THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 PRESENTED BY 
 
 PROF. CHARLES A. KOFOID AND 
 
 MRS. PRUDENCE W. KOFOID 
 
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 iBom JDecember 25, 1S13. 
 JDieb 3anuaru 10, 1SS7. 
 
ATLANTIC PUBU8HINQ AND ENGRAVINQ CO.. 
 NEW YORK. 
 

 THIS MEMORIAL 
 
 OF 
 WHO EARNED THE PROUD TITLE, 
 
 THE FATHER OF AMERICAN IRON SHIPBUILDING, 
 
 AND WHO BELONGED TO THE 
 
 TRUE NOBILITY OF PATRIOTIC MANHOOD, 
 
 CONFERRING ENDURING BENEFITS ON HIS 
 
 COUNTRY AND HIS FELLOW-MEN, 
 
 IS DEDICATED 
 
 TO THOSE WHO KNEW AND LOVED HIM BEST, 
 
 WHOM HE LOVED MORE THAN LIFE, 
 
 HIS WIFE AND CHILDREN. 
 
 if7r?r»onOQ 
 
John IRoacb. 
 
 This is a memorial, not a biography. A life like 
 his could not be told within the limits of these 
 pages. The richest part of that life— its spirit — can 
 never be told at all ; for the spirit of man cannot 
 be prisoned in any province of the pen. The sunny 
 atmosphere he created, the power of his personality, 
 that which we call magnetism — to know these one 
 must have known him. 
 
 Here in this tribute of affection I shall set down 
 only so much as seems necessary to preserve in 
 outline the eventful career, and to anticipate and 
 explain the long last days, — the days of pain and 
 waiting and heroism, — followed by that break of 
 day in which he " fell on sleep." Even this cannot 
 be done without touching on those business troubles 
 which cast the shadow of sorrow over the close of 
 a memorable life. Nothing is written in anger or 
 malice — qualities that were so foreign to the great- 
 hearted man in whose honor 1 write. But truth 
 cannot be concealed. The policy of the Govern- 
 ment — as represented by the Secretary of the Navy, 
 Wm. C. Whitney — in regard to its naval contracts 
 
with Mr. Roach was the cause of his assignment. 
 The assignment broke his heart. Mental distress 
 induced physical prostration. Protracted nervous 
 depression and exhaustion left him an easy prey to 
 cancer. The date of the Dolphin's non-acceptance, 
 and the printing in partisan newspapers of articles 
 inspired and sent from Washington with plain in- 
 tent to defame his reputation and destroy his credit 
 — this was the beginning of the end for the man 
 who had fought his way from nothing to the emi- 
 nence of one of the greatest " captains of industry" 
 of this country and century. And those who loved 
 him, who knew his grief and torture, who felt with 
 him the injustice and petty tyranny, who shared his 
 sleepless nights, who heard his own convictions and 
 feelings so often expressed, surely cannot be harshly 
 censured for adopting his view, and holding the 
 Government's representative morally responsible for 
 those sufferings which were ended only by death. 
 But from all this the thought turns with gladness 
 to brighter and better things, of which this life was 
 full. 
 
 John Roach was born in Ireland, December 25, 
 1813, and died in New York, January 10, 1887. 
 Left an orphan at thirteen years of age, at sixteen 
 he came to America to seek his fortune. Begin- 
 ning without education or friends, by his indomi- 
 table will, untiring industry, mental capacity, and 
 upright character he made his way from apprentice 
 to master-mechanic, from master-mechanic to pro- 
 prietor ; and from proprietorship of a small foundry 
 
extended his business until he became owner of the 
 greatest ship-building yards in this country, with a 
 plant in its completeness unequalled in the world. 
 He earned the proud title of "The Father of 
 American Iron Ship-building." His iron steam- 
 ships were unsurpassed in strength and finish by 
 any built. He rescued the ship-building interests 
 of America from extinction. 
 
 In a business record of nearly fifty years he was 
 never compelled to sue a customer, nor was he 
 sued by one. His name for business integrity was 
 spotless. His adopted country was his pride. 
 Patriotism, not profit, made him a builder of ships ; 
 because he believed that a suitable merchant marine 
 and navy were essential to the safety and prosperity 
 of the nation. He demonstrated that America 
 could build ships. He advocated the building of a 
 navy. He first pointed out the manner in which a 
 merchant marine could be made auxiliary to the 
 navy, a "militia of the sea" — a defence in war, a 
 promoter of commerce in peace. He opposed free 
 trade and free ships, as hostile to the development 
 of natural resources and fatal to national progress. 
 He urged upon Congress wise plans of commercial 
 extension through increased mail and passenger and 
 freight facilities, and the opening of new markets to 
 our products, especially the South American mar- 
 kets. Dependence upon foreigners as carriers of 
 our commerce or builders of our ships, or in any 
 wise, he believed to be dangerous, unnecessary, 
 un-American. 
 
In all this he manifested the spirit and foresight of 
 a patriot and a statesman. Men everywhere recog- 
 nized his ability, respected his judgment, and ad- 
 mired his determination. He was publicly honored 
 by the merchants of New York and other cities. 
 He gained high place among public men as a man 
 of keen insight, large grasp of affairs, lofty spirit, 
 and pure purpose. The friendless emigrant boy 
 had made himself one of the most useful and influ- 
 ential and eminent citizens of his adopted land. 
 He had achieved by native merit a rare record and 
 triumph. 
 
 It was at the height of such a career that mis- 
 fortune befell him. Largely through his exposures 
 of our contemptible weakness as a naval power, 
 Congress was impelled to appropriate moneys for 
 the construction of four steel vessels — the begin- 
 ning of a new navy. Secretary Chandler had plans 
 carefully drawn, and public proposals made for the 
 work. Of the four ship-building firms which 
 entered bids, Mr. Roach's was the lowest bidder in 
 each case, and the lowest by a large total amount. 
 Under the law this gave the contracts to him, and 
 the construction of the vessels was begun at his 
 yards in Chester and New York. The work was 
 wholly under supervision of the Government's 
 officers. The first vessel, the Dolphin, smallest of 
 the four, was completed, tried, and accepted by the 
 Naval Advisory Board who designed and supervised 
 her, just as the change in administration occurred. 
 The Dolphin was offered to the new Secretary of 
 
the Navy, as accepted in accordance with the law 
 and the contract. But Mr. Whitney refused to 
 receive as satisfactory the report of the duly con- 
 stituted Naval Advisory Board. He appointed an 
 Examining Board of three persons, only one of 
 whom had any practical knowledge of ship con- 
 struction ; gave newspaper interviews which showed 
 his political aim to injure Mr. Roach by condemn- 
 ing his work in advance, if possible ; and so threw 
 the question of all the other contracts into uncer- 
 tainty. The amounts involved were large. Bonds- 
 men held in sums running above two millions of 
 dollars had to be protected. Mr. Roach saw the 
 power of a great Government turned against him. 
 From what was done he had no faith in the in- 
 tegrity of the Secretary. He had no means of 
 redress. A private citizen he could have forced to 
 deal justly with him. Here he was helpless. There 
 seemed to him to be the plainest purpose to ruin 
 him. 
 
 Worn in body and mind by the terrible strain to 
 which he was subjected, for weeks he did every- 
 thing in his power to satisfy the Secretary and save 
 his business. He offered to make any changes de- 
 sired, regardless of cost, to give the Government 
 the Dolphin or the money paid for her, and thus 
 secure release from the contract, But it was in 
 vain. And as a final blow, when even his own 
 Examining Board could not show just reason for 
 rejecting the Dolphin, the Secretary of the Navy 
 published an opinion from the | Attorney-General, 
 
lO 
 
 declaring that Mr. Roach had no valid contracts 
 with the Government at all, and was liable for all 
 the moneys already paid on all the vessels. 
 
 This new blow of bad faith and bad law together 
 was too much to be endured. The Secretary had 
 threatened to seize not only the partially built 
 ships, but Mr. Roach's shipyards. There was no 
 reason, judging from what he had done, to believe 
 that he would hesitate at any step. Mr. Roach 
 saw his business swept away. But far more than 
 this, to a man of his sensitive nature, was the 
 exposure of his bondsmen and creditors to heavy 
 loss. Had he alone been involved, he would have 
 fought his enemy to the end, ruin or no. But to 
 protect his good name and those who had trusted 
 him, he was forced through this rank wrong to 
 make an assignment. How this political injustice 
 was looked upon by public and business men will 
 appear in the letters of sympathy given later on — 
 the three or four showing the tenor of the many 
 others. 
 
 But sympathy could not sustain Mr. Roach in 
 this trial. The fact of assignment was to him in 
 truth a death-stroke. He sank under it. It was 
 an honest and honorable assignment. There was 
 no withholding of property. Everything was given 
 up. Mr. Roach felt that he no longer had even a 
 home which he could call his own. He saw his 
 family involved in his ruin. Worse than all was 
 what to him seemed the stigma upon the credit and 
 name which during half a century he had struggled, 
 
1 1 
 
 against such difficulties as few men encounter, to 
 build up, and with so signal success. To be thus 
 stricken down in his old age ; to see his cherished 
 projects for a merchant marine and navy worthy of 
 so great a nation brought to naught ; and to have 
 all this come through no fault of his, but as the 
 result of a pettv politician's ambition used in the 
 prostitution of high position and power — surely 
 this was enough to break the heart of such a man. 
 
 For many weeks after his tears blotted the assign- 
 ment paper Mr. Roach was utterly unlike his 
 former self. His days were weariness, the nights 
 sleepless and full of both mental and bodily torture. 
 Disease then fastened itself upon him, and he never 
 recovered from it. The last year and a half of his 
 life witnessed a ceaseless and unequal contest with 
 death. All that family and friends could do was 
 done and keenly appreciated. The satisfaction was 
 given of seeing the schemes of his assailants react 
 upon themselves. The Secretary of the Navy 
 found he had made a political blunder as well as done 
 irreparable injury to a citizen, and would gladly 
 have escaped the consequences of his own cruel and 
 unworthy acts. But nothing could save his victim 
 from the encroachments of the fatal disease de- 
 veloped if not induced by the terrible distress of the 
 period of injustice and torture that culminated in 
 the assignment. 
 
 In December, 18S5, cancer disclosed itself in 
 the roof of the mouth. An operation for relief, in 
 the hope of eradication, was performed March 10, 
 
12 
 
 1 886. The summer of that year he spent at Mount 
 McGregor, where General Grant had died of the 
 same dread disease. Mr. Roach had been benefited 
 by the quiet and the healthful air of the mountain 
 in the summer preceding, and it was hoped that 
 the change might again be beneficial. The cancer 
 had reappeared, however, and the physicians gave 
 no hope of recovery. Medical skill was unavailing, 
 and could only partially alleviate pain. 
 
 Returning to New York in September, the clos- 
 ing period of invalidism began. During this he 
 was faithfully attended, as previously, by Dr. E. B. 
 Belden, long his family physician and friend. It is 
 not needful to record here the scenes of suffering, 
 of agony beyond description, and without cessation 
 day or night. Truly did he say, " The world can 
 never know the agonies endured in this room." 
 Unendurable would they have been to the devoted 
 wife and children, but for the service love could 
 render. But beautiful is it to recall, amid such 
 torture, the heroic endurance of the sufferer himself ; 
 his submission to the Divine will ; his forgiving 
 spirit ; his tender appreciation of every loving 
 attention ; his sublime facing of death without 
 fear ; his consciousness of a lifelong purpose to 
 help his fellow-men and leave the world the better 
 for having lived in it ; his simple faith in God his 
 Saviour ; his undying affection for his family. 
 These things will not fade from the memory of 
 those who for long and trying months had no 
 thought for other than the dying husband and 
 
father ; no work other than to minister in whatever 
 way was possible to his comfort and cheer. 
 
 When the seventy-third birthday came with 
 Christmas of 1886, the end was plainly drawing 
 near. Yet the sufferer did not forget that it was 
 the holiday which had been a peculiarly honored 
 and happy one in the family observance. To each 
 member he gave a parting Christmas gift, and his 
 parting counsel. On the first day of the New 
 Year, 1887, he expressed his desire to receive the 
 communion, which was administered to him, and 
 to his family gathered around his bedside, by Rev. 
 E. McChesney, D.D., pastor of St. Paul's Metho- 
 dist Episcopal Church, of which Mrs. Roach has 
 for many years been a member. This expression 
 of his faith was a comfort to the dying man. Con- 
 scious of approaching death, he longed for it as a 
 relief from agony. Prepared for the change, peace- 
 ful in the assurance of a blessed immortality, pained 
 only at the separation from loved ones, with forti- 
 tude and resignation given of God's grace, he 
 awaited the end. 
 
 The end came with the early light of January 10. 
 It is not easy to tell of that last day — the Sab- 
 bath-day. All knew that the light of life was 
 flickering, fast going out. And life so precious ! 
 Children have not known a kinder father, fathers 
 rarely have had more devoted children ; loving hus- 
 band has not been blessed with truer helpmeet in a 
 wife and mother. His home was his refuge. 
 There was his heart centre. And there he was the 
 
central figure. Everything there revolved around 
 his wishes, was made minister to his comfort. 
 " Father" was the sacred word to wife, to sons and 
 daughters. It was beautiful to see the tender re- 
 lations existing in this home. But harder hence the 
 moment of their rude severing by a ruthless hand. 
 And that moment was now so near. Only a few 
 more markings on the dial of the clock that had 
 told off for him, the sufferer, so many heavy hours 
 — then rest ! 
 
 The strong frame had literally worn out. The 
 mind was unnaturally clear. The old thoughtful- 
 ness for others was ever manifest. The power of 
 speech was almost gone ; the arm had no longer 
 power to write. His last messages, however, had 
 been given. He could do no more, only look for 
 day. 
 
