LIBR^RV or THK University of (California. <-, IK r t)i- Accession ^^^^'^ Class With the Compliments of the Author s ^-^ .0,^1 ! n-*^ Hem^y 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 G. HUTCHINSON SMYTH, D.D. THE. f uNW£?^SiTY G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS NEW YORK AND LONDON Zbc Iknickerbocfter ipress Copyright, 1898 BY G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS Entered at Stationers' Hall, London Ube lltnfcherbocher press, 1Rcw Eoth PREFACE. IF it be asked why another biography is added to the almost endless number now in our book- stores and libraries, an answer is found in the count- less 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 il- lustration of this fact it is needful to mention such il/ Vj. »_y (.5 I iv Preface 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 sci- entific 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 patiiot- ism and a legacy to posterity. The best period of the history of the Cotton States could only be writ- ten by taking into account the share which the sub- ject 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 aifection of his associates and employes, as has Heniy 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 ac- tivities, he has proved a benefactor and a friend. G. H. S. 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 — Proba- bihty 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 — Intelli- gent Character of the People — De Tocqueville's High Esti- mate of this " Leetle State "—Branford in 1779 . . 15-23 vi Contents CHAPTER III. PAGE The Blackstone Family— The Ancestor Came from England be- fore 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 Abihty — 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 Contents vii CHAPTER VII. PACK 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) be- sides Oranges — Importance of Honesty — Sense of Justice — Consideration for the Workmen — Unconscious Moulding- Power over Associates and Employees— Letter of Honorable Eufus B. BuUock 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, HospitaUty, 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 Medi- viii Contents cines in Restoring Lost Health— Nervousness among the American People— The Soothing and Strengthening Eflfect of Florida Climate— Mr. Plant's Part in Facilitating Travel and Providing Cojnfortable Accommodations for the In- vaUd 102-116 CHAPTER X. Reason for Submitting Press Sketches of Mr. Plant — Descrip- tive 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— JS'.rpress 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 Jour- nal 141-149 CHAPTER Xn. MANAGEMENT OF THE GREAT PLANT SYSTEM WORTHY OF ADMIRATION AND IMITATION . 150-156 CHAPTER XHI. 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 157-183 Contents ix CHAPTER XIV. PAGE 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 Reahzed— A Palace of Art for the Delight and Joy of Those who are in Health, and an Elysium for the Sad and Sor- rowful 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 Tele- grams 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 AboUshed — English Profanity and Intemperance — Temperance Move- ments — 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 Contents CHAPTER XVIII. PAGE Railroads Established— Engineering Progress— Steel, Iron Steam- ships—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— Rehgious Reciprocity— Arbitration— Numerous Inventions and Dis- coveries — Henry B. Plant in War and in Peace — Testimo- nial Presented to Mr. and Mrs. Plant on the Twenty-fifth Anniversary of their Wedding 279-306 Plant Genealogy 307-337 339-344 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. The author takes pleasure in acknowledging his indebted- ness 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. 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 — Fris- bee Patriotism and Services to their Countrj'^ — They Were Good Church-Going People, Mostly of the Puritan BeUef — Probability that the Frisbees Came from Wales. HENKY BRADLEY PLANT was born October 27, 1819, at Branford, Connecticut. His pa- ternal great-grandfather was attached to Washing- ton's army as a private, when Washington was at Newburg, and he was one of the guard of the un- fortunate Major Andr6 at the time of his execution. 2 The Life of 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 re- sponsibility 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 Rep- resentatives, and in 1821 was elected to the State Senate and twice reelected. He was Lieutenant- Henry Bradley Plant 3 Governor of the State fi'om 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 establish- ment. 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 ti'ansf erred 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 con- sistent Christian, an esteemed officer in the church, 4 The Life of 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 dii-ect descendant of Joseph Frisbee, a major in "Washington's army. The Frisbees were a numer- ous 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 an- cestors 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 Fris- bee, the first settler. I find them a noble race, worthy of history. I have also looked up my maternal an- cestors 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 pro- genitors 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 histoiy." Henry Bradley Plant 5 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, Wil- liam 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 emis^rant, came from Virginia to Connecticut, and settled at Branford in 6 The Life of 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 Frisl3ee, of Albany County, New York. He was in the AVar of the Revolution, and his grandsons be- longed to the Sons of the American Revolution, of the State of New York. President Edward S. Fris- bee of Wells College, in New York State, is his de- scendant. The latter, Joseph, your ancestor [referring to Mr. Plant], married September 14, 1712, had a son Jose[)h 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 sum- mer is also named Joseph. " The youngest child of the first Edward was Ebe- nezer, 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 set- tled 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 sou James, born in 1722, was lieutenant with Cap- Henry Bradley Plant T tain Paul Jones, and was killed one hundred and fifteen years ago to-day, September 23d, in the en- gagement between the Bonne Homme Hichard 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 distin- guished 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 deak Me. 