</sup> Plant, married Eudocia ——. He was prominent as a business -man in Minneapolis, Minnesota.</p> - -<p class="hang">V. John David<sup>6</sup> Plant, died February 29, 1860, at St. Anthony, -Minnesota, where he was in business.</p> - -<p><i>Authorities.</i>—Orcutt’s <i>History of Stratford</i>; <i>The Syracuse Press</i>; -Letter of Mrs. W. T. Plant, of Syracuse.</p> - -<p class="c"> -EBENEZER<sup>5</sup> PLANT—LYDIA NEALE.<br /> -</p> - -<p>Ebenezer<sup>5</sup> Plant, son of James<sup>4</sup> and Lucy (Judd) Plant (James,<sup>3</sup> -John,<sup>2</sup> John<sup>1</sup>), born January 10, 1787; died April 30, 1821, at -Southington; married, August 29, 1809, Lydia Neale, daughter of Jeremiah -and Anna (Fuller) Neale, of that place; born January 29, 1788; died -February 22, 1857. <i>See page 321.</i></p> - -<p class="hang">I. Harriett<sup>6</sup> Plant, born May 29, 1810; died September 30, 1816.</p> - -<p class="hang">II. Laura Ann<sup>6</sup> Plant, born April 20, 1812; died January 4, 1871; -married, June 28, 1831, Alfred A. Hotchkiss.</p> - -<p class="indd">1. Edwin P.<sup>7</sup> Hotchkiss, a manufacturer at Plantsville.</p> - -<p class="hang">III. Amzi Perrin<sup>6</sup> Plant, born July 2, 1816; died July 24, 1874; -married (1), A. E. Shipman, who died April 3, 1849; married (2), March, -1850, Cornelia Dakin.</p> - -<p class="indd">1. Adelia<sup>7</sup> Plant, born June 22, 1843; died July 1, 1846.</p> - -<p class="indd">2. Emily C.<sup>7</sup> Plant, born May 4, 1853; died April 18, 1867.</p> - -<p class="indd">3. William Perrin<sup>7</sup> Plant, born February 8, 1857.</p> - -<p class="hang">IV. Ebenezer Howard<sup>6</sup> Plant, born February 25, 1821; died January 12, -1891; married, September 28, 1843, Hannah K. Ives, daughter of Samuel -and Abigail (Moss) Ives; born January 6, 1823; died August 17, 1873.</p> - -<p class="indd">1. Frederick Howard<sup>7</sup> Plant, born November 15, 1859.</p> - -<p>Messrs. Amzi Perrin<sup>6</sup> Plant and Ebenezer Howard<sup>6</sup> Plant engaged in -manufactures in the southern part of Southington, which developed into -large industries, giving employment to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_330" id="page_330"></a>{330}</span> many people. The village growing -up about these establishments received their name, and is known as -Plantsville.</p> - -<p><i>Authorities.</i>—Southington Town and Probate Records; gravestones in -Southington; Trumbull’s <i>History of Hartford County</i>.</p> - -<p class="c"> -TIMOTHY<sup>5</sup> PLANT—CHLOE DICKERMAN.<br /> -</p> - -<p>Timothy<sup>5</sup> Plant, son of Timothy<sup>4</sup> and Mary Ann (Colberth) Plant -(Timothy,<sup>3</sup> John,<sup>2</sup> John<sup>1</sup>), born January 3, 1773, at Litchfield, -Connecticut; died April 7, 1836, aged 63, at New Haven; married, January -3, 1795, Chloe<sup>5</sup> Dickerman, of New Haven, daughter of Stephen<sup>4</sup> and -Eunice (Tuttle) Dickerman (Isaac,<sup>3</sup> Abraham,<sup>2</sup> Thomas<sup>1</sup>); born -July 7, 1773; died May 17, 1850; residence, Litchfield and New Haven. -<i>See page 323.</i></p> - -<p class="hang">I. Mary Ann<sup>6</sup> Plant, born February 17, 1796; died 1852; married, May -19, 1816, Samuel Westcott, of Providence, Rhode Island, died January 28, -1824.</p> - -<p class="indd">1. Susan<sup>7</sup> Westcott.</p> - -<p class="indd">2. Mary Ann<sup>7</sup> Westcott.</p> - -<p class="indd">3. Henry P.<sup>7</sup> Westcott.</p> - -<p class="indd">4. George<sup>7</sup> Westcott.</p> - -<p class="hang">II. Benjamin Dickerman<sup>6</sup> Plant, born February 8, 1798; married, -November 6, 1828, Maria Kaigler, of South Carolina; born December 27, -1805. He was a bookseller in Columbia, South Carolina.</p> - -<p class="indd">1. Caroline Elizabeth<sup>7</sup> Plant, married Samuel Rumph; residence, -Marshallville, Georgia.</p> - -<p class="indd">2. George Benjamin<sup>7</sup> Plant, married Lætitia McGehee; residence, -Marshallville.</p> - -<p class="indd">3. Emily Maria<sup>7</sup> Plant, married William I. Greene; residence, Fort -Valley, Georgia.</p> - -<p class="hang">III. Susan<sup>6</sup> Plant, born September 19, 1800; died August 30, 1801.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_331" id="page_331"></a>{331}</span></p> - -<p class="hang">IV. Susan<sup>6</sup> Plant, born October 21, 1802; died January 20, 1831; -married, November 6, 1828, Timothy McCarthy.</p> - -<p class="hang">V. Caroline<sup>6</sup> Plant, born January 27, 1806; died July 14, 1879; -married, February 21, 1830, Fordyce Wrigley, son of Edward Wrigley, of -England; born January 25, 1803; died October 1, 1846; residence, Macon, -Georgia.</p> - -<p class="indd">1. Benjamin Henry<sup>7</sup> Wrigley, married, January 12, 1864, Lucy Knott.</p> - -<p class="indd">2. Julia<sup>7</sup> Wrigley, married, May 10, 1866, D. H. Peden; residence, -Griffin, Georgia.</p> - -<p class="indd">3. Lucia<sup>7</sup> Wrigley, married, October 31, 1888, A. W. Blake.</p> - -<p class="indd">4. William<sup>7</sup> Wrigley, married (1), November, 1866, Annie Mellard; -married (2), Ida McPherson.</p> - -<p class="hang">VI. Timothy Henry<sup>6</sup> Plant, born February 1, 1808; died January 4, -1871; married, August 28, 1834, Sarah Maria Peck, of Kensington, -Connecticut, born September 14, 1814. He and his brother, Increase -Cook<sup>6</sup> Plant, were together at Columbia in the store of their older -brother, and from there went to Augusta, Georgia, and established a book -business under the firm name of “T. H. & I. C. Plant.”</p> - -<p class="indd">1. Augusta M.<sup>7</sup> Plant, residence, Macon, Georgia.</p> - -<p class="hang">VII. Ebenezer<sup>6</sup> Plant, born April 28, 1810; died November 26, 1876; -married Adeline Gibbs Nye, of New Bedford, Massachusetts.</p> - -<p class="indd">1. Ida<sup>7</sup> Plant.</p> - -<p class="indd">2. Lucy<sup>7</sup> Plant.</p> - -<p class="indd">3. Annie<sup>7</sup> Plant.</p> - -<p class="hang">VIII. A child born April 8, 1812, died young.</p> - -<p class="hang">IX. Increase Cook<sup>6</sup> Plant, born February 27, 1814; died November 16, -1892; married (1), July 24, 1838, Charlotte<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_332" id="page_332"></a>{332}</span> Walker; married (2), -October 2, 1843, Elizabeth Mary Hazlehurst. <i>Account continued on page -335.</i></p> - -<p class="hang">X. A daughter, twin of Increase Cook<sup>6</sup> Plant, died young.</p> - -<p><i>Authorities.</i>—<i>Families of Dickerman Ancestry;</i> Private family -records.</p> - -<p class="c"> -JOEL<sup>5</sup> PLANT—MARY JORDAN.<br /> -</p> - -<p>Joel<sup>5</sup> Plant, born August 24, 1776, in Connecticut; died in 1853, at -Meridian, New York; married, November 27, 1800, at Litchfield, -Connecticut, Mary Jordan, of Woodstock; born December 4, 1776; died in -1846, at Peru, New York.<a name="FNanchor_24_24" id="FNanchor_24_24"></a><a href="#Footnote_24_24" class="fnanchor">[24]</a> <i>See page 324.</i></p> - -<p class="hang">I. John<sup>6</sup> Plant, born June 26, 1801; married twice; a physician at -Hyde Park, Pennsylvania.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_333" id="page_333"></a>{333}</span></p> - -<p class="hang">II. Lorenzo<sup>6</sup> Plant, born April 17, 1803; died July 2, 1836, at -Orwell, Vermont; married (1), October 7, 1829, Louisa Hall, who died May -9, 1830, aged 21; married (2), October 11, 1831, Harriet M. Cook; born -December 29, 1812; died March 11, 1888, at Georgia, Vermont. (She -married (2), February 13, 1844, Noah R. Parker.)</p> - -<p class="indd">1. Azro Melvin<sup>7</sup> Plant, born May 25, 1835; married, November 29, 1864, -Annie Fairchild, of Milton, Vermont, born March 27, 1846. He was -Assistant Surgeon, 14th Regiment, Vermont Volunteers in the war, and -served in hospitals at Washington, after which he was a druggist at St. -Albans, Vermont. Residence, in 1898, Milton.</p> - -<p class="hang">III. Alanson<sup>6</sup> Plant, born March 28, 1805; died in 1844; married -Betsey Hiscock, of Onondaga Hill, New York; residence, Kenyonville, New -York.</p> - -<p class="hang">IV. Althea Mariah<sup>6</sup> Plant, born May 7, 1807; died June 27, 1862; -married William M. Taylor (died December, 1850), who had previously -married her sister Mary, who died; residence, Dudley, Massachusetts.</p> - -<p class="indd">1. Mary P.<sup>7</sup> Taylor, born August 11, 1839; died July 2, 1843.</p> - -<p class="indd">2. William A.<sup>7</sup> Taylor, born about 1841; died July 20, 1864.</p> - -<p class="indd">3. Martha O.<sup>7</sup> Taylor, born January 15, 1843; died August 2, 1848.</p> - -<p class="indd">4. Mary A.<sup>7</sup> Taylor, born November 2, 1844; married, October 19, -1871, —— Prentice, Norwich, Connecticut.</p> - -<p class="indd">5. Helen<sup>7</sup> Taylor, born July 27, 1846; married Henry Holt; residence, -Hartford, Connecticut.</p> - -<p class="indd">6. Hyram<sup>7</sup> Taylor, born July 27, 1846; died July 22, 1863.</p> - -<p class="indd">7. Annie Maria<sup>7</sup> Taylor, born November 2, 1847; died July 19, 1849.</p> - -<p class="indd">8. Lorenzo P.<sup>7</sup> Taylor, born December, 1850; died March 30, 1851.</p> - -<p>V. Almira<sup>6</sup> Plant, born April 30, 1809; died December, 1891; married -A. G. Wheeler.