 As the evening wore on and the usual hour for 
 retirement came, he noticed the presence of the 
 unusual number of persons in the room, and signi- 
 fied his desire that they should not lose rest, but 
 retire as usual. He could not bear to feel that he 
 was causing anxiety and grief to his loved ones. 
 
 I was sitting by his side, in answer to his call. 
 Suddenly drawing me to him, he asked, " How 
 much longer?" "Only a little longer," I replied; 
 "you have been very patient, and the long struggle 
 is almost over ; and are you glad ?" " Yes, oh 
 yes," he said, and a smile gave pathetic emphasis. 
 His only further expression was one of his entire 
 trust in the Saviour. Then it seemed as though he 
 
15 
 
 had done with earth. Only the spasms of pain re- 
 called him to the fact of life. Dr. J. B. Taylor, for 
 many years a devoted friend, remained with him 
 during the night, and all the family were within a 
 moment's call. 
 
 At five o'clock the first great change came. He 
 passed then into unconsciousness and painlessness. 
 Breath remained, but the long struggle was over. 
 And even those most sorely stricken, could not 
 but thank God that the agony was forever past. 
 Gathered about his bedside were the wife, the sons 
 and daughters, the grandchildren, with others, some 
 relatives, all bound by ties of tenderest affection to 
 the departing spirit. Silently we watched, while 
 the gray light of a chill and gloomy morning stole 
 into the chamber of death, and the world without 
 woke to its busy life. The clock was pointing six 
 minutes past eight when the second and last change 
 came, and without moan or gasp the spirit passed, 
 freed from its fleshly prison ; the silver cord was 
 snapped ; we knelt in presence of the sainted dead ! 
 Then prayer — praise for his release, his rest; peti- 
 tion for grace and help for those left to grief — and 
 the long watch of love was done. 
 
 My pen lingers in loving memory of the place 
 which for ten years he had given me in his large 
 heart. Honored with his confidence, privileged in 
 intimate relationship, my admiration of his great 
 qualities, my esteem for his character, grew with 
 the years. He was at once the largest-brained, the 
 clearest-headed, and the simplest-hearted man I 
 have known. " High thoughts seated in a heart of 
 
i6 
 
 courtesy" were his. Never to me did a harsh word 
 pass his Hps. Charity and kindness were native to 
 him, as were wit and eloquence. His thoughtful- 
 ness was conspicuous. In all the years I never met 
 him, no matter under what pressure of business or 
 in what scenes of distraction, when he failed to in- 
 quire, first of all, after the health of my family and 
 self. This is a trifle, but one of those trifles signifi- 
 cant of the entire character of the man. He for- 
 got no interest, however small. He lost no oppor- 
 tunity to put a bit of sunshine into other lives. His 
 hand was always open. His heart was too large, 
 his life too busy, to cherish ill-will. He bound 
 friends to him with cords of steel. His word was 
 as his bond. Even the men who opposed him 
 liked him — they could not withstand his geniality 
 and generosity. Bitterness was not in him. Help- 
 fulness flowed from him. His enthusiasm was 
 irresistible. Young men ever found in him a 
 friend. Quick to detect talent, he was as ready to 
 encourage it and find chance for its development. 
 Hundreds there are who well felt that when he died 
 they lost their best and truest friend. He could 
 say, what few men truly can : " I never lied in my 
 business career ; I never sued or was sued ; I never 
 knowingly injured a rival business ; I never per- 
 mitted a customer to leave me dissatisfied with my 
 work ; I never committed an act of oppression in 
 my life; but with a clear conscience I can declare 
 that I have always rendered the best service to 
 God and my fellow-man of which I was capable." 
 
17 
 
 Nor would he speak thus in boasting, but with ut- 
 most modesty. 
 
 Of his religious nature and views I have else- 
 where spoken. Here let me give only his char- 
 acteristic reply to an eminent minister who visited 
 him at Mount McGregor in 1885, and after ex- 
 pressing sympathy for his misfortunes, asked him if 
 he was a Christian. "Yes, sir," was his answer, 
 " and I always have been, though I don't believe 
 all the preachers tell me." I can imagine the 
 twinkle of his eye at this turn on his friend. He 
 continued, " I think there are two things a man 
 must accept in order to be happy after death. 
 These are the fatherhood of God and the divine 
 mission of Christ. I am not interested in doctrinal 
 discussions. I put my trust in the God whose 
 handiwork these mountains reveal, whose benefi- 
 cence is shown in the good gifts with which he 
 has stored man's residence, the earth. I am satis- 
 fied that if a man accepts Christ as his Saviour and 
 lives a just life, dealing honestly with all men and 
 generously with the unfortunate, he will be blessed 
 after death." 
 
 He Hved his creed. He blessed his kind. He 
 won toil's triumphs. Great men honor him. His 
 workmen praise him. Widows and orphans bless his 
 memory. The world is bereft when such men die. 
 
 " His ashes in a peaceful urn shall rest, 
 
 His name a great example stands, to show 
 How strangely high endeavors may be blest, 
 Where piety and valor jointly go." 
 3 
 
i8 
 
 One day last spring an incident occurred in 
 Greenwood that tells touchingly how Mr. Roach is 
 known and remembered. In a Greenwood omni- 
 bus a party had been taking the regular route 
 through the famed cemetery, the driver pointing 
 out the places of chief interest. Coming at length 
 to Mr. Roach's plot, he said, " There is the grave 
 of John Roach." " And where is his monument ?" 
 asked a lady. Looking out the driver saw, lying at 
 anchor in the East River, one of the splendid 
 steamships of the Mallory Line, and instantly re- 
 plied, " Do you see that steamer, ma'am, with the 
 stars and stripes at the mast ? That's his monu- 
 ment ! " 
 
 Yes, husband, father, friend, — in thy life so 
 lovable and beloved, in thy death so mourned and 
 missed, — thy character and thy works live on, im- 
 perishable. Thou art not far from those who love 
 thee. Thou hast lost no interest in thy family 
 circle. In the home on high thou waitest to wel- 
 come thine own. Thou canst not return to us, but 
 we shall go to thee. And in that celestial city 
 where thou dwellest they strive not, nor sorrow, 
 nor separate any more. Surely thou wilt bid us 
 Godspeed till we shall meet thee there. Here we 
 shall not see thy like again. 
 
 Howard B. Grose. 
 
 YONKERS, N. Y., December, 1887. 
 
19 
 
 f alxu ^CTiXcIt* 
 
 Great man ! One cast in generous mould, 
 Too large for petty things : I hold 
 True greatness his — this modest man, 
 
 Who, breaking through the bars of birth, 
 By his own sturdy brain and worth 
 Wrought out in deeds his patriot plan. 
 Till swift his steel-shod sea-steeds ran. 
 O'er every ocean bore his fame, 
 High enterprise, and honored name ! 
 
 His the proud part to prove our power 
 To win new triumphs ; in peace's hour 
 To build a navy for defence, 
 And merchant fleet to carry hence 
 To every port our wares, and be 
 Merchant militia of the sea. 
 
 Great mind ! With rare prophetic sight 
 He viewed his country's future bright — 
 Her power, her perils too, and needs ; 
 And this inspired his earnest deeds. 
 A patriot passed from earth on high, 
 When it was his, worn out, to die. 
 
20 
 
 Great heart ! Alive to every woe ; 
 Friend to all men, he knew no foe ; 
 Too noble e'er to harbor wrong, 
 His grace to suffer and be strong ; 
 Upright in dealing as in thought, 
 His life with charity was fraught, 
 He lived the truth the Saviour taught. 
 
 So won he honestly his place 
 With those who benefit their race, 
 Who build what Time can not efface. 
 The ships he launched, the help he lent, 
 The life in useful service spent. 
 These rise, his chiefest monument ! 
 
 Howard B. Grose. 
 
21 
 
 Two services were held — one private, at the 
 family residence at Fifth Avenue and Fiftieth 
 Street ; the other public, in St. Paul's Methodist 
 Episcopal Church at Fourth Avenue and Twenty- 
 second Street. The services were in charge of Rev. 
 E. McChesney, D.D., pastor of the church, and 
 Rev. Howard B. Grose, pastor of the First Baptist 
 Church of Poughkeepsie. Bishop William F. 
 Harris, of New York, was invited to deliver one 
 of the addresses, and did so. 
 
 The service at the house was on Wednesday 
 evening, and was restricted to the family and rela- 
 tives, and a few intimate friends. Dr. McChesney 
 read comforting passages of Scripture and offered 
 prayer ; and Rev. Mr. Grose spoke to the family of 
 their loved one departed, as long intimacy enabled 
 him to do, drawing lessons of inspiration and con- 
 solation from the beautiful life that had shone at its 
 brightest in the sanctuary of the home, and that 
 had so long been spared to bless them. It was a 
 solemn and sacred hour. 
 
 The public service was held at eleven o'clock on 
 Thursday morning, January 13th. It testified in 
 the most impressive way to the affection and esteem 
 in which he was held. The following extracts from 
 
22 
 
 the New York press reports give some idea of the 
 memorable scene. It is not known that any private 
 citizen, holding no public station and having no 
 claim save his worth and work, ever before received 
 in New York such recognition. 
 
 The World says : The throng which gathered at 
 the funeral of the great ship-builder was of a char- 
 acter seldom seen at the obsequies of any man. 
 Two thousand people filled the church and several 
 hundred stood reverently outside during the funeral 
 services. In the body of the church were seated 
 many men of advanced years, personal friends of 
 John Roach, who had known him through the 
 period of his struggles and triumphs and heart- 
 breaking and death. The galleries were filled with 
 employes from the Morgan Iron Works and from 
 Chester. Scattered through the congregation were 
 men of prominence in public life, and many ladies. 
 
 The Times says : There was a remarkable as- 
 sembly of people within the walls of St. Paul's 
 Methodist Episcopal Church yesterday during the 
 funeral services over John Roach. It included men 
 of substantial wealth and social prominence, and 
 hard-handed and begrimed workmen ; women in 
 silks, and those whose station could afford only 
 alpaca. These social extremes met, and for hours 
 remained under the same roof ; evinced like interest 
 in the solemn services, and were equally reverent 
 and sorrowful. When the black hearse drove to 
 the front entrance at eleven o'clock the throng on the 
 walk outside uncovered. Enough men stood there 
 
23 
 
 to fill half the pews in the church. The appear- 
 ance of some denoted wealth, but the majority were 
 fresh from the foundry. There was an inter- 
 mingling of women like that within, sharers of 
 a common grief. No one could doubt that it was 
 the funeral of a man who inspired real affection, 
 which had long outlasted his active connection with 
 affairs. 
 
 Bishop Harris, the Rev. Dr. E. McChesney, 
 pastor of the church, and Rev. H. B. Grose of 
 Poughkeepsie, led the procession into the church, 
 the pastor reciting " I am the resurrection and the 
 life." The pall-bearers followed : George W. Quin- 
 tard, George E. Weed, C. H. Mallory, James E. 
 Ward, C. H. Delamater, Andrew Fletcher, William 
 Rowland, and William Parker of Chester, Pa. The 
 coffin-bearers laid their burden among flowers. At 
 the back, immediately below the pulpit desk, stood 
 the steamer City of Pekin in flowers, with out- 
 spread sails and graceful prow. The yards were 
 trimmed with immortelles ; ivy and smilax climbed 
 over the deck and buried the keel in a rich green 
 bed, and white roses and chrysanthemums shone in 
 almost solid surface against the hull and masts. 
 The ship was nearly as long as the coffin, and was 
 almost as high as the preacher's desk. Near by 
 stood an open sheaf, beautifully edged with white 
 flowers. A cross of lilies, roses, and immortelles, 
 into which smilax was woven, completed this strik- 
 ing group of floral pieces. The ship was the tribute 
 of the men employed at the Morgan Iron Works ; 
 
24 
 
 the sheaf came from William Rowland and George 
 E. Weed ; the cross from the Chalmers Spence 
 Company. These pieces were flanked both on the 
 pulpit and chancel sides with crosses, pillows, 
 wreaths, and other designs. A bound sheaf and 
 two wreaths rested on the coffin. 
 
 The Tribune says : The galleries were filled with 
 large delegations of employes, 400 from the Mor- 
 gan Iron Works, sixty-six from the great yards at 
 Chester, Pa., and others from the Delamater Iron 
 Works and the Navy Yard. In the body of the 
 church sat groups from the American Yacht Club, 
 from the Society of Architectural Iron Manufac- 
 turers, and many members of the General Society 
 of Mechanics and Tradesmen, the Maritime Ex- 
 change, and the Chamber of Commerce. In one 
 of the front pews were ex-Secretary of the Navy 
 Wm. E. Chandler, Gen. Clinton B. Fisk, and Con- 
 troller Loew. Others present were Hon. Wm. H. 
 Robertson, J. B. Cornell, Chamberlain Ivins, 
 George H. Hall, Captain J. M. Lachlan, C. P. 
 Huntington, Jordan L. Mott, Commissioner Starr, 
 Dr. J. E. King, E. A. Quintard, John Englis, 
 William P. Clyde, Vernon H. Brown, Elmer 
 McKay, E. Spicer, Jr., John Elliot, G. J. Burnett, 
 S. M. Wright, Dr. E. B. Belden, Dr. J. B. Taylor, 
 President Alexander Knox of the Institute of 
 Reward, George F. Robinson, ex-Mayor Grace, 
 Peter W. Gallaudet, Judge E. L. Fancher, ex- 
 Collector Thomas Murphy, George Pierce of the 
 Old Colony Iron Works, Boston ; United States 
 
25 
 
 Naval Constructor Wilson, Richard Poillon, Com- 
 modore Van Santvoord, W. H. Lane, Stephen 
 Taylor, John Baird, ex-Congressman Brompton, 
 Charles R. Flint, and J. J. Alexander. 
 