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 8 The Life of was closely related to the Joseph Frisbie you men- tion. " I have a first cousin, Mrs. Farman, the wife of Judge Farman, formerly United States Consul-Gen- eral in Egypt, who has devoted much time and re- search in obtaining an accurate historj^ 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 assui'ed that you will in due time re- ceive a letter from her upon the subject. " Since we last met I have visited New York sev- eral 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 countr}^ 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 Henry Bradley Plant 9 his time, a graduate at Harvard in 1802, and after- wards 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 book- stores. He was son of the Rev. Levi Frisbie, of Ipswich, who delivered several addresses that have been published. Prof. Frisbie %vrote some articles for the Noi'tli 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.* " 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, * George Frisbie Hoar. 10 The Life of 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 Bran- ford. 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 Fris- bees. Rev. Levi Frisbee, father of Professor Levi of Harvard College, was a very pious man. " He was invited to deliver an oration on Washing- ton 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 Con- necticut. I found your ancestor Joseph Foote Fris- bee 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 Henry Bradley Plant H wharf at Dutcli 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 prin- ciples 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 Vir- ginia 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 12 The Life of coming from England, when in fact they were Scotch or Irish. But coming from any of the British Islands they Avere often called English. This would be more likely to be the case with those coming fi-om 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 fi*om the Established Church was just as strong in Eng- land as in Wales. The name Frisbee or Frisby, as its terminal denotes, is of English origin, but it is C[uite possible that the family came fi"om one of the border countries. Whether this family came from Wales or England may be only a matter of historic accuracy and per- sonal interest ; certain it is the Frisbees are a people who have done honor to their coimtry both in war and in peace. They bore a prominent part in the victorious struggle for the freedom and independ- ence 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 Henry Bradley Plant 13 are only beginning to receive a sliglit part of the attention wliich they justly merit. Thirdly, because a knowledge of the numerous and varied races that have foiTQed the nation is essential to a correct un- derstanding of the American people. Fourthly, be- cause 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 Revolutionaiy War was one of the fam- ily 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 follow- ing 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, 1T80, and served as a private in Lieutenant-Colo- nel Sherman's Company (also designated as Captain Sylvan us Brown's and Lieutenant Joseph Halt's Company), Eighth Connecticut Regiment, Revolu- 14 Henry Bradley Plant tionary 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. Feisbee." 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 Fam- ilies 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 oc- curred 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 To- tokett. 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 16 The Life of 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 JVIrs. 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 neighbor- hood 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 Avere burned, and thus much valuable histoiy was lost. But such was not the fact. The town and church records have always re- Old Homestead of the Plant Family. Branford, Cotineciicut. Hirthplnce of Henry Bradley Plant. ' OF THE Henry Bradley Plant 17 mained at Branford. They are quite full and in a reasonably good state of preservation. In a manu- script 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 interest- ing to note how much alike are the ways and cus- toms 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 ap- pointment, 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 18 The Life of children's sermons in those days. The babes, of whom Paul ^vrites, were not fed on milk, but on strong meat, which even the rigorous doctrinal appe- tites of the fathers sometimes found hard to digest. Some of the modern church movements, such as wo- men 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 misap23ropriation and embezzlement of funds, trust swindling and corporation stealing and political corruption were unknown. The pulpit was the old-fashioned ban-el-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 vdth 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 Puri- tan divines. That, however, reached only the head and heart, hence, for the feet, they made stoves of Henry Bradley Plant 19 sheet iron, over which was a perforated tin casing, and over this a hardwood casing. Coals from corn- cobs, 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 acad- emy — 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 ofiice. Some unfortunate misunderstanding came between him and his congregation in the latter part of his minis- try, so that his wife refused to have his remains interred in the church burying-ground. She after- wards relented, was herself buried in the church cemetery, and left in her will two thousand dollars 20 The Life of to defray the cost of removiDg 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, indus- trious, and religious people, mostly farmers and well-to-do citizens. The academy presided over by the Eev. Timothy P. Gillett constituted a centre of intellectual, moral, and spiritual development that inspired the life and elevated the character of the people. The follomng 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 im- portant 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 Henry Bradley Plant 21 tlie vessels of tlie enemy. Coast-guards were needed, and were kept