</p> - -<p class="hang">VI. Mary<sup>6</sup> Plant, born March 8, 1811; died 1837, at New Boston, -Connecticut; married William M. Taylor.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_334" id="page_334"></a>{334}</span></p> - -<p class="hang">VII. Lucy<sup>6</sup> Plant, born June 26, 1813; died 1843, at Peru, New York.</p> - -<p class="hang">VIII. A. Joel<sup>6</sup> Plant, born May 15, 1815; died 1872, in Cortland -County, New York; married, 1845, Margaret Phillips, of Locke, New York.</p> - -<p class="indd">1. Adin<sup>7</sup> Plant, residence, Binghamton, New York.</p> - -<p class="indd">2. Leona<sup>7</sup> Plant, residence, Binghamton, New York.</p> - -<p class="hang">IX. Lauren P.<sup>6</sup> Plant, born March 7, 1817, in Rutland County, Vermont; -died at Cicero, New York, January 29, 1898; married, February 25, 1836, -Mrs. Sarah R. Smiley, of that place, who died there December 5, 1877. He -was a Republican in politics and held the offices, at different times, -of Town Clerk, Constable, and Deputy Sheriff.</p> - -<p class="indd">1. Byron<sup>7</sup> Plant, born April 29, 1839; married, September 25, 1861, -Minerva Saunders.</p> - -<p class="indd">2. Mary Elizabeth<sup>7</sup> Plant, born January 18, 1842, at Sullivan, New -York; died February 25, 1891; married, April 11, 1867, Job Fuller, of -Syracuse.</p> - -<p class="indd">3. Almira<sup>7</sup> Plant, born September 2, 1844, at Cicero; married, October -6, 1886, John S. Botsford, of Clay, New York.</p> - -<p class="hang">X. Arunah H.<sup>6</sup> Plant, born October 25, 1819; died September 5, 1873; -married, April 19, 1848, at Maumee, Ohio, Mrs. Amelia Lane. In 1866 he -wrote to his niece in Vermont, “I have not accumulated much of this -world’s goods, but have a pleasant home and am contented.”</p> - -<p class="indd">1. Mary Sedate<sup>7</sup> Plant, born December 31, 1848; married, January, -1885, J. M. McCann, of Toledo, Ohio.</p> - -<p class="indd">2. Helen M.<sup>7</sup> Plant, born September 12, 1850; married, September 1, -1880, Elijah Lee Jaquis.</p> - -<p><i>Authorities.</i>—Letters from members of the family.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_335" id="page_335"></a>{335}</span></p> - -<p class="c"> -ANDERSON<sup>5</sup> PLANT—BETSEY BRADLEY.<br /> -</p> - -<p>Anderson<sup>5</sup> Plant, son of Samuel<sup>4</sup> and Sarah (Frisbie) Plant -(Benjamin,<sup>3</sup> John,<sup>2</sup> John<sup>1</sup>), born January 2, 1796, at Branford; -died there October 29, 1826<a name="FNanchor_25_25" id="FNanchor_25_25"></a><a href="#Footnote_25_25" class="fnanchor">[25]</a>; married, December 23, 1818, Betsey<sup>6</sup> -Bradley, daughter of Levi<sup>5</sup> and Lydia (Beach) Bradley (Timothy,<sup>4</sup> -Daniel,<sup>3</sup> Isaac,<sup>2</sup> Francis<sup>1</sup>), born August 28, 1799; died January -20, 1886, at New Haven. She married (2), Philemon Hoadley, born March -31, 1797, at Southampton, Massachusetts; died January 28, 1862, at New -Haven. <i>See page 324.</i></p> - -<p class="hang">I. Henry Bradley<sup>6</sup> Plant, born October 27, 1819; married (1), -September 25, 1843, Ellen E. Blackstone, who died February 28, 1861; -married (2), July 2, 1873, Margaret Josephine Loughman, only daughter of -Martin Loughman of New York City. <i>Account continued on page 336.</i></p> - -<p class="hang">II. Eliza Ann<sup>6</sup> Plant, baptized September 26, 1824, died young.</p> - -<p><i>Authorities.</i>—Branford and Guilford Town and Probate Records; <i>The -Hoadley Family</i>.</p> - -<p class="c"> -INCREASE COOK<sup>6</sup> PLANT—MARY E. HAZLEHURST.<br /> -</p> - -<p>Increase Cook<sup>6</sup> Plant, son of Timothy<sup>5</sup> and Chloe (Dickerman) Plant -(Timothy,<sup>4</sup> Timothy,<sup>3</sup> John,<sup>2</sup> John<sup>1</sup>), born February 27, 1814, -at New Haven; died July 23, 1883, at Macon, Georgia; married (1), July -24, 1838, Charlotte Walker, of Leamingston, Vermont, who died March 12, -1839; married (2), October 2, 1843, Elizabeth Mary<sup>5</sup> Hazlehurst, -daughter of Robert<sup>4</sup> and Elizabeth Pettingale (Wilson) Hazlehurst<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_336" id="page_336"></a>{336}</span> -(Robert,<sup>3</sup> Isaac,<sup>2</sup> Robert<sup>1</sup>), born April 20, 1819, at Brunswick, -Georgia; died July 23, 1883, at Macon.</p> - -<p>Beginning business in a bookstore with his brother at Augusta, Georgia, -he soon entered upon a banking business, which he followed at Columbus -and Brunswick, and finally at Macon, where his name is held in honor not -only as a banker but as an influential, public-spirited citizen. <i>See -page 331.</i></p> - -<p class="hang">I. Mary Hazlehurst<sup>7</sup> Plant, married, October 6, 1875, Marshall de -Graffenried; residence, Atlanta, Georgia.</p> - -<p class="hang">II. Robert Hazlehurst<sup>7</sup> Plant, born December 21, 1847; married, July -25, 1871, Margaret Redding Ross, daughter of John Bennett and Martha -(Redding) Ross, of Macon. He succeeded his father in the banking -business, and has engaged in other enterpises, insurance and -manufacturing, which are highly prosperous.</p> - -<p class="hang">III. George Henry<sup>7</sup> Plant, married Minnie Leila Wood; residence, -Macon, where he is engaged in banking in the firm with his brother.</p> - -<p class="hang">IV. Elizabeth Wilson<sup>7</sup> Plant, married Alonzo D. Schofield; residence, -Macon.</p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> - -<tr><td>HENRY BRADLEY<sup>6</sup> PLANT—</td> - -<td class="bdrlft"><span class="smcap">Ellen E. Blackstone.</span><br /> -<span class="smcap">Margaret J. Loughman.</span></td></tr> -</table> - -<p>Henry Bradley<sup>6</sup> Plant, son of Anderson<sup>5</sup> and Betsey (Bradley) Plant -(Samuel,<sup>4</sup> Benjamin,<sup>3</sup> John,<sup>2</sup> John<sup>1</sup>), born October 27, 1819, -at Branford; married (1), September 25, 1843, Ellen E.<sup>7</sup> Blackstone, -daughter of Captain James<sup>6</sup> and Sarah (Beach) Blackstone (Timothy,<sup>5</sup> -John,<sup>4</sup> John,<sup>3</sup> John,<sup>2</sup> Rev. W. T.<sup>1</sup>); born February 21, 1821; -died February 28, 1861; married (2), July 2, 1873, Margaret Josephine -Loughman, only daughter of Martin Loughman, of New York City. <i>See page -335.</i></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_337" id="page_337"></a>{337}</span></p> - -<p class="hang">I. A boy; ——, born ——, died June 17, 1846, aged 17 mo., 4 days.</p> - -<p class="hang">II. Morton F.<sup>7</sup> Plant, born August 18, 1852; married Nellie<sup>7</sup> -Capron, daughter of Col. F. B.<sup>6</sup>; Capron, of Baltimore, Md. They have -a son, Henry Bradley<sup>8</sup> Plant, Jr., born May 18, 1895.</p> - -<p>Banfield<sup>1</sup> Capron, born in Chester, England, in 1640. In 1654 he came -to America, to Barrington, Mass.; married a lady named Callender, of -Rehoboth, Mass. They had twelve children, six sons and six daughters. He -died August 20, 1752; gravestone in Attleboro.</p> - -<p>Jonathan<sup>2</sup> Capron, farmer, sixth son, of Attleboro, Mass., born March -11, 1705; married Rebecca Morse, who died August 29, 1772. (See -gravestone, Attleboro.) They had eight children.</p> - -<p>Elisha<sup>3</sup> Capron, third son, married Abigail Makepeace, of Norton, -Mass., and resided at Attleboro, Mass.; had nine children.</p> - -<p>Seth<sup>4</sup> Capron, first son, born September 23, 1762; married Eunice -Mann, of Attleboro, Mass., daughter of Jesse Brown, of Cumberland, R. I. -They had six children. Fought in the Revolutionary War; died at Walden, -Orange County, N. Y., September 4, 1835.</p> - -<p>Newton Mann<sup>5</sup> Capron, first son, born August 24, 1791, at Cumberland, -R. I.; married Maria Brown, May 29, 1815; had two children.</p> - -<p>Francis Brown<sup>6</sup> Capron, first son, born May 17, 1816; married Olivia -Royston at Baltimore, Md., and had three children.</p> - -<p>Nellie<sup>7</sup> Capron, first daughter; married Morton Freeman<sup>7</sup> Plant, -June 23, 1887.</p> - -<p class="c"><img src="images/ill_378.jpg" alt="[text decoration not available.]" /><br /> -</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_338" id="page_338"></a>{338}</span> </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_339" id="page_339"></a>{339}</span> </p> - -<h2><a name="INDEX" id="INDEX"></a><img src="images/ill_380.jpg" alt="[text decoration not available.]" /><br /> - INDEX.</h2> - -<p class="c"><a href="#A">A</a>, -<a href="#B">B</a>, -<a href="#C">C</a>, -<a href="#D">D</a>, -<a href="#E">E</a>, -<a href="#F">F</a>, -<a href="#N">N</a>, -<a href="#P">P</a>, -<a href="#R">R</a>, -<a href="#S">S</a>, -<a href="#T">T</a>, - -<a href="#W">W</a>.