 Among those present from Chester were C. E. 
 Weed, President of the Combination Steel and 
 Iron Company ; John A. Wallace of the Chester 
 Times ; Samuel O. Dyer, President of the Chester 
 National Bank ; C. B. Houston, President of the 
 Chester Rolling Mills; Wm. Appleby, C. Price, J. 
 T. Black, H. B. Black, Richard Peters, President 
 of the Chester City Railway; R. E. Ross, Dr. 
 Samuel Starr, John Fountain, and others. 
 
 Not the least touching sight was at the close of 
 the services, when the casket was opened and the 
 thousands were permitted a last look at the familiar 
 face. As the employes filed past, tears streamed 
 from the eyes of many of them, and few there were 
 that did not show emotion. More than 6,600 
 persons passed through the church. This man 
 attached others to him as few men do, and he was 
 surrounded by affection in these last earthly honors. 
 
 In the afternoon of a chill January day, as the 
 sun was reddening the western sky, the body of 
 John Roach was laid in its last resting-place in 
 Greenwood. 
 
 Life's race well run. 
 Life's work all done. 
 Life's victory won, 
 Now Cometh rest. 
 
\ 
 
 26 
 
 Sorrows are o'er, 
 Trials no more, 
 Ship reacheth shore, 
 Now cometh rest. 
 
 Faith yields to sight. 
 Day follows night, 
 Jesus gives light, 
 Now cometh rest. 
 
 We a while wait. 
 But, soon or late. 
 Death opes the gate. 
 Then cometh rest. 
 
27 
 
 THE SERVICES AND ADDRESSES. 
 
 [Stenographically Reported.] 
 
 Bishop W. F. Harris, D.D. ; the Rev. E. Mc- 
 Chesney, D.D., pastor of the church; and the Rev. 
 H. B. Grose, pastor of the First Baptist Church in 
 Poughkeepsie, led the procession into the church, 
 the pastor reciting the following passages of Scrip- 
 ture : 
 
 " I am the resurrection, and the life : he that 
 believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he 
 live : and whosoever liveth and believeth in me 
 shall never die" (John xi. 25, 26). 
 
 " I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he 
 shall stand at the latter day upon the earth : and 
 though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet 
 in my flesh shall I see God: whom I shall see for 
 myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not 
 another" (Job xix. 25-27), 
 
 " We brought nothing into this world, and it is 
 certain we can carry nothing out." "The Lord gave, 
 and the Lord hath taken away ; blessed be the 
 name of the Lord" (i Tim. vi. 7 ; Job i. 21). 
 
 The choir then sang the anthem, " Blessed are 
 the departed, who in the Lord are sleeping." 
 
28 
 
 Bishop Harris read the first Scripture lesson, the 
 90th Psalm : 
 
 " Lord, thou hast been our dwelling-place in all 
 generations. Before the mountains were brought 
 forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the 
 world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou 
 art God. Thou turnest man to destruction ; and 
 sayest. Return, ye children of men. For a thou- 
 sand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it 
 is past, and as a watch in the night. Thou carriest 
 them away as with a flood ; they are as a sleep : in 
 the morning they are like grass which groweth up. 
 In the morning it flourisheth, and groweth up ; in 
 the evening it is cut down, and withereth. For we 
 are consumed by thine anger, and by thy wrath are 
 we troubled. Thou hast set our iniquities before 
 thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance. 
 For all our days are passed away in thy wrath ; we 
 spend our years as a tale that is told. The days of 
 our years are threescore years and ten ; and if by 
 reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is 
 their strength labor and sorrow ; for it is soon cut 
 off, and we fly away. Who knoweth the power of 
 thine anger ? even according to thy fear, so is thy 
 wrath. So teach us to number our days, that we 
 may apply our hearts unto wisdom. Return, O 
 Lord, how long ? and let it repent thee concerning 
 thy servants. O satisfy us early with thy mercy; 
 that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. 
 Make us glad according to the days wherein thou 
 hast afflicted us, and the years wherein we have 
 
29 
 
 seen evil. Let thy work appear unto thy servants, 
 and thy glory unto their children. And let the 
 beauty of the Lord our God be upon us : and 
 establish thou the work of our hands upon us ; yea, 
 the work of our hands establish thou it." 
 
 The second lesson is taken from the 15th chapter 
 of I st Corinthians, beginning with the 41st verse: 
 
 " There is one glory of the sun, and another glory 
 of the moon, and another glory of the stars ; for 
 one star differeth from another star in glory. So 
 also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in 
 corruption, it is raised in incorruption : it is sown 
 in dishonor, it is raised in glory : it is sown in 
 weakness, it is raised in power : it is sown a 
 natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There 
 is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. 
 And so it is written, The first man Adam was 
 made a living soul ; the last Adam was made a 
 quickening spirit. Howbeit that was not first 
 which is spiritual, but that which is natural ; and 
 afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is 
 of the earth, earthy ; the second man is the Lord 
 from heaven. As is the earthy, such are they also 
 that are earthy : and as is the heavenly, such are 
 they also that are heavenly. And as we have borne 
 the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the 
 image of the heavenly. Now this I say, brethren, 
 that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of 
 God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. 
 Behold, I show you a mystery ; we shall not all 
 sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in 
 
30 
 
 the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump : for the 
 trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised 
 incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this 
 corruptible must put on incorruption, and this 
 mortal must put on immortality. So when this 
 corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this 
 mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be 
 brought to pass the saying that is written. Death is 
 swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy 
 sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The 
 sting of death is sin ; and the strength of sin is the 
 law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the 
 victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, 
 my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, 
 always abounding in the work of the Lord, foras- 
 much as ye know that your labor is not in vain in 
 the Lord." Here endeth the reading of God's 
 holy Word. 
 
 Dr. McChesney offered prayer : 
 Lord, to whom shall we go but unto thee, for thou 
 hast the words of eternal life. We come into thy 
 presence in response to the call of thy providence 
 and of thy Spirit, and gladly would open our hearts 
 to thee. We would hallow this hour with the re- 
 membrance of thy name, by the aid of thy gracious 
 Spirit ; fill our hearts with thoughts and sentiments 
 that are becoming to us at this time. We bless 
 thee, O Lord, that thou hast taught us to know 
 thee as our Father in heaven ; that thou hast re- 
 vealed to us thine own self ; that thou hast made 
 known to us the greatness of thy providence and 
 
3' 
 
 the mystery of thy love. Thy love passeth knowl- 
 edge ; thou dost teach us to fly for refuge to thee, 
 knowing that thou art a strong tower of defence, a 
 very present help in time of trouble. 
 
 We bless thee, O God, for the revelation that 
 thou hast given. We thank thee that life and im- 
 mortality are brought to light through Jesus Christ 
 our Lord ; we thank thee that to us have come 
 the glad tidings of the glorious Gospel of the 
 Blessed Son of God, and when we sorrow, we sor- 
 row not as those who have no hope, but in the 
 midst of our grief are enabled to lift our struggling 
 hearts to thee. We bless thee, O Lord, for the 
 care that thou hast had over us during the years 
 that are past ; we bless thee for that grace which is 
 vouchsafed to us at the present moment ; we thank 
 thee for the encouragements that come to us as now 
 we kneel in thy presence, helping us to come with 
 boldness to thy gracious Throne, that we may find 
 grace to help in this time of need. Help us, O 
 Lord, in this our sorrow that we may rightly re- 
 member thee ; that we may find in thee comfort, 
 and the illumination that our present needs require. 
 Help us, O Lord, that in our sorrow we cherish 
 gratitude to thee for all that thou hast been to us 
 and for all that thou hast done for us. 
 
 W^e bless thee, O Lord, for the special circum- 
 stances of comfort of which we may remind our- 
 selves as we are gathered together here for this sol- 
 emn service. We rejoice in the goodness of God 
 shown to thy servant whom thou hast taken from 
 
32 
 
 our midst. We would bless thee with humble and 
 thankful hearts, for the kindly presence which 
 watched over him during the early years of his life, 
 and during all the history that he made. We bless 
 thee, O Lord, that thou didst give to him the min- 
 istrations of thy Holy Spirit; that thou didst add 
 to his strength ; that through him thou didst bless 
 many who were about him. We rejoice, O Lord, 
 in the influence for good that he exercised on the 
 minds of the people ; for the services that he was 
 enabled to render to our land. We bless thee, O 
 Lord, for the kindly associations that bound him 
 to those who were gathered about him. We re- 
 joice, O Lord, at this time that we who have come 
 here to this place have come simply with hearts that 
 are touched with keenest sorrow and truest love. 
 We humbly ask thee, O Lord, as we are here in thy 
 presence, that our thoughts may be toward thee, 
 and that as we lift our hearts to thee we may re- 
 ceive from thee such instruction and help as shall 
 make this hour becomingly profitable to us all. 
 
 Help us, O Lord, that the words of our mouths 
 and the meditations of our hearts may be acceptable 
 in thy sight. Let thy blessing come to each soul 
 in thy presence, according to the needs of each one. 
 Let the solemn lessons of thy providence be im- 
 pressed by thy Holy Spirit upon each one before 
 thee, and especially do we commend to thy care and 
 to thy great love these who are bereaved of one so 
 near to them. We ask, O Lord, that the widowed 
 heart may receive the comfort that only God can 
 
33 
 
 give. Let the whole family feel that the Lord him- 
 self is here, to administer his own divine solace. 
 Let the great realities that have been made known 
 to us through Jesus Christ our Saviour come to 
 them with comfort and healing power at this time. 
 Help them to feel that Heaven is not far away ; 
 help them to realize how great and how constant 
 thou art in thy goodness, and help them in this 
 hour, when their hearts are so sorely stricken, to 
 say. The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away, 
 blessed be the name of the Lord. 
 
 Thou dost teach us, O Lord, that he whom thou 
 lovest thou chastenest, and scourgest every son 
 whom thou receivest. Thou dost teach us that out 
 of this sorrow thou wilt bring forth blessings at the 
 last. O Lord, may these sorrows be so received by 
 these before thee at this time, with afflicted spirits, 
 that out of them shall come forth the peaceable fruits 
 of righteousness. Let thy Spirit be upon them, not 
 only during this hour of service, but during the 
 days of loneliness which are to follow after, that 
 they, in all the years that are to come and whenever 
 they think of the loved one whom Thou hast taken, 
 may find their hearts drawn heavenward and drawn 
 towards thee. 
 
 Let thy grace, O Lord, rest upon all before thee. 
 Pour thy blessing, O Lord, upon our country, and 
 give us wise men to rule over us — men who shall 
 fear thee, men who shall honor thy truth, and work 
 righteousness ; and at the last bring thy glorious 
 5 
 
34 
 
 kingdom in, for the sake of Jesus Christ, our Lord. 
 Amen. 
 
 Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be 
 thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done 
 in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our 
 daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we 
 forgive those that trespass against us. And lead 
 us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil : 
 for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the 
 glory, forever. Amen. 
 
 The choir sang the 724th hymn, "Nearer, my 
 God, to thee." 
 
 ADDRESS BY BISHOP W. F. HARRIS, D.D. 
 
 This large concourse of people, made up from 
 all classes in the community and from all condi- 
 tions in society, shows to the most superficial 
 observer that he was no ordinary man who has just 
 closed his earthly life and whose death calls this 
 assembly to this house of mourning to-day. We 
 come here to pay a tribute, slight indeed it may be, 
 compared with the merits of the case, but to pay 
 our tribute to the memory and the virtues of the 
 dead, and from his life to draw useful lessons for 
 the living. 
 
 Mr. Roach was born in the County of Cork, in 
 Ireland, on Christmas Day of the year 18 13, so 
 that he had passed beyond the allotted period of 
 
35 
 
 human life — the threescore and ten — by more than 
 three years. He had a good father and a good 
 mother — an invaluable boon to any man. His 
 father was a merchant, a merchant of high char- 
 acter and respectability; and from his father Mr. 
 Roach inherited his business sagacity and thrift. 
 But he inherited more — he inherited that nice and 
 sensitive honesty and that high sense of honor 
 which could not brook a stain on his business repu- 
 tation. From his mother, whose name and memory 
 he always revered, and of whom he always spoke 
 in terms of tenderness and love — from her he in- 
 herited a nature somewhat poetic and somewhat 
 religious in its turn, a nature with an admirable ad- 
 mixture of gentleness and of strength ; and both 
 these characteristics were manifest in his life and 
 career. 
 
 The early advantages for education, at the time 
 and place where his youth was passed, were of the 
 most meagre character, and these, such as they 
 were, were terminated abruptly when he was but 
 about thirteen years of age; for when he had 
 reached that period in life, his father, who had 
 suffered very serious, and indeed ruinous, reverses 
 in his financial affairs, died, and left a dependent 
 widow and family without any means of support. 
 To the care of his mother the first attention of this 
 young man was turned, and finding no opportunity 
 open to him for profitable or remunerative employ- 
 ment in his own land, he came to America, when 
 he was about sixteen years of age, to seek his for- 
 
36 
 
 tune in this country. But fortune did not come to 
 him at his bidding, and after spending a season 
 here, disappointed and discouraged, he determined 
 to return to his native land, and by dint of industry 
 and of the most rigid economy he earned and 
 saved sufficient money to pay his passage back to 
 Ireland. But when he came in possession of the 
 means by which he could return, through some in- 
 fluence, whatever it may be, he changed his mind 
 and determined to make America his future home ; 
 and it was this decision that gave to him, ultimately, 
 American citizenship and all the history and life 
 which he has connected with the interests of this 
 nation. After he had formed this purpose to re- 
 main in this country he determined to learn a 
 trade, some branch of industry by which he could 
 secure greater income than he could hope for from 
 unskilled labor; and so he devoted himself to learn- 
 ing a trade. But at the same time he made 
 efforts to supplement, by diligent study, the defi- 
 ciency which he felt he suffered from the want of 
 education in early days ; and so, while he worked 
 hard by day he studied as hard by night, that he 
 might not only be a skilled laborer, but that he 
 might be an intelligent one also. And as was 
 characteristic of him, as I gather from what I have 
 learned and from what I know, he made thorough 
 work of all that he undertook. Indeed, thorough- 
 ness seems to me to have been characteristic of this 
 man, in his work and in his study, and he learned 
 all or the whole of everything that he undertook. 
 