night and day at Stony Creek, Indian Neck, Town Neck, and at Branford Point. At tlie 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 Bran- ford 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 at- tack 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 Neio 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 22 Henry Bradley Plant old record at Branford showing that Mason Hobart, of that place, was paid £5 for carting two cannon to East Haven from the brig JSleiv 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 prog- ress 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 ship-building, fisheries. West India trade, two hundred years ago, were quite extensive for that day. It is also a sea- side resort in summer, being half-way between Bos- ton 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 coun- try were born and reared in this quiet yet enter- prising 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 at- tached to their native town. CHAPTER III. The Blackstone Family— The Ancestor Came from England before 1630— His Name was William Blaxton— Settled First in Massa- chusetts, afterwards Went to Rhode Island— His Beautiful Char- acter and Numerous Descendants— Origin of Yale College of Branford— The Blackstone Memorial Library. FROM a pamphlet history of the Blackstone fam- ily, 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 popu- lation of this peninsula [Massachusetts, of which the present Boston Common was then a part], at that time an unbroken wilderness of woods trav- ersed 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, ami- able and hospitable, liked by Indians, and indeed by everybody. These noble traits, this love of na- ture, 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 23 ( UNIVERSITY 24 The Life of iu 1595, graduated from. Cambridge, England, in 1617, and died 1675, aged eiglity years. Blaxton took orders in the Episcopal Cliurcli, 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 mem- ory 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 Uni- versity 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 in- cident in the earlier library history of Branford might appropriately be commemorated here, and this has been attempted in the vignette, in the upper right- Henry Bradley Plant ^o 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 ex- cused 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, in- cluding 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 lapng 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 Bran- ford, to be the Keeper of the Library, which then consisted of about forty volumes in folio.' " The stoiy 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." 26 The Life of The following account of Mr. Timothy B. Black- stone is taken from the New York Herald of April 12, 1896: " Mr. Blackstone was bom 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 ob- tained 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 Consoli- dated, Railroad. After finishing this piece of work he became an engineer, and was appointed assistant engineer of the Stockbriclge and Pittsfield Railroad, a short line constructed in 1849, and now a part of the Housatonic road. After this road was com- pleted, 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, 111., 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 Lock- Henry Bradley Plant 27 port 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 ofiices 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 townspeople. 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 me- morial 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 ma- ture manhood. For nearly two centuries the Black- stone family has occupied a conspicuous place in this community, and for the same length of time repre- sentatives of the family have been tillers of the soil, the title to which has always been in a Blackstone. 28 The Life of "We cannot properly dedicate this building to the purpose for which it is intended without calling yom' attention briefly to James Blackstone, his life, his family, and his ancestors. He was born in Bran- ford 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 Febru- ary, 1886. His first ancestor in this country was the Rev. William Blackstone, a graduate, in 1617, of Emanuel College, Cambridge. He received Epis- copal ordination in England after graduation, but, like John Davenport of New Haven, he soon be- came of the Puritan persuasion, left his native coun- try 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 Bos- ton. 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. U pon his invitation, the principal part of the Massachusetts colony removed from Charlestown and founded the town of Boston, on land which Mr. Blackstone de- sired 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 free- man of Boston. His house and orchard were located upon a spot about half-way between Boston Common Henry Bradley Plant 29 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 Eng- land 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, retain- ing the six acres upon which was his orchard, and soon afterwards he removed to Phode 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 30 The Life of 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 gos- pel, 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 or- chard, 260 acres of land, interests in the Providence meadows, and a library of 186 volumes of diiferent 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, Henry Bradley Plant 31 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 liv- ing 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 com]3any for several months while serving as coast- guard on Long Island Sound during the war of 1812-15. He held at one time or another during his life the important local ofiices of the town, such as assessor and first selectman. Before the separa- tion 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 Bran- ford were the representatives of the town at Hart- ford 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 Re- publican. His advice and counsel were sought by 32 The Life of people, not only of his own town, but of neighboring towns, when occasions arose concerniug the settle- ment 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, Henry Bradley Plant 33 and since that time his home has been upon Michi- gan Avenue, in that great metropolis of the west, Chicago. There, for over thirty years he has man- aged 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 Wil- liam 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 eld est, De Trafford Blackstone, has one son, Lorenzo The second child of Lorenzo is Mrs. Harriet Black stone Camp of Norwich, who has three children Walter Trumbull, Talcott Hale, and Elizabeth Nor ton Camp. The second daughter of Lorenzo is Mrs Frances Ella Huntington of Norwich. The fourth child of Lorenzo Blackstone is William Norton Black stone of Norwich ; and his youngest son, Louis Lo' renzo Blackstone, died in 1893. 