</p> - -<p class="nind"> -<a name="A" id="A"></a>Adams Express Company, organized March, 1853, and April, 1854;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">list of shareholders, <a href="#page_052">52</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">in 1861 this company sold and transferred its entire interests in the South to H. B. Plant, <a href="#page_054">54</a></span><br /> -<br /> -Atlanta Exposition of 1895, object of, <a href="#page_157">157</a>;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mr. Plant’s interest in, and exhibit at, said Exposition, <a href="#page_157">157</a>, <a href="#page_158">158</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">“Plant Day” at the Exposition;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mr. Plant’s seventy-eighth birthday;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">importance of “Plant Day,” <a href="#page_159">159</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Plant System described, <a href="#page_160">160</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">opening up of Florida by this System, <a href="#page_161">161</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">purchase of railroads;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">extending the System;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Plant Investment Company, <a href="#page_161">161</a>, <a href="#page_162">162</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">purchase of railroads and establishment of steamboat lines, <a href="#page_161">161-163</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">steamship line to Canada, <a href="#page_164">164</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Exposition described by the press;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">various newspaper accounts, <a href="#page_221">221-263</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Atlanta Exposition’s recognition of Mr. Plant’s services to the Exposition, <a href="#page_253">253</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">he is appreciated, feasted, and honored, <a href="#page_254">254</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Florida’s truest friend, <a href="#page_254">254</a></span><br /> -<br /> -<br /> -<a name="B" id="B"></a>Blackstone family: William Blaxton<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">only one in State of Massachusetts;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">lived in wilderness among wild beasts and savage men;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Boston Common;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Blackstone’s beautiful character, <a href="#page_023">23</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Captain Blackstone was father of Mr. Plant’s first wife;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his son Timothy’s gift of a library (memorial to his father);</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his education and successful career, <a href="#page_026">26</a>, <a href="#page_027">27</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">history of Blackstone family in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Branford, Connecticut, <a href="#page_029">29</a>, <a href="#page_030">30</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">five generations lived and died on the old family farm in Branford;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">James a strong character in politics and patriotic service;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Timothy, his son, donor of library, <a href="#page_031">31-33</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Ellen Elizabeth, second daughter of James Blackstone, married Henry B. Plant;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Sir William Blackstone, author of <i>Law Commentaries</i>, was fifth cousin of James Blackstone, <a href="#page_034">34</a></span><br /> -<br /> -Board of Trade, Savannah, resolutions, <a href="#page_221">221</a>;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mr. Wiley’s address, <a href="#page_222">222</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mr. Plant’s acknowledgment, <a href="#page_226">226</a></span><br /> - -Branford, Connecticut, purchased from Indians in 1638;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">first settled, 1644, by people from New Haven, <a href="#page_015">15</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">first church;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">danger from Indians;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">records of;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">colony from, <a href="#page_016">16</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">John Plum first town clerk;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">resembles Harlem, N. Y., in customs, <a href="#page_002">2</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">second church built, its architecture, seating, etc., <a href="#page_017">17</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">its pulpit;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">foot stoves, <a href="#page_018">18</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Rev. Timothy Gillett, its pastor, taught an academy also;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">strained relations with his congregation, <a href="#page_019">19</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">he and wife buried at Branford, <a href="#page_020">20</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">this</span> -town rendered patriotic service in Revolution, <a href="#page_020">20</a>, <a href="#page_021">21</a>;<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_340" id="page_340"></a>{340}</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">once shipbuilding flourished;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">seaport town;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">seat of colonial governor, <a href="#page_022">22</a></span><br /> - -Bullock, Ex-Governor: description of H. B. Plant, <a href="#page_099">99-101</a><br /> - -<br /> -<a name="C" id="C"></a>Canals: Erie;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Suez, <a href="#page_276">276</a></span><br /> - -Changes that have taken place in the configuration of the globe during Mr. Plant’s lifetime, <a href="#page_264">264-269</a><br /> - -Cotton States, development due largely to H. B. Plant, <a href="#page_165">165</a>, <a href="#page_248">248-251</a><br /> - -Cuba: scenery;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">architecture, Moorish, Saxon, and Doric;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Morro Castle;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Santa Catalina warehouses;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">mail service by the Plant line of steamers, <a href="#page_114">114-116</a></span><br /> - -<br /> -<a name="D" id="D"></a>Duelling once legalized, <a href="#page_275">275</a><br /> - -<br /> -<a name="E" id="E"></a>Engineering skill, great achievements of, <a href="#page_279">279</a><br /> - -England’s bad laws;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">favored the rich;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">severe in punishing crime;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">cruel treatment of prisoners, <a href="#page_271">271</a>, <a href="#page_272">272</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">war barbarities, inhuman treatment of soldiers, <a href="#page_272">272</a>, <a href="#page_273">273</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">educational progress, <a href="#page_275">275</a></span><br /> - -<br /> -<a name="F" id="F"></a>Frisbee family, sketch of;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Edward Ebenezer;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Elisha;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Professor Levi;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">James;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Richard;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">John;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Joseph;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">President Edward S., of Wells College;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">O. L. Frisbee, <a href="#page_004">4-7</a></span><br /> - -<br /> -<a name="N" id="N"></a>Nineteenth century: demonstration at its beginning, <a href="#page_269">269</a>, <a href="#page_270">270</a>;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">political and social condition of France, <a href="#page_270">270</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Napoleon’s bad and good influence on Europe, <a href="#page_271">271</a></span><br /> - -<br /> -<a name="P" id="P"></a>Penny postage originated, <a href="#page_275">275</a><br /> - -Plant, A. P., his industry, religion, and success in life, <a href="#page_001">1-2</a><br /> - -Plant, David, <a href="#page_002">2</a>;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">education and career, <a href="#page_003">3</a></span><br /> - -Plant, Henry Bradley: birth and parentage, <a href="#page_001">1</a>;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">descended from J. Frisbee, a major in Washington’s army, <a href="#page_004">4</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">right to join the “Sons of the American Revolution,” <a href="#page_013">13</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Plants settled in Branford over two hundred years ago;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">their descendants still own the lands of the first settlers;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Anderson Plant, father of Henry B., <a href="#page_035">35</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">died when Henry was six years old, <a