37 
 
 It was his good fortune to marry a very excellent 
 lady, who was in truest sympathy with him in his 
 purposes and aims and ambitions, and who became, 
 in thrift and in everything else, a true helper— a 
 help meet for such a man as he. He not only 
 learned his trade and labored with his own hands, 
 but he soon became an employer of others. His 
 business grew so that he could not compass it by 
 his own arm or his own muscle, and so he became 
 an employer of others, beginning, as I am informed, 
 with the employment of three men ; but as his 
 business grew the number of employes increased 
 until he became the employer not of three men 
 alone, but of three thousand men, whose weekly 
 pay-roll required thirty thousand dollars to be dis- 
 bursed in wages to those who were his workmen. 
 As an employer, Mr. Roach enjoyed the confidence 
 and respect and love of those whom he employed, 
 and for good reason : he was to them exceedingly 
 benevolent; thousands and thousands of dollars 
 were bestowed, by his own hand, in benefactions 
 to those who were needy and unfortunate. The 
 widows of faithful men in his service were put up- 
 on the pay-roll by Mr. Roach, and were kept there 
 until their growing children should be able to do 
 something for the support of their parents; and 
 indeed his whole life, his whole active and indus- 
 trial life, seems to be full of charities and bene- 
 factions to his employes. And very naturally, of 
 course, a man who treated his workmen as he 
 treated his, received in return the love and esteem 
 
38 
 
 and devotion of those who served him, and they 
 became his faithful friends, faithful to him and 
 faithful to his interests ; and it is said that through 
 his whole business career but once or twice in it 
 all was he disturbed or troubled by any agitations 
 among his workmen or by a threatened strike. 
 Indeed, the business career of Mr. Roach and his 
 business record are such, it seems to me, as but few 
 men attain. I read in a paper, not long since, per- 
 haps a month or a year ago I read it, a remarkable 
 fact, in connection with so large a business and so 
 long a period of business as Mr. Roach engaged 
 in and enjoyed (for he was in business for nearly 
 fifty years); and this statement was that during a 
 business of fifty years, or nearly fifty years, a business 
 involving large transactions, a business involving 
 the collection and disbursement of millions of 
 money, in no single instance was this man ever 
 sued by another, nor did he ever have occasion to 
 sue a customer himself. I think that is a very re- 
 markable statement. Very few business men have 
 such a record as that. 
 
 He has been singularly honored by the business 
 men of this city and of other cities ; and of this I 
 need not speak in this presence, for you know it 
 all. 
 
 In his family relations Mr. Roach was unusually 
 happy — unusually so. A loving and an indulgent 
 husband and father, he received in return the love 
 and devotion of his wife and children, and to him 
 his home was a sanctuary. Amid all the pressure 
 
39 
 
 of his great business he fled to his home as a place 
 of refuge, as a rest ; and he always found it there. 
 His wife, with three sons and two daughters, sur- 
 vive him, and a company of grandchildren, in 
 whose presence and society he always took great 
 delight. 
 
 Mr. Roach was a man of strong religious feeling 
 and conviction. He had, especially, a very great 
 reverence for the Bible — a reverence for the Bible 
 as the Word of God, a reverence for the Bible as 
 containing the teachings of Our Father in heaven, 
 sent down to guide his erring children into the 
 truth ; a love for the Bible, because it was so inti- 
 mately associated with the history of his mother, 
 for whom it had been a stay and a staff in the 
 hours of her trouble and conflict ; and he never 
 permitted in his presence that Word to be criti- 
 cised ; he never allowed its teachings to be spoken 
 lightly of, without a rebuke. One who knew him 
 better than I, said to me that his creed was faith 
 and good works, with an emphasis on good works; 
 that he hated shams, but loved the truth, and es- 
 pecially did he love the living of the truth. 
 
 Now, in regard to his own personal religious ex- 
 perience, you will hear from others ; but I rejoice, 
 before I sit down, to say that he has left a testi- 
 mony behind him that he had conscious peace with 
 God through our Lord Jesus Christ, and that in 
 the paroxysms of his pain and suffering, while he 
 was patient in it all, he desired to fly away and be 
 at rest. And he has gone, we trust, to the House 
 
40 
 
 of many Mansions, to the House of our Father 
 above, the palace of angels and of God. 
 
 ADDRESS BY REV. E. McCHESNEY, D.D. 
 
 There are some things which almost insist upon 
 crowding their remembrance upon our minds at 
 this time, of which we are scarcely permitted to 
 speak. There are times when to say all that we 
 know and deeply feel to be true would be like 
 introducing a discordant note into a strain of tender 
 and solemn music. There are times when justice, 
 even, must stand with sealed lips lest its utterances 
 would be untimely and inharmonious with feelings 
 that then hold rightful sway. 
 
 We are brought together here at this time by the 
 death of a great man. But we have come not to 
 speak nor to hear of the wrongs he suffered. We 
 are here, as has been said, to remember his virtues 
 and his achievements, the magnificent deeds, the 
 deeds of righteousness that he did to others. We 
 are here to fashion before our minds, for a time, 
 some true picture of his character. And still more 
 than this, we are here to hallow this day and hour 
 of sadness by remembering God and the great 
 truths that God has spoken. There are times when 
 the most familiar things are also the most precious. 
 God reigns ; God exercises care over us and over 
 
41 
 
 all mankind constantly. He has created us for this 
 world ; and, in a higher sense, for that world which 
 is to come. All of our actions and all of our ex- 
 periences are at last to be submitted to his righteous 
 judgment ; all of our imperfections are within the 
 scope of His great mercy. How naturally, how 
 instinctively, we turn at this time to truths like 
 these : for here and here only can we find the com- 
 fort that we need ; here and here only can we find 
 the light, without which life and death must for- 
 ever remain appalling and heart-crushing mysteries. 
 I have spoken of Mr. Roach as a great man. In 
 saying that, I have, as you know, simply echoed 
 public opinion. That was the title that was ac- 
 corded him not simply by the multitude, not simply 
 by the great masses of society (and they did give 
 him that title), but also by the most thoughtful and 
 intelligent throughout our whole countr}^ As has 
 been said, the presence of so large a number of 
 people, representing different sections of society, on 
 this occasion, shows the interest, the affection and 
 the interest, that gather about the death of this 
 man. It is the fate of most mortals to live and to 
 pass out of this world comparatively unnoticed. 
 Few there are, indeed, who die without leaving 
 some hearts to ache when they are gone. But few 
 there are whose death has excited so wide-spread 
 attention as has the death of this man ; few there 
 are who go out from our midst who are so widely 
 lamented. We may well remind ourselves that to 
 be great — and that is the word we have used — is 
 6 
 
42 
 
 something more than to be prominent ; something 
 more than to be widely known or widely successful. 
 Indeed, prominence is sometimes achieved without 
 special greatness. It is reached often without ob- 
 vious merit. It seems to be reached sometimes 
 through influences that are purely accidental. 
 Prominence, in some instances, in our own country 
 as well as in others, is one of those trying and per- 
 plexing facts that we find it hard to reconcile with 
 our faith in God's providence. Men are inclined to 
 ask and to puzzle themselves over the question : 
 " How is it that such an individual becomes promi- 
 nent or so widely successful?" But no one ever 
 asked the question concerning this man who is 
 taken from our midst. For more than a quarter 
 of a century he stood forth conspicuous before the 
 public gaze, to all who looked upon him, standing 
 in the place where he naturally and rightfully 
 belonged. Aside from his success the man himself 
 was great. Prominence, therefore, was his becom- 
 ing position. Success was the natural outcome of 
 the character that he possessed. Nature cast him 
 in a great mould. His mind, his whole character, 
 seemed to be fashioned upon a large scale. 
 
 It has been said that he was not an educated man. 
 In one sense of the word it is true. It is also true 
 that no amount of what is commonly called educa- 
 tion could have furnished the world such a man as 
 was he. Education is often a vain attempt to get 
 out of a man what is not in him ; sometimes it is an 
 attempt to put into a man what he cannot contain. 
 
43 
 
 To say that the man was great, and to say that he 
 was also uneducated, it seems to me, is the highest 
 compHment that we can pay to him ; it implies, 
 especially, his inherent, his original greatness. It 
 is simply saying that he overcame great disadvan- 
 tages, that he achieved great victories, and did it 
 alone and single-handed. But in the true sense of 
 the word Mr. Roach was an educated man. It has 
 been said that the peculiarity of an educated man is 
 that he knows where to find things. He under- 
 stands the means of acquiring knowledge. He 
 knows the avenues that lead into the great field of 
 human knowledge. Taking this as a proper defi- 
 nition of an educated man I think I may repeat 
 what I said a moment ago, that in the truest sense 
 of the word this man, who has been taken from 
 our midst was truly educated. No one who knew 
 anything concerning him could doubt that such 
 knowledge as he desired to possess—and he desired 
 much — he knew how to gain. Any one who con- 
 templated the vast and successful enterprises that 
 he built up, and saw the large amount of intelli- 
 gence, the large amount of definite and wide infor- 
 mation, that the successful carrying forward of 
 those enterprises must have involved, could have 
 any doubt upon this point. No one who listened 
 to his arguments, or read the pamphlets and books 
 that were the production of his pen, could be in 
 any doubt as to his power to readily acquire such 
 knowledge as he wished to gain. It is a rare thing 
 to find a man whose education, whose position. 
 
44 
 
 whose memory, whose reflection and judgment, 
 and whose will were more thoroughly disciplined 
 and trained than were his. He did it by his own 
 untiring industry. His courage, his patience, his 
 indomitable will, led him to these mighty successes. 
 I am strongly impressed with the fact, as are 
 doubtless all of you, that the life that has come to a 
 close sets before us a model, in many respects, that 
 we may well study and copy. It is very true that 
 the world has never seen but one perfect life, and 
 the best man that walked this earth can only say, 
 " Follow me as I follow Christ." And yet there 
 were many things in the history of this man that 
 are worthy of our emulation and worthy of our 
 imitation. When the record of his life is made up, 
 when it is fully given to the public, I think it will 
 read very much like a romance. I have reason for 
 saying that. It will be an exceedingly interesting 
 story, as well as one that is exceedingly instructive. 
 We shall see a record of strup-g-le ; we shall see a 
 record of reverses, a record of great toils and of 
 great and unnecessary sufferings, a record of victory 
 at the last ! It will be, the story of one who bore, 
 throughout his life, a spotless reputation. The 
 relations of his life to his fellow-men were exceed- 
 ingly manifold, and oftentimes very trying and per- 
 plexing ; but he, throughout all his work, suffered 
 no stain upon the character that he bore. His 
 record is that of a man to whom honor and self 
 respect were more valuable than all earthly good ; 
 a record of a man whose heart was broken at the 
 
45 
 
 last, because something that might seem a shadow 
 was cast in a rude way across the path that he was 
 following. It is not often that before the young 
 of this nation a record like that can be placed. It 
 is certainly full of the most wholesome instruction. 
 We find in him an illustration of public-spirited 
 enterprise. We know how vast his undertakings 
 were. Some of you can appreciate the fact fully, 
 that no man could be a business man, in the broad 
 sense in which Mr. Roach was a business man, 
 without having his attention drawn to public affairs. 
 He saw very plainly and felt very deeply this fact, 
 that public and private welfare are very closely 
 related. It was not at all strange that he became 
 deeply interested in the public policy of the nation. 
 It was not at all strange that he became a politician 
 in the best sense of the word. It is not at all 
 strange that he carried statesmanlike views into the 
 conduct of his enterprises, nor is it strange that he 
 found himself brought into business relations with 
 the Government. There is one point that needs 
 special study here, and that is the unselfishness of 
 the man in all of these relations to which I have 
 alluded. You have seen it stated how, in the years 
 that are gone, in the early days of the war, when he 
 went to Washington and waited upon the President, 
 Mr. Lincoln, in his peculiar way, said, " What do 
 you want of me ?" Mr. Roach replied : " Nothing. 
 I thought you might want something of me." It 
 was indeed true that he wanted " nothing." He 
 needed nothing from the Government. Those were 
 
46 
 
 times when many wanted something, and were 
 eager to get something for themselves. But there 
 were others who wanted nothing, thank God ; who 
 sought nothing for themselves, and who found it in 
 their hearts, under the promptings of true patriotism, 
 to do something, to give something, themselves, to 
 a Government which was at that time sorely and 
 greatly needing help. And of those who were 
 under the promptings of true patriotism was the 
 man whose death has now drawn us together. He 
 wanted nothing ; he asked for " nothing." I am 
 almost ready to say it would have been well for 
 him, happy for him in relation to his peace of mind, 
 in relation to his personal prosperity, if he had re- 
 ceived precisely what he asked — if he had received 
 nothing. We cannot erase this fact from our 
 memory, that he received at the last worse than 
 nothing. And it is also true, I believe, that if, at 
 that moment, when those words fell from his lips, 
 there could have been given to him something of 
 prophetic foresight of what the coming years would 
 have brought him, his patriotism would have been 
 equal to the demand of the occasion, for he was a 
 man who sought not his own. He asked nothing 
 for himself ; but he recognized the beneficent char- 
 acter of our institutions, the great interests of the 
 country, and the great need that was then pressing. 
 And he was ready to do what was needed. Is it 
 not true, then, that we have before us an example 
 worthy of our study and imitation ? 
 