34 Henry Bradley Plant " The second daughter of James Blackstone, Ellen Elizabeth, married Henry B. Plant, now of New York City. She died in 1861, leaving one son, Mor- ton 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 por- traits of the two men bear a marked family resem- blance. " Ten years ago James Blackstone passed to his re- ward. 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." CHAPTER IV. The Plants Came from England to Branford, between Two Hun- dred 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 ancestoi's first settled over two hundred years ago. It will be seen, by referring to the gene- alogical table at the end of this volume, that Ander- son 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 35 36 The Life of 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 ty- phus 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 Con- gregational Church. She had been brought up in the Episcopal Church, and though her father did not ap])rove 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 Henry Bradley Plant 37 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 busi- ness, 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 ray 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. 38 The Life ot " Youth came; tlie 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 se;il 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 go- ing to school and learning to read, and becoming a good scholar, and doubtless much more that her kindly mother-heart would suggest to awaken inter- est and stimulate ambition in the boy. Then she took him outside the gate, pointed out the school- house, kissed him, and told him to go thither and give his name to the teacher as a scholar. Ilis mother intuitively knew her child's sensitive disposition, and Henry Bradley Plant 39 Lad 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 lit- tle Henry's courage failed him, and he came running back to his mother, not to be scolded, but to be en- couraged 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, tho 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 re- sponsibility, that was hers, thus early preparing him, in part, for his great career. Henry was a very diffident child, nor did his diffi- dence quite cease with childhood, for even in man- hood 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 experi- ence which he possessed on so many different sub- jects, and always spoke intelligently in plain, clear. 40 The Life of 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 Iloadley. 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 Sab- bath, 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 Com- pany, (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 Bran- ford 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 Henry Bradley Plant 41 in the field. The borse became frightened and ran away, carrying plow, boy, and all with him. Bare- footed 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 42 The Life of 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 cele- brated in New Haven, long after his death. He w^as 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 Yorh, New Haven, The Splendid, The Superior, and The Bunler 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 Phila- delphia market who tendered his services to an Irish coachman, who was troubled to find a man to carry home some fish which he had boucfht for his master. Henry Bradley Plant 43 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 in- teresting 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 ex- press business when performing the service of a deck- hand 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 Yorh, which had for companion steamers the New Haven, Splendid, and Buiiker Hilly on each one of which I served at one time or another. It was on the Neio Yorh, 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 Yoi^h had been laid up for new boilers, and I was transferred to the Splen- 44 The Life of did till the New Yorh 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 state- room 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 busi- ness.' " Those who are familiar with the extensive business of the Southern Express Company, of which Ml". 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 Steam- ship 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 Henry Bradley Plant 45 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 dur- ing Mr. Plant's engagement with this company, in 1842, that he married Miss Ellen Elizabeth Black- stone, daughter of Hon. James Blackstone, one of the Blackstone family already referred to in this biogra- phy. 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 busi- ness at New Haven, but afterwards went to New York City, still keeping up his connection with the boats. When the Beecher Company was consolidated 46 The Life of 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 in- stead 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 con- gestion 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 WelaJca to Jacksonville, Florida. It took over eight days to Ellen Elizabeth (Blackstone) Plant. Henry Bradley Plant 47 make the journey which is now a delightful trip of one day, for he left New York on the Sabbath morn- ing and the next Sabbath evening he arrived at Jack- sonville, 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 get- ting 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 wath an invalid wife brought her dow^n 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 go- ing 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 48 The Life of Jacksonville, and as soon as be could communicate with him through a stray traveller, the settler sent his boat after the Noi-therner 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 im- proved 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 af- terward became the wife of the settler I have men- tioned, and she volunteered to accompany the lady on what was then the long and difficult journey. The only road between Jacksonville and St. Augus- tine 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. Henry Bradley Plant 49 " 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 indis- tinct wheel tracks in the sand and the broken twigs ; but as the darkness increased this became impracti- cable, 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 settle- ment of a few shanties, and who came so near pass- ing a romantic but uncomfortable night in the woods with his wife and the Seminole girl, told me the 50 Henry Bradley Plant 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." 