href="#page_036">36</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">death of father’s sister, and also Henry’s sister;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Henry’s first recollections of his mother, <a href="#page_036">36</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">enduring and tender impressions of an hour;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">poem, <a href="#page_037">37</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">poet’s mother, <a href="#page_038">38</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the boy Henry’s first day at school, <a href="#page_038">38</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his courage fails him, <a href="#page_039">39</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">diffident all his life, <a href="#page_039">39</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his mother’s second marriage, <a href="#page_040">40</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">moved from Branford to Martinsburg;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">lived part of the time there with mother and stepfather, and part with grandmother Plant at Branford, <a href="#page_040">40</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">here he was thrown from a plow horse and badly injured, <a href="#page_040">40</a>, <a href="#page_041">41</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">testimony of A. P. B., “one of the noblest and best of men,” <a href="#page_041">41</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">parents moved to New Haven, <a href="#page_041">41</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">declined grandmother’s offer of a course in Yale College, <a href="#page_041">41</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">studies under Rev. Gillett and John E. Lovell, <a href="#page_042">42</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his first attempts at business did not succeed, <a href="#page_042">42</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">in 1837 began as captain’s boy on New York and New Haven line of steamers, <a href="#page_042">42</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">manly boy, <a href="#page_042">42</a>, <a href="#page_043">43</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">first experiences in express business, <a href="#page_043">43</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">it was hard at first, but improved after a time, <a href="#page_044">44</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his development of Southern Express, <a href="#page_044">44</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">enlargement of responsibility by addition of railroads, steamship lines, and hotels, <a href="#page_045">45</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Captain Stone’s fondness for young Plant, <a href="#page_045">45</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">marries Miss Blackstone in 1842;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">first child died, aged eighteen months;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">second son, Morton Freeman,</span> -now associated with his father, <a href="#page_045">45</a>;<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_341" id="page_341"></a>{341}</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">removes from New Haven to New York;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">is employed by Beecher Express Co., <a href="#page_046">46</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">next by Adams Express Co., <a href="#page_046">46</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his mother banked his savings, <a href="#page_046">46</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">bought some New Haven bank stock, which he still owns, <a href="#page_046">46</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">buys a pew in a new church, <a href="#page_046">46</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">stepfather died at New Haven in 1862 or 1863;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">failure of his wife’s health takes him to Florida in 1853;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the journey took eight days by three different steamers, <a href="#page_047">47</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mrs. Plant’s improved health and return to New York, <a href="#page_047">47</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">landing at Jacksonville, and romantic experiences while in Florida, <a href="#page_048">48</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">lost their way in the woods five miles from boarding-house;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">sail in a “dug-out,” <a href="#page_048">48</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">drive in a buggy;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Indian girl, <a href="#page_049">49</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">boarding at the Judson Hotel, New York;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Captain Stone leaves his son in Mr. Plant’s care;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Plant returns South on account of wife’s failing health;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">appointed superintendent of Harnden’s Express, at Savannah, <a href="#page_051">51</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">appointed superintendent of Adams Express Company, 1854, <a href="#page_052">52</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">large development of the company under his superintendence;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">difficulty of the work, <a href="#page_053">53</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">extent of business of the Southern and Texas Express Companies, of which Mr. Plant is president, <a href="#page_054">54</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">formed, and became president of, Southern Express Co. in 1861, <a href="#page_055">55</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">death of wife at Augusta, Ga., February <a href="#page_028">28</a>, 1861;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">remains afterward removed to Branford, Conn., <a href="#page_055">55</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">buys a slave, who proves a good nurse to Mr. Plant, <a href="#page_058">58</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">impaired health, and change of climate ordered by doctor;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pass from President Davis to pass through Confederate lines at any point, <a href="#page_059">59</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">goes to Bermuda, Halifax, and Montreal;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">son Morton brought to him;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">visits his mother at New Haven, Conn.;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">in fall sails for Liverpool;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">a stranger in a strange land, <a href="#page_059">59</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">goes to Paris;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">courtesy of French officials in passport;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">visits Rome, Naples, Leghorn, Barcelona, Milan, and Venice, <a href="#page_060">60</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">travelled in Switzerland, <a href="#page_060">60</a>, <a href="#page_061">61</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">returned by way of Canada, and was in New York when President Lincoln was assassinated, <a href="#page_061">61</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his second marriage and trip to Europe in 1873, accompanied by his wife, mother, and son, <a href="#page_061">61</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his third visit to Europe, 1889;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">represented the United States as juror in Class Six, at the Paris Exposition, <a href="#page_061">61</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">medals for Plant System, diploma to Mr. Plant, and many courtesies extended, <a href="#page_061">61</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his busy life in Augusta;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">difficulties of express work caused by the war;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">bravely met and adjusted, <a href="#page_062">62</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">hotel life in Augusta; letter of a friend, <a href="#page_063">63</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his health fails, <a href="#page_064">64</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">rewards a kindness done to his wife and child thirty-six years ago <a href="#page_065">65</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his second wife Miss Loughman;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">her ancestors;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">her interest and impress on some achievements of the System, <a