 There is one other point to which I must refer, 
 
47 
 
 which has already received sonie reference. There 
 is a great question before our people at the present 
 day : it is called the question of " Capital and 
 Labor," the relations between employer and em- 
 ployes. Does not the life that has come to a close 
 throw some light upon this question ? Do we not 
 see the most instructive light thrown upon this 
 question of "Capital and Labor"? It is a re- 
 markable spectacle that we have before us at this 
 time. Look upon the hundreds of men here at 
 my left, filling the galleries. Who are they ? Call 
 them " employes " ? They are mourners now. 
 They have come here to pay the last tribute that 
 they can pay to their friend, to their benefactor ; 
 they are here with loyal hearts. Never did a cap- 
 tain find greater loyalty in the soldiers who were 
 ready to follow him to the battle, than beats in the 
 hearts of these men of hard hands who are here 
 with us at this time. Mr. Roach never forgot that 
 he was a working-man. He never ceased to be a 
 working-man. There was never a period in his life, 
 until at last disease compelled him to rest, when he 
 ceased to toil. There was no man who served him 
 who wrought more hours in a day and more days in 
 the year than did this man. Unflagging industry, 
 untiring zeal — these seemed to be the elements of 
 his life ; and his sympathies never ceased to be with 
 those who toiled with him. It has been said that 
 wealth ofttimes makes men avaricious, or if it does 
 not make them avaricious, it makes them luxurious. 
 It was not the case in this instance ; wealth did not 
 
48 
 
 close up his heart against need ; wealth did not 
 make him luxurious, and forgetful of the needs of 
 others. He remained ever with open hand. There 
 were no barriers between him and those who were 
 about him ; and while his vast enterprises grew 
 about him, the comforts of those who were in his 
 employ also grew. 
 
 Some mention has been made of his creed. 
 I have understood that his creed was in particular 
 this : Equity, equity ; justice between men in all 
 of their relations. And in addition to that he held 
 another item, a tender and beautiful one — that of 
 benevolence. Where did he get that creed ? From 
 what source did he draw these beautiful practical 
 ideas of living? There is only one answer. Who 
 can doubt that he found them in the New Testa- 
 ment? 
 
 Of his religious life I shall say but little, but 
 leave that, as a pleasant duty, to one who is to 
 follow me, one who stood intimately connected 
 with the deceased for long years, and knew his 
 life ; one who enjoyed the confidence of his heart, 
 and is therefore better able to speak than I, who 
 am almost a stranger to this man. I never met 
 this man but once during his lifetime. I never shall 
 forget that occasion. It is vivid still before my 
 memory. I shall never forget it as long as I can 
 remember anything. It was on the first day of the 
 present year. The year 1887 had come, and it had 
 found John Roach lying wasted almost to a skele- 
 ton, and with heart crushed with sorrows. Not 
 
49 
 
 only the imprint of years was upon him, but a 
 great load of suffering had been upon him for many 
 months. He felt that his life was growing short. 
 There was a question that naturally pressed itself 
 upon his mind : '* Is there anything else for me to 
 do"? His life was a life of toil and devotion and 
 duty. "Is there anything else for me to do?" 
 He believed there was, and he proposed to do it. 
 He desired to receive the sacrament of the Lord's 
 Supper ; he desired to receive that rite of the 
 church which speaks most tenderly and most beau- 
 tifully of all the ceremonies of Christendom, of 
 faith and hope in a crucified and risen Redeemer. 
 It was my privilege and my duty to administer that 
 rite. It was only a few days ago. The picture is 
 very plain before my memory at this moment. 
 Again I see the kneeling group ; again I remember 
 the solemn silence ; again I look upon the couch 
 and see the form of this venerable sufferer ; again 
 I hear the words of the solemn and beautiful ser- 
 vice, reminding us of the body that was broken for 
 us and the blood that was shed in our behalf ; again 
 I remember how he, when the words of the ritual 
 were being read, opened his lips, and whispered his 
 own prayers to Christ, the friend and Saviour of 
 sinful men. Do you wonder that I remember this? 
 Those who were there will never forget it. It is 
 that scene that stands before my mind naturally 
 most prominent in connection with my remem- 
 brance of this man ; it is that scene which throws 
 a glorified light over his whole history ; it is that 
 7 
 
50 
 
 scene which leads those who are gathered here 
 together at this time to sorrow not as those who 
 have no hope. 
 
 ADDRESS BY REV. H. B. GROSE. 
 
 It is but fitting I should say that it is in obedi- 
 ence to the expressed wish of one who treated me 
 with the tenderness of a father, and one to whom 
 my heart could not have been more fully given had 
 he sustained to me that relation — it is in obedience 
 to his own desire that I add my simple tribute to 
 his memory and to his worth. How great a man 
 was lost to it when John Roach died the world does 
 not yet know, but some time will, I believe, fully 
 recognize. Time will yield him an increased recog- 
 nition and respect for what he was and for what he 
 did. Greatness cannot permanently be hid ; sooner 
 or later men give honor to whom honor is due. 
 And as has been said, and as I must repeat, this was 
 a great man ; great, not in public station, but great 
 in public service, great in intellect, in purpose, in 
 achievement ; great, yes, greatest of all, in heart. It 
 is said that some men are born great, some achieve 
 greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon 
 them. He achieved greatness. 
 
 Two pictures rise before me. I see, more than 
 half a century ago, an emigrant boy, walking to and 
 fro the streets of this city, seeking for employment 
 
51 
 
 —anything that he might gain his daily bread, any- 
 thing that was honest, and seeking in vain. This 
 city then had no place for John Roach ; nobody 
 wanted him. But he was made of stuff that, if no- 
 body wanted him, he wanted everything from some- 
 body. And if in this city he could not find place, 
 elsewhere would he seek it till he found it. The 
 word " fail " was not written for him. He had in 
 him the spirit and will of the old Norseman : " Either 
 I will find a way or I will make one." My thought 
 turns away from that picture to another ; to a time 
 when the most eminent business men and public 
 men of this city and of other cities were gathered 
 together in a notable assembly to do honor to a 
 man who had done honor to his land,— to call him 
 then by the title he had earned, " the father of Iron 
 Ship-building in America," and a title of which he 
 was prouder than if he had been called king or 
 president. The emigrant boy and the man who 
 was thus honored by his fellow-citizens and given 
 such testimonial of their esteem and affection were 
 the same. But there never would have been John 
 Roach, the ship-builder honored by the nation, but 
 for the will, the persistency, the integrity, the 
 mighty purpose that beat in the breast of the friend- 
 less boy who came here a stranger to seek his for- 
 tunes in this new world. 
 
 There is a single incident which, it seems to me, 
 illustrates in many respects the essential character- 
 istics of John Roach. It was an incident that oc- 
 curred in the early part of the war, when among 
 
52 
 
 the perplexing problems that met the Government 
 was this : " Can we equip a navy ?" And I wish to 
 say that in that hour the work this man had done, 
 in building up the facilities for doing just the thing 
 that in its extremity the Government most needed, 
 told, as you will see, and should bring him honor. All 
 the prominent builders had been consulted. There 
 was a vessel in the navy, but without boilers, and 
 that vessel was in great demand for immediate ser- 
 vice, and the question was : " How soon can you 
 put boilers into this ship ?" One after another an- 
 swered. The best answers that could be made, with 
 the facilities they had, were made, and at last Mr. 
 Roach was asked the same question, and he said : 
 " Within a fortnight it shall be done." How could 
 he do it ? Could he build the boilers in that time ? 
 No. No facilities could do the work if that had to 
 be done. But with that quick perception of the 
 situation and of all the possibilities that was a 
 marked feature of his success and his greatness, he 
 remembered that he had already built and placed in 
 the hull of a vessel of about the same size, boilers 
 that could be transferred to this naval ship ; and 
 the moment the word was given to him he tele- 
 graphed that the preparations should be instant- 
 ly begun to take these boilers out of the ship 
 in which they were and transfer them to the Gov- 
 ernment's vessel. And the work was done and the 
 vessel sent out in less than a fortnight to aid the 
 Government in its emergency. I say that is charac- 
 teristic of the man; it illustrates him in many ways. 
 
53 
 
 He was a man who could face an emergency and 
 could meet it. He could always find some expedi- 
 ent or some way to satisfy any demand that was 
 made upon him. And in a demand made upon 
 him by the Government, at such a time as that, it 
 has been well said there was no service he could 
 render that he would not have rendered at any sacri- 
 fice. He did not think of contract ; he did not 
 stop to question whether the owner of that ship 
 would be willing to have that change made. The 
 Government needed the vessel. He was a patriot ; 
 he was an American citizen ; his heart was bound 
 up in the issue of that conflict ; and his order was 
 to do it, and " I will take the consequences." I say 
 that a man who in emergency can rise to meet 
 it, is a great man. 
 
 He was great in intellect. I am glad that some 
 common errors have already been corrected here 
 to-day. He had no college education, it is true. 
 His school life was of the most meagre sort ; and 
 yet he was an educated man : educated by experi- 
 ence, yes, and educated by books, too. It has been 
 said that he was an illiterate man. Nothing less 
 true could be said of him. He was a man of so 
 rare intellect and keen insight that he seemed to 
 absorb knowledge wherever he met it, and a man 
 with a memory that retained tenaciously all he 
 read. He was a man who confined his study and 
 his intelligence to no special line. He knew his 
 business; he knew it from beginning to end; he was 
 proud to say that there was not, in all his great 
 
54 
 
 workshops, a single thing that he could not do, 
 down to the last years of his life. He knew it all, 
 he kept his oversight over it all. Yet he was a man 
 whose intelligence was far-reaching on almost any 
 topic you could name. I shall never forget the 
 surprise that came over me one day when, somehow 
 or other, the subject of theology and the Bible hap- 
 pened to come up between Mr. Roach and myself, 
 and he told me an incident in his life of how once 
 he had been approached with reference to his belief 
 in the Bible, and then he told me the answer that 
 he made; and I say to you that I have never read, 
 I have never heard given, by any theologian, by 
 any man whose special study is such a topic as God's 
 Word — I have never heard given a more powerful 
 argument for the inspiration of the Bible than he 
 recited there to me. It showed me to my utter 
 amazement, that somehow or other in the course of 
 his reading he had gathered together information 
 that was true and accurate on that subject. I found, 
 after that, that when any topic came up that seemed 
 to be foreign to his life and work, it was not foreign 
 to his intellect. He absorbed knowledge ; he loved 
 knowledge ; and he was an educated, a widely read, 
 a widely informed man. 
 
 He always regretted that his early advantages had 
 not been greater. He would say, repeatedly, " Oh, 
 if I had had the chances for an early education that 
 our young men have in this country to-day, what 
 might I not have done with it ?" And I always 
 made one reply, believing it from the bottom of my 
 
55 
 
 heart. I said to him : " Mr. Roach, if you had had 
 the facilities for education that your sons possess, 
 I doubt very much if this nation would ever have 
 had the John Roach that it honors and admires to- 
 day." God makes men to carry out his purposes. 
 God puts men in the place and in the conditions 
 where they can best be fitted to carry out his pur- 
 poses ; and I see, in all the wonderful record, thrill- 
 ing as it is, which he has made, the providence of 
 God leading him on from step to step, from the earli- 
 est days of struggle to the proudest days of triumph ; 
 yes, and to the last days of suffering and of death. 
 The same hand of God that put him in the starting- 
 place and kept him all through the pilgrimage of 
 life, the same hand of the wise, beneficent, and lov- 
 ing God, was upon him still ; and I think he felt it 
 and knew it, and was peaceful in the thought. 
 
 He was a great man in principle. I cannot weary 
 your patience by dwelling as I ought to dwell upon 
 these characteristics, but it must be said that he was 
 greater in nothing than in his devotion to principle — 
 to Christian principle. I need not speak of his care 
 for his personal honor, for his business integrity, be- 
 cause it has been spoken of ; but it was true. The 
 man who wanted to strike a deadly blow at the great 
 heart of John Roach had but to place him where there 
 seemed, to his own view, to be somethinof wrone, 
 some stain upon the business name and the business 
 fame that he had given all his life to build up. For 
 with that strength of heart, with that strength of 
 purpose that led him on to the achievement of what- 
 
56 
 
 ever he undertook, he united an extreme sensitive- 
 ness. No man ever spoke ill of him that it did not 
 cut him like a knife. It did not stop him in the 
 prosecution of his purposes, for he was panoplied 
 with the consciousness that he had only pure pur- 
 poses, and that he was doing right ; but every stroke 
 of pen or word cut him to the heart. He could 
 stand that, but he could not stand the blow that he 
 himself thought was inflicted upon his honor. We 
 know it was not true ; we know that here, if you 
 call it failure — here was a failure that was an hon- 
 est failure, a failure that came through no fault of 
 his own. I have no apologies to make at this time ; 
 I have only to say that here was what seemed to 
 him a failure that broke his heart, because it touched 
 his name ; but a failure that, in the verdict of all 
 those in this nation whose opinion he would have 
 esteemed, or which those dear to him need care for, 
 was in every way honorable, and without spot. 
 There has come no tarnish yet ; there never can 
 come tarnish upon the fair name of him who stood 
 for justice ; yes, more than justice — for a dealing 
 that was always one, on his part, of perfect satisfac- 
 tion with every one who gave him work to do. It 
 was one of his principles not only, but it was one 
 of his instructions, given throughout all his works, 
 to every foreman, that every piece of work that was 
 put into his hands should be done better and should 
 give forth more than the contract called for. That 
 shows the man. He was doing business not simply 
 for the dollars and cents that he got out of it, but 
 
57 
 
 he was doing business as a great man does his work, 
 knowing that all his work should have its influence 
 on his fellow-men. 
 