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 Jiidson 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, Superintend- ent of the New York and New Haven steamship line. Captain S. Bartlett Stone brought his son Greorge 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 unfavoi-ably. He then started South by the steamship Ktwxville, 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 51 52 The Life of 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 Hailroad. About this time, Adams & Company had organ- ized under the coi-porate title of the Adams Express Company, and had acquired all these express inter- ests 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 Balti- more ; James M. Thompson, of Springfield, Massa- chusetts; 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 Henry Bradley Plant 53 the railroads south of the Potomac River, namely, Norfolk, Richmond, and Lynchburg, Virginia ; Louis- ville, 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 Nash- ville, 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 confi- dence and patronage of an exacting public, there was demanded a discriminating judgment, prompt de- cision, 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. 54 The Life of Few men would have ventured on such a hazard- ous undertaking, and fewer still would have con- ducted 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 Ex- press 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 thou- sand four hundred and sixty-three horses and eight hundred and eighty-six wagons. Of both these com- panies, Mr. Plant is the honored and efficient presi- dent, and were we to attempt to estimate the amount and value of the goods handled by these great organi- zations 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 inter- est 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 Henry Bradley Plant 55 Company wlio 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 re- sponsible 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, consump- tion 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. CHAPTER VI. Relations to the Confederate Government— Jefferson Davis Gives him Charge of Confederate Funds— Mr. Plant Buys aSlave, who after- ward 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 56 Henry Bradley Plant 57 deemed necessary by government officials to define citizenship, and consequently a pi'oclamation 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 repre- sented 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 procla- mation, 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 obliga- tions. 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 what- ever I miojht do." 58 The Life of 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 inci- dent 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 Henry Bradley Plant 59 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 con- valescence. 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 Con- federate 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 Edin- hurgh for Liverpool. He was now a stranger in a strange land ; the weather was cold, and with impaired health his ex- perience was rather depressing. However, Mr. Plant has never been the man to despond, still less to despair, but to make the best 60 The Life of 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 him- self 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 com- manded to protect this stranger. He went to Rome via the Mediterranean Sea, and was received everywhere with great respect. He w^as 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 Henry Bradley Plant 61 places in that picturesque laud, and returned to Paris by way of the Khine. He then passed his time be- tween London and Paris until the autumn, when he returned to America by way of Canada. He after- wards 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 ac- companied by his mother and his son, Morton Free- man, 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 Com- missioner-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 ap- pointed by the proper authorities, and served with entire satisfaction to all concerned. He was the only English-speaking juror in that class, as Sir Doug- las Galton was absent until near the close of the Ex- position. 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 62 The Life 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 bed- room. 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 receiv- ing 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 difficul- ties, — only coolly to plan, determine, execute, and conquer. The following communication in memorandum form, from one intimately acquainted with Mr. and MrSo Plant while in Augusta, Georgia, will be found suggestive of the busy life he led, and will prove Henry Bradley Plant 63 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 Phoenix Hotel, and thus became acquainted. The Eagle and Phoenix 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 Au- gusta 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. Bobbins. 