href="#page_067">67</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mr. Plant’s intuitive knowledge and keen insight illustrated, <a href="#page_068">68</a>, <a href="#page_069">69</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">after-dinner speeches, Tampa Board of Trade banquet, <a href="#page_070">70-72</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Florida Mr. Plant’s hobby;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">banquet given him at Ocala, in 1896, at Ocala Hotel, <a href="#page_087">87</a>, <a href="#page_088">88</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his reply to many addresses of welcome on the subject, “The Plant System,” <a href="#page_088">88-94</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">reception, excursion, and banquet given Mr. Plant and friends by the mayor and leading citizens of Leesburg, <a href="#page_095">95</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">reception next day at Eustis, <a href="#page_095">95</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his words of cheer to the people who had suffered great loss from the freeze of the previous winter destroying -their orange groves, <a href="#page_096">96</a>;</span><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_342" id="page_342"></a>{342}</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">their grateful appreciation of his visit, <a href="#page_096">96</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">honesty, importance of;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">testimonies to this quality of his character, <a href="#page_097">97</a>, <a href="#page_098">98</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his power and influence over employees and associates, <a href="#page_099">99</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Ex-Gov. Bullock’s description of Mr. Plant’s ability, fidelity, and gentlemanly character, <a href="#page_099">99</a>, <a href="#page_100">100</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">industry and power of endurance, <a href="#page_102">102-104</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">character and manner of answering his large mail, <a href="#page_102">102-104</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">missionary letter from Japan, <a href="#page_103">103</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his private car;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">comfort, elegance of, <a href="#page_103">103</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">old darkie “shining up <a href="#page_100">100</a>,” <a href="#page_104">104</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">keen intuition, and great power of self-control, <a href="#page_105">105</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">calm, quiet spirit, kindly nature, and efficient performance of all he does, <a href="#page_105">105</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">testimony of an employee, of respect and appreciation of Mr. Plant’s character and work for the South, <a href="#page_105">105</a>, <a href="#page_106">106</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his calm and kindly spirit saved him the consuming force of friction which grinds some men, <a href="#page_106">106</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">not a pessimist or recluse;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">loves music and social life, <a href="#page_107">107</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">medical benefactor, <a href="#page_107">107</a>, <a href="#page_108">108</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">much pain saved by medical progress, <a href="#page_108">108</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mr. Plant’s share in alleviating suffering, <a href="#page_109">109</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">testimony of physicians to healthfulness of Florida for invalids, <a href="#page_110">110</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mr. Plant facilitates travel, and provides hotels healthful and luxurious, <a href="#page_111">111-113</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">furnishes comfortable transit from Florida to Cuba and Jamaica;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">press notices of Mr. Plant and his philanthropic work for the South in railroads, steamship lines, hotels, etc., <a href="#page_121">121</a>, <a href="#page_122">122</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">promoted orange-growing by the facilities afforded for getting the fruit soon and safe to market, <a href="#page_123">123</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">railroads induced many people to settle in the South, <a href="#page_124">124</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">various railroads bought, built, and combined in the Plant System, <a href="#page_126">126</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">steamer <i>Mascotte</i>, elegant and comfortable, <a href="#page_127">127</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">railroad topics;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">notes, characteristics, and success of his life, <a href="#page_128">128</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">largely a pioneer in his work of opening up the South, <a href="#page_131">131</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Plant Investment Company’s president, <a href="#page_132">132</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his palatial residence in New York City, <a href="#page_132">132</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">never speculates in Wall Street, <a href="#page_133">133</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">analysis of his disposition, temper, spirit, and pleasant manner, <a href="#page_133">133</a>, <a href="#page_134">134</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>Home Journal</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Ocala <i>Evening Star</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">similar descriptions, <a href="#page_134">134-140</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his close and constant contact with the Plant System, <a href="#page_141">141</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">notes of his voyage from New York to Key West, <a href="#page_142">142-146</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">also from Port Tampa to Jamaica;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">attentions of distinguished people, <a href="#page_146">146</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Lady Blake’s garden party at King’s House on February 1st, <a href="#page_146">146</a>, <a href="#page_147">147</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">entertainment and enjoyment at Jamaica, <a href="#page_147">147-149</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his economical management of the Plant System, <a href="#page_150">150</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">riding in a baggage-car saw expressman handle carelessly a box marked “glass,” etc.;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">gentle rebuke;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">saved the man from discharge by superior officer, <a href="#page_152">152</a>, <a href="#page_153">153</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">generous treatment of an honored employee, <a href="#page_153">153</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">horrors of strikes contrasted with “Plant Day” at Atlanta Exposition in 1896, <a href="#page_153">153</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">spent over forty years of his life in developing the South, <a href="#page_166">166</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">eulogies on his character and work, <a href="#page_166">166-168</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">“Loving Cup” and other presentations, <a href="#page_169">169-178</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mr. Plant’s response, <a href="#page_178">178-181</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">programme of “Plant Day” at Atlanta Exposition, <a href="#page_204">204</a>, <a href="#page_205">205</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">ringing of the “Liberty Bell,” <a href="#page_206">206</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">services at the Auditorium;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">enthusiastic reception, <a href="#page_207">207</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">music and speeches, <a href="#page_208">208-210</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mayor King and others, <a href="#page_210">210-212</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mr. Plant’s response, <a href="#page_212">212-217</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">resolutions, complimentary,</span> -<a href="#page_217">217-220</a>;<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_343" id="page_343"></a>{343}</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Judge Falligant’s speech, <a href="#page_220">220-221</a></span><br /> - -Profanity and