 Mr. Roach was never a selfish man. He showea 
 his greatness in that he always identified himself in 
 his purposes with something broader than himself. 
 That is where men differ. Some men pursue 
 wealth : their ambition is to accumulate money, 
 hoard wealth. This was not his : he had no ambi- 
 tion to be rich, for it was within his reach ; he 
 could have figured as one of the rich men of 
 America, if that had been his ambition. Not that 
 at all. He was actuated by lofty and patriotic 
 motives; and in that great work which became the 
 chief work of his life, that of building ships, that 
 work with which he wished his name forever linked, 
 I gladly bear him witness, as one he admitted to 
 his secret thought, that ship-building never stood tc 
 him as a business out of which he could make so 
 much profit. He never would have entered it had 
 that been it : all men know that. When he in- 
 vested all his earnings in extending his works, so 
 that he might become a builder of ships, he had 
 nothing but failure before him. There were in 
 this city of New York men who knew him well, 
 who would not give him a word of encouragement 
 looking in that direction. What difficulties he 
 found in getting his enterprise under way! Why 
 did he do it ? He was rich enough in money ; he 
 might have retired from business at that time with 
 money enough to keep himself and his family. He 
 8 
 
58 
 
 did it because for years it had been his study — the 
 merchant marine of our country, its condition, its 
 loss, and the absolute necessity, as he saw it, that it 
 should be revived — necessity, not to John Roach, 
 but to this nation. He was a man who looked out 
 at the things that are to be; a man whose mind 
 took in this nation, not as it is to-day, as if it were 
 forever to remain as it is to-day, but looking ahead 
 and seeing the possibilities of our land. And he 
 said to himself, " In these closing years of my life, 
 is there anything that I can do that will tell for the 
 future of my country ?" And he found his work 
 in the attempt to restore the merchant marine, 
 to prove that Americans could build ships, and as 
 good ships as could be built in the world, and to 
 restore to us those facilities that are absolutely 
 essential to the safety of the nation. That was the 
 reason that he went into what many men con- 
 sidered a mad undertaking. They would not have 
 been surprised to have seen him go under. But he 
 achieved what he set out to achieve. He put upon 
 the waters a fleet of iron ships. He needs no 
 other monument than that to tell the country what 
 he did when, following out principle, actuated by 
 the purest motives, he engaged in that great enter- 
 prise with which his name shall be forever honor- 
 ably linked. 
 
 It was because he was a great man that he could 
 not keep out of a great many things that little men 
 can keep out of easily enough. It was because his 
 mind was too broad to be confined to a single pur- 
 
59 
 
 suit that he could not have avoided, had he tried, 
 being sought out by other men. I believe it to be 
 true that in the last twenty years there has been no 
 man in this country whose calm judgment on any 
 question of business or of statecraft has been more 
 sought for and regarded than the judgment of John 
 Roach. When leaders were in doubt, they sought 
 his counsel. They recognized the genius that 
 could pierce to the centre of a question and always 
 strike at its vital point. It was because he was 
 great that he became associated with the great, and 
 could not be kept from their counsels, nor from 
 their friendship and their love. I have in my 
 pocket a letter from a Senator of the United States, 
 in which, after speaking of the irreparable loss to 
 this country through the death of Mr. Roach, he 
 says : " I sat at his feet a scholar, and he my 
 teacher in questions of national concern ; I never 
 knew a man who could impart so much and so 
 accurate information as he on the lines in which we 
 were concerned." That was true. 
 
 He would have been a great man anywhere. 
 Put a man like John Roach in any condition when 
 he starts, let his life be turned in any direction, 
 and he would have been great. If he had been a 
 general, he would have been a general great, like 
 the one whose name this nation reveres. If he 
 had been a statesman, if his life had been cast in 
 that line, he would have been among our mighty 
 statesmen. He was great where he was. He was 
 great, best of all, in heart. That tells the man. 
 
6o 
 
 His relations to his employes have been sufficiently- 
 spoken of, and yet they do deserve most careful 
 thought. His relations to those with whom he 
 came in contact in business were of a character that 
 could be testified to by many and many who sit be- 
 fore me, and who have sustained these relations to 
 him through long years. 
 
 But it was in the intimate relationships of the 
 home that John Roach was himself in his truest 
 character: there he revealed the real greatness of 
 his heart. He was a good friend, but a poor hater. 
 God made him so that he could not carry revenge. 
 He might be imposed upon, but he would rather 
 be wronged or suffer than do anything wrong in 
 return. I honor the man who has the strength of 
 character and the greatness of heart to be able to 
 forgive an enemy, for the man who can do that has 
 in him the Spirit of my Lord. That he did. He 
 would not believe bad of a man until he had to, 
 and then he would doubt himself, and want to give 
 the man another chance. His charity covered all. 
 Sometimes his friends have thought he was too 
 charitable. If he had a fault, it was on that side, 
 and not on any other. 
 
 He was envied : a great man is always envied by 
 petty men. He was traduced — traduced by men 
 who in their own selfishness and on their own low 
 level could never rise high enough to understand a 
 man whose purposes were patriotic and pure, and 
 who was unselfish ; who could not see that a man 
 might be great enough to overlook himself and to 
 
6i 
 
 have wider interests than his own, that were absorb- 
 ing his own life : and those men found it in their 
 heart to misrepresent him ; they Hed about him and 
 it hurt him, but he never answered them in their 
 own language ; he could not stoop to their level ; 
 he could overlook it and go on ; he had no time 
 and no heart to go down and engage in any- 
 thing that was unworthy of him, of his character, 
 of his manhood. And when the names of all 
 those who have found it in their interest or their 
 pleasure to defame him — when their names shall 
 have forever been forgotten, the name of John 
 Roach will live — live in the esteem and in the 
 affections of his countrymen. 
 
 I cannot speak of those sacred family relation- 
 ships beyond this : it ought to be said that in the 
 eighteen months or more of physical prostration, 
 and in the year of almost indescribable suffering, so 
 that he himself said of it, " The world could never 
 know the agonies that have been witnessed in this 
 room of mine," — in all those months he received 
 from his family such devoted care, such assiduous 
 attention, such supplying of every want, even be- 
 fore it found expression, as I have never before 
 witnessed ; such a care and devotion as sustained 
 his own heart, and proved to him the only balm 
 that he could know. 
 
 The end came to him under a shadow. He felt 
 it. He could not be brought to see that he was 
 not passing away under a cloud, because what he 
 saw was the vanishing of the dearest purpose of his 
 
62 
 
 mature life; and yet to those who knew him, and to 
 the world as it will appreciate him, there will never 
 be a cloud, for one instant, hovering over that 
 grand, great-hearted man. And it is good to know 
 that the end was peace. It was a beautiful close to 
 a toilsome, worthy, high, and honorable life. The 
 ways of anguish through which God led him won 
 him from all the scenes of his activities. He grew 
 in patience ; he grew in sweetness of submission ; 
 and his trust was fixed firmly upon his Saviour and 
 his God. It was no death-bed repentance : I want 
 to emphasize that. If any one should say, as some- 
 times men do, a man may be engrossed in business 
 all through his active life, and then, when he knows 
 its close is coming, he will turn his thoughts to 
 God, — that was not true of John Roach. I have 
 known for many years of his religious convictions 
 and of the intensity of his religious feeling and 
 principle. He was not emotional in religion or in 
 business, but the principles of righteousness and 
 faith in God and in His Son, they were his ; and 
 when, at the beginning of his illness, knowing that 
 it must be fatal, I said to him, "Are you sustained, 
 in the face of certain death, by your trust in God? 
 Can you rest in Him and know that He does all 
 things well ?" his answer was like him. He said, 
 •' Do you think I could have done what I have 
 done in my life — do you think I could have been 
 what I am if I had not trusted God and had help 
 from Him ?" And he faced death without appre- 
 hension, without dread. 
 
63 
 
 How many of us, taken to-day, just as we are, 
 knowing that we had but a few more days or weeks 
 of life, and that our life must ebb away in anguish 
 — how many of us could face it with that heroic 
 trust, with that calmness of spirit ? So I say it was 
 beautiful to see the close of his life, not because he 
 found his Saviour at the close, but because his 
 Saviour gave him peace. He is at rest. His name 
 lives. The man who does great deeds, which have 
 in them the element of helpfulness to other men, 
 needs nothing that human praise can say. His 
 future is secure ; and in the generations to come, 
 this man, whose life has opened wider before every 
 plucky American boy the possibilities of develop- 
 ment, of manhood, of great achievement, shall find 
 an increased and ever increasing honor. 
 
 Dr. McChesney then announced the 979th 
 hymn, "Asleep in Jesus, blessed sleep," in which 
 the choir and congregation joined. 
 
 Bishop tiarris pronounced the benediction : 
 " May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the 
 love of God, and the communion of the Holy 
 Ghost, be with you all, evermore. Amen." 
 
64 
 
 LETTERS OF SYMPATHY. 
 
 RECEIVED AT THE TIME OF BUSINESS ASSIGNMENT. 
 
 At the time of Mr. Roach's assignment many ex- 
 pressions of sympathy were received, showing how 
 men of both poHtical parties regarded his treatment 
 by the Government. These expressions gave much 
 comfort to the stricken man, always so quickly sus- 
 ceptible to kindness. Peculiarly touched he was by 
 a letter from the Northwestern Literary and His- 
 torical Society, announcing his election as an hon- 
 orary member, with the esteem and sympathy of the 
 membership in his unmerited trials. A few of the 
 letters are here given. 
 
 Washington, Jan. 12, 1886. 
 
 Dear Mr. Roach : You must not infer from 
 my silence that I have forgotten you, nor that 
 you have not my entire sympathy in your mis- 
 fortune. When the blow fell I was in the woods 
 of Canada, and heard nothing of it for months ; 
 but on my return to Maine I defended you on 
 one or two occasions in public speeches, and 
 even at Brooklyn at the Pilgrim dinner I brought 
 down the house by an attack on the Administra- 
 
65 
 
 tion for its course towards you. I have a pro- 
 founder respect for you than for any other man 
 living, and would be glad to testify in any way 
 my affectionate interest in you. It seems to me 
 that no man was ever more unjustly treated, 
 and no man ever less deserving of such treatment. 
 Please accept assurances of my warmest friendship 
 and highest esteem. 
 
 Very truly, 
 
 Wm. p. Frye. 
 
 New York, July 20, 18S5. 
 John Roach, Esq. 
 
 My dear Sir: It is with the deepest feeling of 
 sorrow and regret that I now write you. I sym- 
 pathize with you in the fullest manner, and if I can 
 be of any service to you in any way I shall be most 
 happy to render it. It seems to me that the peo- 
 ple of the United States cannot but feel indignant 
 at the unfair and unjust treatment you have re- 
 ceived. That a man who has done more for the 
 commercial marine of the United States than any 
 other ten or one hundred men in the United States 
 should be dragged down, credit ruined, health in- 
 jured, because a pack of free-trade papers are re- 
 gardless of fairness or justice, is a thing that the 
 people of this country, when it comes to be 
 9 
 
66 
 
 thoroughly understood, will resent. Now, my dear 
 sir, I do hope you will not allow this sorrow to de- 
 press you so much as to injure your health. You 
 have hosts of friends ; and after this, when it comes 
 to be thoroughly understood, their number will be 
 increased an hundredfold. Therefore do try and 
 bear up against this great blow and affliction. Such 
 is the earnest wish of thousands of your friends. 
 Yours truly, 
 
 H. K. Thurber. 
 
 Baltimore, Md., July 21, 1885. 
 John Roach, Esq., New York. 
 
 My dear Sir : I beg you to accept the sincere 
 sympathy of myself and partner in your present 
 troubles. I am a pretty strong Democrat, but must 
 confess that, as I understand your case, I look upon 
 you as having been very unfairly treated. 
 
 A man who has done as much as yourself for the 
 industrial interests of the country deserves to be 
 encouraged and sustained by the Government to 
 the utmost verge of propriety, and should not be 
 crushed, as you have been. 
 
 With the sincere hope that you may be speedily 
 relieved of all embarrassment, I am. 
 Yours truly, 
 
 German H. Hunt. 
 
67 
 
 Union League, 
 Philadelphia, July 20, 1885. 
 
 My dear Sir: I have never had the pleasure 
 of your personal acquaintance, although I have long 
 known you as one of the ablest and most influen- 
 tial advocates of protection to American manufac- 
 tures, and consequently of the best interests of our 
 country. 
 
 To say that I sympathize with you in your pres- 
 ent trouble, caused, as I believe, by unscrupulous 
 Democratic politicians for partisan purposes only, 
 would be but feebly to express my feelings. 
 
 I sincerely hope that your financial difficulties 
 may soon be so adjusted as to enable you to resume 
 business ; but whether this may be so or not, I beg 
 leave to say that, though you may be robbed of 
 your purse in your old age, the good name gained 
 by years of business enterprise, integrity, courage, 
 and honesty cannot ht filched from you by any new- 
 fledged " statesmen" (?) accidentally elevated to 
 high places. 
 
 Yours very respectfully, 
 W. Hastings, 
 
 Wilmington, Del. 
 
 To the Honorable John Roach, 
 
68 
 
 The Phcenix Iron Co., 
 Philadelphia, July 20, 1885. 
 
 My dear Mr. Roach : While we are unable to 
 give adequate expression to the deep regret we feel 
 on learning that, through the difficulties you have 
 experienced with the Navy Department, you have 
 been forced to make an assignment of your busi- 
 ness, yet we assure you that among the wide circle 
 of your friends none can feel it more than we do. 
 
 We have had large and important dealings with 
 you, covering all the years of your operations at 
 Chester. We have furnished you with materials 
 aggregating hundreds of thousands of dollars. 
 Through this intercourse we have come to know 
 you well, and the confidence and respect inspired 
 by your prompt and straightforward treatment 
 of all your engagements with us are only excelled 
 by our admiration of your ability, and the sterling 
 qualities of your manhood. 
 