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 64 The Life of 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 fol- lowing 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 in- teresting 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.' Henry Bradley Plant 65 "The amount added was veiy 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 re- turn 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, — medi- cines, 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 66 The Life of 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 South- ern Express Company so generously given during the four years of the bloody struggle. In evidence of Mr. Plant's popularity and the es- teem in which he was held by his associates in busi- ness 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 fol- lowing inscription : PRESENTED TO H. B. PLANT BY HIS ASSOCIATES IN THE ADAMS SOUTHERN EXPRESS AS A TESTmONIAL 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 an- cient and noble family, whose ancestral estate, eight miles long, in the Land of the Shamrock, is now oc- cupied by Lord Dundrum. Mrs. Plant's great grand- Henry Bradley Plant 67 mother 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 busi- ness 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 Ameri- can-built steamships. La Orande DucJiesse, just com- pleted 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 pre- sides, but is known only to those who are admitted to the inner circles of its operations. 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 Dajs Had a MiUtary Reservation — In 1884 Population about Seven Hundred— Its Cos- mopolitan 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 Pro- gress the Last Five or Six Years. TEXT-BOOKS are necessary instruments in a sys- tematic 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 know- ledge in the future. Hence, as civilization advances and the schools of higher education increase, less dependence is placed on text-books, and more em- phasis 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 Henry Bradley Plant 69 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 illus- tration 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 possibili- ties 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 Grcmde Diichessem minute detail be- fore 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 them- 70 The Life of selves. There is no alarm, but friendly admonition, wise counsel, valuable instruction, most kindly ad- ministered. 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 popula- tion. 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 Henry Bradley Plant Tl 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 com- pany, part steamboat company, part steamship com- pany, 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 prog- ress, is due the success of the Plant System. "This is, I think, all that can now be said in 72 The Life of 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 rail- ways 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 ex- tending 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 di-aw- ing towards Tampa, and it is for the people of Tampa to determine for themselves to what extent they shall share it. Henry Bradley Plant 73 "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 Washinor. ton 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 74 The Life of 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 en- tire 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 de- liver 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 Henry Bradley Plant 75 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 isola- tion, 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 railroada 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 TamjDa, and people of enterprise, industry, and capi- tal 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 Kailroad 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 76 The Life 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 Tam- pa'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 super- phosphate. 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 fur- nishing of which, preparatory to its opening in two or three weeks, Mr. Plant has been personally super- vising. 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 com- ing 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 him- self or his. No one can accuse him of egotism. He Henry Bradley Plant 77 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 slum- bering 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 invest- ments 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 w^as 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 bound- ing along the road to greatness. It has now a popu- lation of about ten thousand, and is rapidly increasing. 78 The Life of 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, mam- moth wholesale establishments, busy workshops, comfortable hotels, two newspapers, a phosphate mill, cigar factories, first-class banking facilities, tele- graph and telephone communications, two electric- light establishments, ice factories, a complete system of waterworks, eight lines of steamships and steam- boats giving communication to Key AVest and Ha- vana, 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 architec- ture 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 Henry Bradley Plant ^9 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 win- dows 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 80 The Life of 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-pal mettoes, 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 embra- sures. 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 Kiver 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 custom- house business was looked after by a deputy ap- pointed by the Collector of Customs at Key West. Henry Bradley Plant 81 But when Congress passed a bill makiug 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-col- lector, the recei23ts were only $75, with the report of last year, which showed receipts considerably above $100,000. " For a long time builders had suffered great incon- venience and delay because there were no brickmak- ing 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 cit}^, 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 cos- mopolitan, comprising people from every quarter of the globe ; but three classes preponderate so largely as to warrant distinction, — the American, the Cuban 82 The Life of 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 Cu- bans 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 pi'ove 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 al- most without exception, engaged in cigar-making and kindred industries. They are also an amuse- ment-loving people, have several clubs and societies, an opera-house, a band and a newspaper. The Cuban settlement is in the Fourth Ward, called Yboi" 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 Henry Bradley Plant 83 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