drunkenness lessened, <a href="#page_275">275</a><br /> - -<br /> -<a name="R" id="R"></a>Railroads: waste of railroad strikes, <a href="#page_150">150</a>;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">losses to employers and employed, <a href="#page_150">150</a>, <a href="#page_151">151</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">damage to commerce, demoralization of labor, inconvenience and losses to the public, <a href="#page_151">151</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">no strikes on Plant System, <a href="#page_151">151</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">due to President Plant, <a href="#page_152">152</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">strikes contrasted with “Plant Day” at Atlanta Exposition, <a href="#page_153">153</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">“Plant Day” as described by employees of the System, <a href="#page_154">154</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">introduction to this description, <a href="#page_154">154-156</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">railroads, introduction of in England, and United States, <a href="#page_277">277</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Edward Entwistle ran the first train in England, came to this country, <a href="#page_277">277</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">railroad mileage in the United States increased from three miles to <a href="#page_173">173</a>, 453 in Mr. Plant’s lifetime, <a href="#page_278">278</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">first steamship that crossed the Atlantic;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">first regular line established, <a href="#page_278">278</a></span><br /> - -<br /> -<a name="S" id="S"></a>Southern Express Company formed, 1861, <a href="#page_054">54</a>, <a href="#page_055">55</a>;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">its relations to and services for the Southern Confederacy;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">given the custody of all government funds, it collected tariffs, and had soldiers detailed for its service, <a href="#page_056">56</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">President Davis’ proclamation for all non-citizens of Confederacy to leave its bounds;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">permission given Mr. Plant to remain and conduct express business, 57:</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">generous service of the company to soldiers in the war, <a href="#page_065">65-66</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">presentation of silver service by the company to its president, <a href="#page_066">66</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Southern development due largely to H. B. Plant, <a href="#page_165">165</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">history of the company, <a href="#page_233">233-236</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the company’s building and exhibit on the fair grounds, <a href="#page_236">236</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">reception in this building to Mr. Plant and friends, <a href="#page_237">237</a>, <a href="#page_238">238</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">thanks tendered the press, <a href="#page_239">239</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">telegrams and congratulations, <a href="#page_239">239-241</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">honors to Mr. Plant, <a href="#page_243">243</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">list of employees present, <a href="#page_245">245</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">sketch of Mr. Plant published in Atlanta <i>Chronicle</i>, <a href="#page_247">247-248</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">slavery abolished, <a href="#page_273">273</a></span><br /> - -<br /> -<a name="T" id="T"></a>Tampa, progress of, <a href="#page_070">70-72</a>;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">speech of Mr. Plant, <a href="#page_073">73</a>, <a href="#page_074">74</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">growth of Tampa, Mr. Plant’s share in its growth, <a href="#page_074">74</a>, <a href="#page_075">75</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">cigar-making industry, <a href="#page_076">76</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">phosphate mines, <a href="#page_076">76</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the town as Mr. Plant found it in 1885, <a href="#page_077">77</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">description of the great hotel, <a href="#page_078">78</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">grounds, <a href="#page_080">80</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">description of Tampa, streets, buildings, water supply, brickmaking, <a href="#page_081">81</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">population, character of;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Spaniards, Cubans, colored, Americans, <a href="#page_081">81-82</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Ybor City, its tobacco factories, <a href="#page_082">82-83</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">rapid increase of population and wealth, <a href="#page_083">83</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">colored people thrifty and well-to-do, <a href="#page_084">84</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">own their homes, have schools, churches, and are respected by their white neighbors, <a href="#page_085">85</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Port Tampa, its inn, or hotel, open all the year, <a href="#page_085">85</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">good fishing, bass, tarpon or silver king, <a href="#page_085">85</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Tampa’s boards of trade, health, and education, <a href="#page_086">86</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Tampa Bay Hotel,—described by W. C. Prime, <a href="#page_183">183-186</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">also by Henry G. Parker, <a href="#page_187">187-192</a></span><br /> - -Tampa Bay, De Soto’s dream, Aladdin’s Lamp, <a href="#page_192">192-195</a>;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">description of the Palace Hotel, architecture, furniture, <a href="#page_196">196-203</a></span><br /> - -Tampa’s historical interest: De Soto landed here on May <a href="#page_025">25</a>, 1539, discovers the Mississippi River afterwards, <a href="#page_191">191</a>;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Navarez obtains grant of land from Charles V. of Spain, <a href="#page_191">191</a></span><br /> - -Temperance societies formed, <a href="#page_273">273-275</a><br /> - -Tunnels, <a href="#page_279">279</a>, <a href="#page_280">280</a><br /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_344" id="page_344"></a>{344}</span><br /> - -Varied progress: steel pens, steamships, iron, lucifer matches, kerosene oil used, machine sewing, agriculture, <a href="#page_280">280</a>;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mr. Plant on roof of office in New York noting progress, <a href="#page_283">283</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">sanitary progress, life lengthened by it, <a href="#page_282">282</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">territorial extension of our country, increase of wealth, rapid growth of cities, <a href="#page_283">283-284</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">philanthropic and Christian progress;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">higher education, better care of the insane, aged, orphans, sailors, neglected children, seamen, and others by societies, <a href="#page_285">285</a>, <a href="#page_286">286</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">conventions for mutual counsel in reform and charitable work, clubs multiplied, social, scientific, <a href="#page_286">286</a>, <a href="#page_287">287</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">female education, co-education, <a href="#page_287">287</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">homes for all classes of dependent human beings, <a href="#page_288">288</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">progress of medical science, lessening disease and suffering, <a href="#page_288">288-290</a></span><br /> - -<br /> -<a name="W" id="W"></a>World’s Fairs, International, <a href="#page_291">291</a>;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">arbitration;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">better Christian spirit, among all who bear the name, <a href="#page_291">291</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Electrical Exposition, <a href="#page_292">292</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">message round the world in 55 minutes, <a href="#page_292">292</a>, <a href="#page_293">293</a></span><br /> -</p> - -<p class="c"><img src="images/ill_385.jpg" alt="[text decoration not available.]" /><br /> -</p> - -<div class="footnotes"><p class="cb">FOOTNOTES:</p> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> George Frisbie Hoar.