 We regard your misfortune as a national one, 
 but feel, however, that in some manner the right 
 will yet assert itself. With expression of our 
 utmost sympathy and deepest respect, and with our 
 best wishes for you personally, we desire to say that 
 if at any time we can be of service to you, we are 
 yours to command. 
 
 Very truly yours, 
 
 Geo. Gerry White, Secy. 
 John Roach, Esq. 
 
69 
 
 New York, July 28, 1885. 
 
 My dear Mr. Roach : I have felt all along, 
 since the news of your trouble became public, that 
 you would feel sure of the regrets and sympathy of 
 my firm, along with all of your numerous friends. I 
 am sure that you have a great many friends whom 
 you do not know and who do not know you, who 
 are made so by the action of the Navy Depart- 
 ment ; and in addition to this, you have the proud 
 distinction of having done more than any other 
 man to build up the ship-building interest in this 
 country ; and in my opinion the day is not far 
 distant when the public will begin to realize the 
 fact that when such men as yourself are ground 
 down by technicalities (as it is my belief that such 
 is the cause of your present position), it becomes in 
 a measure a national calamity, and will react even- 
 tually upon those who are responsible for such a 
 state of affairs. 
 
 I trust that you will soon recover from your ill- 
 ness and be about again, the same as before this 
 blow struck you; when I believe that the energy 
 and attention you have always given to business 
 will make good the conviction of your friends, that 
 what you have gone through the past few weeks 
 cannot conquer the courage of John Roach. 
 
 With best hopes and wishes for you in the future, 
 I remain, 
 
 Very sincerely yours, 
 
 Dan'l W. Richards. 
 
70 
 
 RONDOUT, N. Y., July 20, 1885. 
 John Roach, Esq. 
 
 Dear Sir : Keep up your courage : you have 
 more friends to-day than all the cabinet officers in 
 Cleveland's cabinet. Secretary Whitney's conduct 
 towards you is the most high-handed piece of petty 
 tyranny ever practised on a citizen of the United 
 States. People of all parties and conditions in life 
 sympathize with you, and now see your true, manly 
 course. You could raise $3,000,000 to-day in these 
 United States, if necessary. 
 
 Truly yours, 
 
 John H. Simpson. 
 
71 
 
 No sooner was the news of Mr. Roach's death 
 flashed over the country by the Associated Press 
 dispatches, than telegrams of sympathy began to 
 come, followed by letters. A selection from these 
 is here made, and in this form preserved for all the 
 members of the family. In this connection it is to 
 be borne in mind that this Memorial is not printed 
 for public circulation, but for the family. Such 
 letters are rightly held sacred, and not written for 
 the public eye. 
 
 Memorials were presented by the employes of 
 the Morgan Iron Works, the Chester Shipyard, 
 and the Chalmers-Spence Company ; also by public 
 bodies such as the Chamber of Commerce, of which 
 Mr. Roach was a member ; the Board of Trade, the 
 New York Republican Club, the American In- 
 dustrial League, and the Literary and Historical 
 Society of the Northwest. The tribute of the 
 Chamber of Commerce, as embossed, is a unique 
 work of art. The tributes of the New York and 
 Chester employes were also beautifully embossed 
 and richly framed, testifying their affection for one 
 who was indeed "their friend." 
 
72 
 
 MEMORIALS. 
 
 Tribute of the Chamber of Commerce to the 
 Memory of John Roach. 
 
 In Monthly Meeting, Thursday, February 3, 1887. 
 
 remarks of MR. GEORGE H. ROBINSON. 
 
 Mr. President: I ask the attention of this 
 honorable body to join in a proper mark of respect 
 to the memory of John Roach, who died January 
 10, 1887. As he was for many years one of our 
 members, it is becoming in this Chamber to mani- 
 fest a just pride in bearing testimony to his merits, 
 and honoring his memory. An Irishman by birth, 
 an American by adoption, there were blended in 
 his career the best types of both, affording a strik- 
 ing example of individual success and the possibili- 
 ties of American citizenship. From the humblest 
 beginning, by his industry and perseverance and 
 capacity, he rose step by step to the summit of 
 commercial success, and became the greatest 
 American ship-builder. He advocated and be- 
 
7Z 
 
 lieved in an American-built navy and an American 
 merchant marine. How well, how industriously, 
 and how enterprisingly he worked, your harbor 
 every week bears noble testimony. His character 
 was stainless. A man of tenderest sympathies and 
 strongest feelings, in the fulness of years — when 
 his highest ambition seemed attained — he met with 
 unjust reverses, and died a broken-hearted man in a 
 land that should have crowned him with honors. 
 Be it therefore 
 
 Resolved, That we deeply deplore the death of 
 John Roach, and feci that this body has lost a 
 valued member, the country a patriotic citizen, the 
 laboring man a true friend, industry a brave de- 
 fender, and the world, in its true sense, a Knight of 
 Labor. 
 
 Resolved, That the Secretary record these expres- 
 sions of our esteem and sympathy in the Minutes 
 of this body, and transmit a copy of the same to 
 the family of Mr. Roach. 
 
 The resolutions were unanimously adopted. 
 
 James M. Brown, President. 
 [seal.] George Wilson, Secretary. 
 
 FROiM the morgan IRON-WORKS EMPLOYES. 
 
 At a meeting of the employes of "The Morgan 
 Iron-works," held January 12, 1887, the following 
 were unanimously adopted 
 
74 
 
 Whereas, Our Heavenly Father, in His inscruta- 
 ble wisdom, has seen fit to remove from his earthly- 
 labors our beloved employer, Mr. John Roach ; 
 therefore be it 
 
 Resolved, That in his death we have suffered the 
 loss of a kind and considerate friend, whose honest 
 heart was always open to our complaints, and his 
 purse to the wants of those amongst us who were 
 in distress. Very many of us to-day remember 
 with deepest gratitude his benevolence when death 
 entered our homes and found us unprepared for 
 the occasion. 
 
 Resolved, That to his family who are now be- 
 reaved, and to whom he was always the most loving 
 and affectionate husband and father, we tender our 
 heartfelt sympathy in this hour of their sad affliction. 
 
 Resolved, That the working-men of this country 
 have lost a wise counsellor, and a noble defender 
 of American industries and American labor. 
 
 Resolved, That, as a last tribute of our love and 
 respect for his memory we attend his funeral in a 
 body, and that a copy of these resolutions properly 
 engrossed be presented to his family. 
 
 VV. H. Rodman, Chairmaji. 
 John E. Finch, Secretary. 
 
 James Mooney, 1 Co77imittee 
 Thomas Colvin, \ on 
 
 Daniel Quinn, ) Resolutions. 
 
75 
 
 New York, March 15, 1887. 
 Airs. John Roach and Fa77iily : 
 
 As the chosen representatives of the employes 
 of " The Morgan Iron-works" we respectfully ten- 
 der and ask your acceptance of the accompanying 
 engrossed copy of the resolutions of respect to the 
 memory of our late beloved employer, as adopted 
 by them. 
 
 It is with feelings of mingled sadness and pleasure 
 that we present them, for while we mourn with you 
 the irreparable loss of our benefactor and friend, we 
 rejoice that all through his long life of usefulness, 
 amid his prosperity and triumphs, amid the promi- 
 nence which his w^ork as the foremost American 
 ship-builder brought him, he always took pride in 
 saying that he, too, was an American working- 
 man. His heart beat for us. His sympathies were 
 always with us. Of his life's labor it can be truth- 
 fully said, "It was well done." Again asking your 
 acceptance of the Resolutions, we are, with best 
 wishes. Yours very respectfully, 
 
 Wm. H. Rodman, Chairman. 
 
 John E. Finch, Secretary. 
 
 James Mooney, Frank J. Allen, 
 Thomas Colvin, Bernard Mullen, 
 Daniel Ouinn, Alex. McArthur, 
 
 Conwiitiee. 
 
76 
 
 FROM THE EMPLOYES OF THE CHESTER SHIPYARD. 
 Resolutions of Respect to the Memory of John Roach. 
 
 Whereas, It has pleased Almighty God in His 
 infinite wisdom to take from our midst our late 
 esteemed employer, yet our friend, John Roach, 
 with whom most of us have been so closely and 
 pleasantly connected for a number of years, we 
 deem it fitting that we express our sincere regret 
 at the great loss we have sustained, and give voice 
 to our sympathy with those who were nearer and 
 dearer to him. Therefore be it 
 
 Resolved, That in the death of John Roach this 
 country has lost one of its best and most patriotic 
 citizens, who spent the best years of his life in his 
 efforts to build up its merchant marine, and so 
 establish the commerce of our country that it would 
 reach and benefit the people of the whole world. 
 
 Resolved, That in his death we, his employes, 
 have lost one who was ever ready with a kind word, 
 a friendly grasp of the hand, and a cheering smile 
 to encourage and help us on life's pathway. He 
 was one of the best and kindest hearted of em- 
 ployers, who always had a ready ear to listen to the 
 wants of his fellow-men, and, as many of us can 
 testify, was a firm friend in times of need. While 
 he was our employer in fact, yet he was always one 
 with us, and ever ready to advise, comfort, or assist; 
 hence our loss is a severe one. He was otir Friend. 
 
 Resolved, That in the death of John Roach the 
 family of the deceased have lost one whose pride 
 was his family. A ^rood husband and a kind father, 
 
n 
 
 they have lost their best friend ; and we desire to 
 tender them our profound and most sincere sym- 
 pathy in their great bereavement. Words fail to 
 comfort or satisfy in such a loss as they have sus- 
 tained, and we therefore commend them to the 
 care of Him who doeth all things well. 
 
 Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be 
 engrossed and forwarded to the family, and be pub- 
 lished in the daily papers. 
 
 John Fountain, Chairman. 
 
 John Griffin, Secretary. 
 \ Committee 
 
 John Griffin, 
 JosiAH C. Ross, 
 Richard Wood, 
 William Parker, 
 Edward Faron, 
 James Guiler, 
 David J. Lewis, 
 William K. Scott, 
 James S. Abrams, 
 William Clark, 
 Joseph Mills, Sr., 
 Joshua Long, 
 William Green, 
 George Rodgers, 
 Robert Bradley, 
 George Courtney, 
 George Davis, 
 Joseph Bland, 
 George Turner, 
 Joseph Magowan, 
 William Mitchell 
 
 >■ on 
 
 \ Resohitions. 
 
 Sr., 
 
 Joseph H. Mills, 
 William F. Mitchell, 
 George Nessenthaler,. 
 John McDowell, 
 J. B. Smith, 
 James Barr, 
 William J. Cowan, 
 James Gardner, 
 L. D. Hastings, 
 Joseph McDade, 
 Andrew Rowland, 
 R. T. Dickinson, 
 Harry C. Shock, 
 John W. Harrison, 
 Harry G. Parker, 
 John P. McEnery, 
 James Donlevie, 
 James McBride. 
 
78 
 
 FROM THE CHALMERS-SPENCE CO. 
 
 Feb. 28, 1887. 
 
 Mrs. JoJui Roach. 
 
 Madam : We, the Trustees of the Chalmers- 
 Spence Company, acting on behalf of the Company, 
 earnestly desire to express to you the great sorrow 
 we feel in the loss of our esteemed associate, your 
 late husband ; and we hereby tender you our sin- 
 cere sympathy in this your time of trouble and 
 bereavement. 
 
 It is useless for us to declare our estimate of Mr. 
 Roach. His character and life are not hid, his 
 deeds speak for him, his works do follow him. 
 
 This Company, which, it might be said, owes its 
 birth and first years to his fostering care, stands as 
 a sign and emblem of his worth. 
 Yours sincerely, 
 
 George E. Weed, 
 
 James V. Chalmers, 
 
 Robert H. Martin, 
 
 John B. Roach, 
 
 Charles H. Van Nostrand, 
 
 Trustees. 
 
 from the national marine engineers' bene- 
 ficial association of the united states 
 
 At a meeting held in New York, Jan. 11, 1887, 
 the Committee on Resolutions presented the follow- 
 ing Resolutions of respect to the late John Roach, 
 which were adopted : 
 
79 
 
 Whereas, The building of American ships has at 
 all times called forth the talents of the most skilled 
 and learned mechanics in the country ; and whereas^ 
 no man has made a reputation more profound than 
 John Roach, the late distinguished boat-builder; 
 and whereas, The ranks of American mechanics 
 were ennobled by having the companionship of a 
 man of such distinguished ability ; and whereas, the 
 Marine Engineers were necessarily identified in the 
 same vocation as the late eminent boat-builder ; 
 therefore be it 
 
 Resolved, That the army of American Marine 
 Engineers has lost one of its most distinguished 
 members, and America one of its most enterpris- 
 ing citizens. 
 
 Resolved, That the National Association in its 
 Twelfth Annual Session extend to the sorrowing 
 family its heartfelt sympathy. 
 
 Resolved, That these resolutions be spread upon 
 the Journal of this session, and a copy given to 
 the press for publication. 
 
 Respectfully submitted, 
 
 James H. Harris, Chairman. 
 
 E. D. Bateman, 
 
 Geo. R. McCutcheon, 
 
 Committee. 
 
8o 
 
 FROM NEW YORK BUSINESS MEN. 
 
 [A Tribute presented during his Illness.] 
 
 New York, Dec. 27, 1886. 
 Mr. John Roach. 
 
 Dear Sir : Your prolonged illness and enforced 
 absence from your usual haunts have deprived us 
 of your cheering presence in our midst. We desire 
 to express to you our heartfelt sympathy in your 
 sufferings and misfortunes, and to assure you of our 
 esteem and appreciation of your sterling and manly 
 qualities, your indomitable perseverance against 
 obstacles seemingly insurmountable, and greater 
 than all these — your undoubted and unimpeachable 
 integrity. 
 
 Those of us who have had contracts and dealings 
 with you have a greater appreciation of your ster- 
 ling qualities than others, and regret more your 
 enforced retirement from business. 
 