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> Mr. Alfred Plant, of Webster Grove, Missouri, in a letter -of December 11, 1897.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> Mr. George D. Plant, Principal of the Seward School in -Chicago.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> <i>New Eng. Hist. and Gen. Reg.</i>, April 1886.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_5_5" id="Footnote_5_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_5"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> <i>Lists of Emigrants</i>, by J. C. Hotten.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_6_6" id="Footnote_6_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_6"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> <i>Soldiers in King Philip’s War</i>, by George M. Bodge, page -442.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_7_7" id="Footnote_7_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_7_7"><span class="label">[7]</span></a> His name appears, November 6, 1677, as a witness on the -record of a payment. On February 20, 1683, he was given six acres on -Mulliner’s Hill, below the road, on condition of his improving it within -two years. On February 4, 1688, he was given six acres more “on the way -hill,” that is, half way to the iron works at the outlet of the lake. He -was sworn in as a freeman at Branford, April 8, 1690. His lot was laid -out below the path, bounded on the west corner by a great -white-oak-tree, on the north corner by a small walnut-, on the east by a -black-oak-, and by a walnut-tree at the south. -</p><p> -The original home of the Plants seems to have been near George Plant’s -present residence. The old Plant house was once used as a hotel and -again as a store. A tornado once tore down a fine orchard behind the -house, and overthrew a cider mill near it. John<sup>2</sup> Plant, Jr., sold the -part of Mulliner’s Hill, which had formerly belonged to Thomas Goodsell, -to Deacon John Rose, July 13, 1713, and bought of John Goodsell, in -1727, three acres at Mulliner’s Neck.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_8_8" id="Footnote_8_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_8_8"><span class="label">[8]</span></a> Orcutt’s <i>History of Stratford</i> says that John Plant’s wife -was Betty Roundkettle, and that he was probably of the Saltonstall -company, but the authority is not stated.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_9_9" id="Footnote_9_9"></a><a href="#FNanchor_9_9"><span class="label">[9]</span></a> Elizabeth Plant married, July 23, 1712, John Coach, also of -Branford, who died about 1728, as evidenced by the Probate Records. She -was appointed administrator, June 14, 1728. The inventory exhibited June -26th following gives the valuation of his property at £118 14<i>s.</i> 4<i>d.</i> -The children are named, Sarah, about twelve years of age, James, ten, -Elizabeth, eight, Mary, five, John, three. -</p><p> -Sarah Coach married, September 20, 1738, Eleazer Stent. -</p><p> -Elizabeth Coach married, March 9, 1736, Jacob Carter.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_10_10" id="Footnote_10_10"></a><a href="#FNanchor_10_10"><span class="label">[10]</span></a> Thomas Whedon, the grandfather of Hannah Whedon, came to -New Haven with John Meigs, who, in 1648, bought the lot on the corner of -Chapel and Church Streets, where the Cutler building now stands. Before -leaving England Thomas Whedon had been bound to Meigs as an apprentice -to learn his art of tanner. He took the oath of fidelity in 1657; -married, May 24, 1651, Ann Harvey, at New Haven; moved to Branford, and -his name appears on the lists of proprietors, January 17, 1676, as -having five children, and an estate valued at £96; he died in 1691, -leaving a wife and five children. Their son, Thomas Whedon, Jr., was -born May 31, 1663, at New Haven, and died in 1692; his wife, Hannah -Barnes, was the eldest daughter of John and Mercy (Betts) Barnes, and -was born December 23, 1670. -</p><p> -John<sup>2</sup> Plant became a member of the church at Branford, September 2, -1716, and Hannah Plant, September 21, 1729. His will is in the Probate -Records at Guilford, Connecticut, dated February 29, 1752, proved July -7, 1752. It names his wife, Hannah Plant, who was appointed -administratrix, daughters Hannah Whedon and Elizabeth Plant, and sons -John, Jonathan, James, Timothy, and Abraham. The inventory of the estate -places the valuation at £1007 6<i>s.</i> 1¼<i>d.</i> whereof £891 8<i>s.</i> 11¼<i>d.</i> -was real estate, of which one hundred acres of land was in Litchfield. -In the distribution, which was made December 19, 1752, Elizabeth is -called the wife of Josiah Parrish. -</p><p> -The will of Hannah Plant is also to be seen at Guilford, dated November -31, 1752, proved December 18, 1753, presented by John Plant, executor. -It names sons John, Jonathan, James, Timothy, Abraham, and Benjamin, and -daughters Hannah Whedon and Elizabeth Parrish. The distribution occurred -February 18, 1754, when Hannah was called the wife of Abraham Whedon, -and Elizabeth the wife of Josiah Parrish. -</p><p> -Benjamin’s name occurs in his mother’s will, but is omitted in his -father’s.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_11_11" id="Footnote_11_11"></a><a href="#FNanchor_11_11"><span class="label">[11]</span></a> His will, dated December 22, 1761, proved September 7, -1762, names wife Hannah Whedon, sons Reuben, William, and Noah, -daughters Hannah, Martha, Submit, Sarah, and “youngest daughter Deborah, -that still lives with me.” William and Noah were minors, and chose their -mother guardian. -</p><p> -Reuben Whedon’s will, signed March 20, 1806, proved September 23, 1806, -names wife Rachel, son Abraham, of Bolton, grandson Daniel, son of -Abraham. The court appoints Captain William Whedon one of two -commissioners to divide the estate. -</p><p> -William Whedon’s will, dated February 6, 1821, names daughter Polly -Page, son Captain Ozias Whedon, grandsons William N., Charles R., and -Amaziah H., also five grandchildren, John, Catharine, Andrew, Noah, and -George, children of son Edward Whedon. -</p><p> -Guardian’s records of Amos Seward, January 20, 1822, and June 14, 1824, -name Charles R. Whedon, minor son of Captain Noah Whedon, of New Haven, -and grandson of Captain William Whedon, with his brother William N. -Whedon, and Lucretia, the widow of Captain Noah Whedon.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_12_12" id="Footnote_12_12"></a><a href="#FNanchor_12_12"><span class="label">[12]</span></a> His will, signed at Branford, March 4, 1755, proved March -25, 1788, names his brother Benjamin executor and sole legatee.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_13_13" id="Footnote_13_13"></a><a href="#FNanchor_13_13"><span class="label">[13]</span></a> The deed of Timothy<sup>3</sup> Plant to his son Timothy<sup>4</sup> (page -313) names “heirs of Samuel Baker, deceased, assignee of my late brother -Jonathan Plant, deceased.”</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_14_14" id="Footnote_14_14"></a><a href="#FNanchor_14_14"><span class="label">[14]</span></a> The will of John Parrish, the father of Josiah and also of -Lucy Parrish, the wife of Timothy<sup>3</sup> Plant, dated April 5, 1748, proved -April 14, 1748, names wife Hannah Parrish, son Josiah, two younger sons, -Gideon and Joel, and three daughters, Hannah, Lucia, and Abigail. In the -inventory his estate was valued at £471 10<i>s.</i> 8<i>d.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_15_15" id="Footnote_15_15"></a><a href="#FNanchor_15_15"><span class="label">[15]</span></a> On December 25, 1780, he was appointed by the town of -Derby to collect the assessments to raise recruits for the Continental -army. -</p><p> -His will, dated April 1, 1796, proved July 3, 1796, names widow Esther -Plant, two sons, Samuel and David, daughters Lucy, Polly, and Sally. The -estate was appraised at £313 4<i>s.</i> 11<i>d.</i> and includes seventy acres of -land with a house and barn, in the parish of Great Hills.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_16_16" id="Footnote_16_16"></a><a href="#FNanchor_16_16"><span class="label">[16]</span></a> Ethan Plant, of Saybrook, is recorded as in the -Revolutionary army, from May 8, 1775, to December 18, of the same year. -</p><p> -Ethel Plant is also enrolled as enlisting at New London, May 24, 1778, -in the Third troop of light dragoons, and is described as “a cooper, -stature, 5 feet 8½ inches, complexion light, eyes light, hair dark.” -</p><p> -On June 5, 1813, Ethel Plant made application for a pension, being at -that time 63 years of age, and a resident of Delhi, New York. The -pension was allowed for six years’ actual service in the Connecticut -troops in the Revolutionary War. -</p><p> -The town clerk of Delhi writes, January 26, 1898, that no traces of such -a person are now to be found there. -</p><p> -His marriage was by the name of Ethiel Plant. The various spellings were -no doubt due to the unusualness of the name. -</p><p> -The home of this family seems to have passed from Branford to Saybrook -soon after the marriage of the elder daughter, devolving on her the care -of her younger sister and brothers. In a similar way, after the marriage -of Hannah Plant to Mr. Baldwin, her home in Milford may have become a -place of frequent resort for her brothers. This would account in a -measure for the marriage of Timothy to a person who seems to have been -of a Milford family, probably that of Humphrey and Margaret Colebreath.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_17_17" id="Footnote_17_17"></a><a href="#FNanchor_17_17"><span class="label">[17]</span></a> Anderson Plant, of Branford, bought three acres of land in -Southington, October 3, 1787, and sold the same to Thomas Stow of -Middletown, April 7, 1788. Witnessed by John Plant.—<i>Southington Land -Records</i>, Vol. ii., pp. 302-321.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_18_18" id="Footnote_18_18"></a><a href="#FNanchor_18_18"><span class="label">[18]</span></a> He was a soldier in the French and Indian War, enlisted at -the age of 19, April 10, 1760, under Captain Jonathan Baker, in Suffolk -County, “from Brandford, New England, wheelwright.” He served in Captain -David Mulford’s company. On returning from the war he settled in -Stratford, where his children were born.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_19_19" id="Footnote_19_19"></a><a href="#FNanchor_19_19"><span class="label">[19]</span></a> On May 5, 1770, he, with John Smith, also of Branford, -bought of Joseph Pickett forty acres of land in Litchfield, for which -they paid £45. Soon after this he removed to Litchfield, and on July 13 -following the land was divided, and he took the north half. Here he -seems to have lived and reared his family.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_20_20" id="Footnote_20_20"></a><a href="#FNanchor_20_20"><span class="label">[20]</span></a> He removed to Litchfield, Connecticut, about 1772, the -occasion for which was as follows: On June 26, 1734, his grandfather, -John<sup>2</sup> Plant, bought of Josiah Rogers, of Branford, a tract of one -hundred acres of land in Litchfield on the west side of the Waterbury -River. This land remained undivided at the settlement of John<sup>2</sup> -Plant’s estate, and passed in this manner to his six sons. Of these, -Timothy<sup>3</sup> Plant sold his share of one sixth to his son Timothy,<sup>4</sup> -October 7, 1772, for £17. A little later, January 13, 1773, Timothy<sup>4</sup> -Plant, Jr., bought also the share of his uncle James, which had been -previously sold to David Wooster. Then, May 23, 1774, he bought of Asa -and Harris Hopkins two thirds of another tract of one hundred acres. He -afterward sold both of these tracts at a considerable advance on their -cost. But having made his home in Litchfield, the family remained there. -</p><p> -In the Revolutionary War he entered the army, March 2, 1777, in the -Fifth regiment, Connecticut line, Captain J. A. Wright’s company, and -was reported missing at Germantown, October 4, 1777. Tradition says that -he was drafted, and that in the battle he was taken prisoner and -confined in “the old sugar house” at New York, or in “the prison ship,” -and died there, no word having ever come from him to his family. The -births of his children are registered in Litchfield, except of the -youngest, who must have been born after he went to the war.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_21_21" id="Footnote_21_21"></a><a href="#FNanchor_21_21"><span class="label">[21]</span></a> Elias<sup>5</sup> Hall was the eldest child of John<sup>4</sup> and -Abigail (Russell) Hall; (John,<sup>3</sup> John,<sup>2</sup> John<sup>1</sup>). Ruhamah was the -only child of his second wife, who died at her daughter’s birth. He -served in the French and Indian War in Colonel Whiting’s regiment, under -Lord Amherst, and was on duty at Ticonderoga and Crown Point until 1759. -He settled in Cheshire, Connecticut; removed in 1784 to Pittsford, -Vermont, and died October 30, 1821, at the house of his son Elias, at -Williston, Vermont.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_22_22" id="Footnote_22_22"></a><a href="#FNanchor_22_22"><span class="label">[22]</span></a> “He prepared himself for college at the Cheshire Academy, -and was graduated at Yale College in 1804, after which he studied law at -the Litchfield Law School. He was a classmate and friend of John C. -Calhoun, who was not only with him in college but also studied law at -Litchfield. In 1819 and 1820 Mr. Plant was Speaker of the Connecticut -House of Representatives, and in 1821 was elected to the Senate, after -which he was twice re-elected. He was Lieutenant-Governor from 1823 to -1827, and from 1827 to 1829 was a member of the United States Congress. -In politics he was a staunch Whig. Calhoun when Secretary of State -offered him, for friendship’s sake, any position within his gift, but he -declined to hold office under the dominant party. He was one of the most -influential men of his day in political circles of the State of -Connecticut.”</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_23_23" id="Footnote_23_23"></a><a href="#FNanchor_23_23"><span class="label">[23]</span></a> For several years of his early life he was in mercantile -business in New York City. At the age of twenty he removed to Marcellus, -New York, and engaged in farming until 1872, when he made his home in -Syracuse, where he became a prominent member of the Brown Memorial M. E. -Church. -</p><p> -“He was a man of strong character, honorable and upright, with clear -intellect and much originality, fond of books, and well informed on the -events transpiring in his country and throughout the world.” -</p><p> -There were six children by his first marriage, two of whom were Charles -H.<sup>7</sup> Plant and Mrs. W. R. Knowles, who died before him. The four -others are Dr. William T.<sup>7</sup> Plant, Alfred D.<sup>7</sup> Plant, and Miss -Ailda<sup>7</sup> Plant, of Syracuse, and Mrs. I. W. Davey, of Marcellus. -</p><p> -William Tomlinson<sup>7</sup> Plant, the eldest of these, was graduated from the -University of Michigan in 1860, and began practice as a physician in -Ithaca, New York. Early in the war he entered the United States Navy as -surgeon, and continued till October, 1865, when he resigned, and in 1866 -began the practice of medicine in Syracuse. This he followed till about -1894, when paralysis compelled him to retire from active life. He has -filled many positions of honor and responsibility; has been on the -medical staff of a large hospital, doing duty there four months in the -year; was one of the founders of the Medical College of Syracuse, in -which he held the chair of Jurisprudence and Pediatrics, and has -contributed much to medical journals, having been the editor of one such -periodical. -</p><p> -He has one son, John W.<sup>8</sup> Plant, who is in the graduating class of -Syracuse Medical College for 1898.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_24_24" id="Footnote_24_24"></a><a href="#FNanchor_24_24"><span class="label">[24]</span></a> A tradition represents him to have been the son of -Joel<sup>4</sup> Plant, the brother of Timothy,<sup>4</sup> but no records confirm this -view, while a number of points in his story seem to identify him with -Joel,<sup>5</sup> the son of Timothy,<sup>4</sup> born at Litchfield, according to one -entry there, August 22, 1776, and according to another, August 24, 1776. -The following account is from his son, Mr. Lauren Plant, of Cicero, New -York, December 25, 1897. -</p><p> -“Timothy, the son of John Plant, married Lucy Parrish, settled in New -Haven, and was in the bookbinding business. Among their children were -two sons, Timothy, born July 4, 1750, who subsequently settled in -Litchfield; and Joel, born March 25, 1753, who was a soldier in the -Revolutionary War, and died, or was killed, on Long Island in 1779, -leaving a wife and two children in New Haven. A daughter, Margaret, -afterward married Benoni Gleson and went to Vermont. Joel was born -August 24, 1776; his mother died when he was twelve years old, and at -the age of fourteen he was bound out to work in the bookbindery that his -grandfather had established long before. Not liking the business, he ran -away, at the age of seventeen, and went west to the banks of the -Susquehanna River, where he remained two seasons, returning to his Uncle -Tim’s in Litchfield and attending school in the winter, where he made -the acquaintance of Mary Jordan, whom he married. They lived two or -three years in Worthington, Massachusetts, then moved to Benson, Rutland -County, Vermont, and, in 1837, to Onondaga County, New York.”</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_25_25" id="Footnote_25_25"></a><a href="#FNanchor_25_25"><span class="label">[25]</span></a> Anderson Plant’s estate was in probate, June 13, 1827. Mr. -Samuel Plant was chosen and appointed guardian of Henry Bradley Plant, -who with his mother, Mrs. Betsey Plant, were the only heirs.</p></div> - -</div> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/back-cover.jpg" width="316" height="500" alt="Book's cover" /> -</div> - -<hr class="full" /> - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Life of Henry Bradley Plant, by -G. 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