 The steamships you have built, and which are a 
 credit to their owners and the flag they fly, are mute 
 witnesses to the thorough workmanship and knowl- 
 edge of their builder ; and we venture to prophesy 
 that in future generations, when the commercial 
 marine will be fully recognized and appreciated, the 
 name of John Roach will be handed to posterity as 
 the symbol of perseverance, honesty, and a well- 
 
8i 
 
 spent life, having always in his mind those good 
 old maxims, " Do unto others as you would they 
 should do unto you," and " What thy hand findeth 
 to do, do it with thy might." 
 
 With our very best wishes for your speedy recov- 
 ery, we remain, dear sir, yours very truly, 
 
 James E. Ward & Co., New York and Cuba 
 Mail S. S. Co. 
 
 J. B. HousTox, President Pacific Mail S. S. 
 Co. 
 
 J. M. LocKLAND, Jr., Sec. United States 
 and Brazil Mail S. S. Co. 
 
 F. A. Alexander & Sons. 
 
 C. H. Mallory &. Co., Agents New York 
 and Texas S. S. Co. 
 
 H. YouNGE, Agent Ocean S. S. Co. of 
 Savannah. 
 
 William H. Wallace. 
 
 Borden & Lovell, Agents Old Colony 
 Steamboat Co. 
 
 Manning, Maxwell & Moore. 
 
 E. H. Cole, Treasurer Eaton, Cole & 
 Burn ham Co. 
 
 Van Vic RLE, Stout & Co. 
 Samuel IJ. Seaman. 
 
82 
 
 James Williamson & Co. 
 
 W. H. Bailey, Agent American Tube 
 Works. 
 
 A. R. Whiting & Co. 
 
 N. I. McCready, President Old Dominion 
 S. S. Co. 
 
 James W. Quintard & Co., New York and 
 Charleston S. S. Co. 
 
 Geo. H. Stover, Gen. Manager Geo. F. 
 Blake Manufacturing Co. 
 
 Hendricks Brothers. 
 
83 
 
 LETTERS. 
 
 Potter Building, N. Y. City, 
 Jan. 7. 1887- 
 
 John Roach, Esq. 
 
 My dear Sir : I hear with the greatest sorrow 
 and sympathy of your present illness. I have 
 watched your course for many years. It has been 
 distinguished by public spirit and patriotic devotion 
 to the interests of the country and to the advance- 
 ment of the interests of the industrial class within 
 your influence. Your fellow-citizens throughout 
 the country who are acquainted with the real facts 
 which led to your recent embarrassment, condemn 
 and deplore the use of the National power for the 
 overthrow of a citizen who has so long and so con- 
 spicuously labored in support of our commerce and 
 our flag, by resort to technicalities and strict con- 
 struction, in disregard of substantial justice. Be 
 assured that so long as our commerce shall be main- 
 tained and our flag shall be honored, your name 
 will be cherished with pride by your countrymen. 
 
 In the earnest hope for your early and complete 
 recovery, I remain, 
 
 Most truly your friend, 
 
 O. B. Potter. 
 
84 
 
 New York, Jan. lo, 1887. 
 
 My dear Mrs. Roach: You are so well aware 
 of the almost inexpressible grief I feel, and the 
 irreparable loss we all have sustained in the death 
 of your dear husband, that it would appear unneces- 
 sary for me again to express it, together with the 
 sympathy you have from me at this time. I cannot 
 refrain, however, from adding my tribute of esteem 
 for one who for twenty-five years has been like a 
 father to me. Our relations have been so close and 
 intimate, and I have been so accustomed to look to 
 him for counsel and advice, that the only consola- 
 tion I have is that I believe my regard and affection 
 for him were reciprocated. I especially have the 
 comfort to remember that during all these years, 
 amidst the cares and annoyances of business with 
 which you are somewhat familiar, he never had an 
 unkind word for me, and I trust he had no unex- 
 pressed ill-feeling. He frequently remarked that 
 this was an exceptional coincidence. 
 
 Be assured, my dear Mrs. Roach, that my regard 
 for you and respect for his memory will always 
 lead me to serve you when in my power to do so, 
 and I trust you will never hesitate to call upon me. 
 With renewed expressions of sympathy, I am, 
 Very truly, 
 
 Geo. E. Weed. 
 
85 
 
 United States Senate, 
 Washington, D. C, Jan. ii, 1887. 
 
 My dear Sir: Death has been busy for the past 
 two years touching with his icy hand the great men 
 of the RepubHc, but your father, in all the essentials 
 of true greatness, was the peer of any of them. His 
 life was a struggle from the beginning, but every 
 attempt was a victory. His death touched me very 
 closely, for he was my personal friend. We were, 
 too, in political accord, agreed as to the tariff, as to 
 the policy of keeping our registry closed against 
 foreign-built ships, as to the duty of this Govern- 
 ment to undertake vigorously the revival of the 
 American merchant marine ; and on all of these 
 subjects he was the wise teacher, I the willing 
 scholar. I never met the man who could impart 
 so much and so exact information in these direc- 
 tions as he. 
 
 During the last ten years he has done more to 
 awaken and maintain an interest in Congress, in 
 our marine, than all others combined. 
 
 His loss to the country is irreparable. And yet 
 his last days were embittered, his spirit broken, 
 by the gross injustice of men in official position, 
 clothed with temporary power — men not worthy to 
 unloose the latchet of his shoes. 
 
 That he, now in Paradise, is happy, at peace, in 
 ■eternal rest, from my knowledge of his life I can- 
 not doubt. Please accept and convey to the mem- 
 
86 
 
 bers of his family assurances of my profound sym- 
 pathy. I am, with great respect, 
 
 Sincerely yours, 
 
 Wm. p. Frye. 
 Mr. Garrett Roach. 
 
 New York, Jan. lo, 1887. 
 Mrs. John Roach. 
 
 Dear Madam : I was shocked this morning to 
 hear of the death of your late esteemed husband. 
 I feel that I have lost an old and dear friend. For 
 many years I have been intimately connected with 
 Mr. Roach in business matters, and take great 
 pleasure in saying that I have never known a more 
 fair and honorable business man. 
 
 He will be a great loss to all with whom he has. 
 had any dealings, and to the country at large. I 
 sympathize with you and your family in this great 
 bereavement, and trust that you all may be com- 
 forted in this great affliction. 
 
 Yours very truly, 
 
 C. H. Mallory. 
 
87 
 
 Washington, D. C, Jan. 12, 1887. 
 My dear Mr. Roach : No words of mine can 
 express the sorrow I feel over the loss that you, as 
 well as the entire country, have met with in the 
 death of your father. 
 
 He was never appreciated by the Government, 
 by the merchants, or by the people. It is not more 
 than once in a century that it is given for a man to 
 do the Herculean work that he has wrought out. 
 Now that he has gone, the void his departure has 
 left is seen by all men .... 
 
 Yours very truly, 
 
 U. H. Painter. 
 Garrett Roach, Esq. 
 
 New York, Jan. 10, 1887. 
 
 My dear Mrs. Roach : Please accept my sin- 
 cere sympathy in your distress. 
 
 Our country can no more spare than can his fam- 
 ily the one who has been taken. His life will ever 
 be a landmark to those who strive to achieve great 
 things, and every ship that carries our flag a monu- 
 ment of his patriotism. 
 
 Yours truly, 
 
 J. B. Houston. 
 Mrs. John Roach. 
 
Chester, Pa., Jan. lo, 1887. 
 
 My dear Friend : I have just received your 
 despatch of this date, announcing the death of your 
 dear father, and although that sad event was antici- 
 pated, it yet comes to me with a shock that tells 
 how dear he was to me. 
 
 It is nearly thirty years smce I first knew your 
 father, and never in all that time has there been a 
 cloud between us, nor even a shadow upon our 
 friendship ; and I rejoice to believe in this sad hour 
 that in his last days upon earth he was conscious 
 that my love for him was unchanged. 
 
 " None knew him but to love him, 
 None named him but to praise." 
 
 And it is not surprising — indeed it could not be 
 otherwise — that he won so many hearts ; for it was 
 impossible to know him and not be brought under 
 the influence of his great and captivating personal- 
 ity. 
 
 If your lamented father won such love from those 
 to whom he was only united by the ties of a com- 
 mon humanity, how much greater was the love — and 
 loss — of his own kindred, of his own cherished and 
 beloved family, the wife of fifty years, sharer of his 
 trials and his triumphs, and the children for whom 
 no labor nor sacrifice on his part was too great. 
 
 When I think of the loss you have all sustained, 
 
89 
 
 and the bitterly aggravated circtimsta7ices of that 
 loss, I have no words of condolence or sympathy 
 which can afford you any consolation. Such grief is 
 beyond the power of words to relieve, but you have 
 the consciousness that nothing possible was omitted 
 on your part to soothe the sufferings of that mar- 
 tyred husband and father that your unwearied care 
 and love could suggest. And you have also the as- 
 surance that he is now in that " better land," where 
 there is no pain nor sorrow, but where all is happi- 
 ness and peace. That you may all rejoin him there, 
 " when life's fitful fever is over," to be no more sep- 
 arated forever, is the sincere prayer of your sympa- 
 thizing friend, 
 
 VVm. Parker. 
 Mr. John B. Roach. 
 
 Baltimore, Md., Jan. ii, 1887. 
 
 My dear Sir: Although personally unac- 
 quainted with you, I presume to offer to yourself 
 and the family of your late lamented father my 
 sincere condolence in this time of affliction and 
 bereavement. 
 
 I became acquainted with Mr. Roach in the year 
 1862, and have long entertained for him the high- 
 est respect and regard. I consider him to have 
 been one of the most useful men of his day, that 
 the country is largely his debtor, and that he has 
 been a true benefactor of his race. 
 
90 
 
 Deploring the unfair treatment which no doubt 
 hastened if it was not the immediate cause of his 
 death, and repeating the assurances of my regret at 
 his decease, I remain, 
 
 Yours truly, 
 
 German H. Hunt. 
 Mr. John B. Roach. 
 
 The Phcenix Iron Company, 
 Philadelphia, Jan. ii, 1887. 
 My dear Mr. Roach : We desire to express 
 to you the profound sorrow that the news of your 
 father's death brings to us, and to extend to you 
 our cordial sympathy. 
 
 It is not needful that we should attempt to ex- 
 press the respect in which he was always held by us ; 
 this you understand full well. 
 
 His death has come to us as a personal bereave- 
 ment, and we desire thus to place upon record our 
 appreciation of the lofty qualities which distin- 
 guished his life and character. 
 
 Very truly yours, 
 
 Geo. Gerry White, Secy. 
 John B. Roach, Esq. 
 
9^ 
 
 Providence and Stonington Steamship Co., 
 New York, Jan. 15, 1887. 
 
 Mrs. John Roach. 
 
 Dear Madam: It was my mournful privilege, 
 with others, to represent this Company at the 
 funeral services of your beloved husband, and I es- 
 teem it a privilege to be able to verify some of the 
 remarks made by the clergymen on that occasion. 
 
 My personal acquaintance with Mr. Roach was 
 slight, but my business relations with him, covering 
 a period of some years, afforded opportunity of 
 obtaining an insight into his character, and of his 
 greatness, so eloquently referred to by Rev. Dr. 
 McChesney. A more unselfish man I never knew. 
 His aim seemed to be to mete out to his fellows 
 strict and exact justice and equity on all occasions. 
 I have known him to concede a very large sum, in 
 a business transaction, which he was under no 
 obligation to do, simply at the request of a friend in 
 whose honor and intelligence he had implicit faith. 
 
 The "gates of hell shall not prevail" against the 
 memory of John Roach, and his name will stand 
 high in the annals of American history, represent- 
 ing virtues and achievements which our youth will 
 be called upon to emulate, I trust, to all time. 
 With deep sympathy in your bereavement, I am. 
 Respectfully yours, 
 
 W. F. Herbert. 
 
92 
 
 Brooklyn, Jan. ii, 1887. 
 Mrs. John Roach. 
 
 Dear Madam : Allow me to tender to you and 
 your family my heartfelt sympathy in this hour of 
 your great affliction, in the death of your most ex- 
 cellent husband, who was one of the most remark- 
 able men of this or of any age. May God comfort 
 you and those you love, in your great sorrow. 
 
 This declaration of Mr. Roach should be printed 
 in letters of gold, and put in every house in our 
 land : " With a clear conscience I can declare that 
 I have always rendered the best service to God and 
 my fellow-man of which I was capable." 
 Yours truly, 
 
 James A. Briggs. 
 
 Brooklyn, Jan. 12, 1887. 
 My dear Mrs. Roach: Permit me, as one of 
 your husband's warmest friends, to extend to you 
 and your family my deepest sympathy in your sad 
 bereavement. Very truly yours, 
 
 W. E. Robinson. 
 
93 
 
 Office of De Lamater Iron Works, 
 New York, Jan. 12, 1887. 
 Mrs. John Roach and Family. 
 
 Respected Madam : Will you permit me to add 
 my testimonial to the many you receive upon the 
 character of your lamented husband. Having 
 known him intimately, in social and business rela- 
 tions, nearly all of his business life, having been in 
 the same way of business (oftentimes in rivalry and 
 competition), I have a right to judgment, and to 
 express that he was, "take him all in all," the best 
 American citizen I have ever known, deserving the 
 gratitude of the whole nation. 
 
 Very respectfully and in sympathy, 
 
 C. H. De Lamater. 
 
 p, S.— All the employes of our works cease work 
 to attend funeral. 
 
 Thurlow, Jan. 10, 1887. 
 My dear Mrs. Roach : The deep sorrow which 
 the death of your noble husband gives me can 
 only be exceeded by your own and that of your 
 family. When he passed to his home beyond I 
 lost a true friend and wise counsellor, whose friend- 
 ship I shall ever hold dear. Mrs. Houston joins 
 me in heartfelt sympathy in your great bereave- 
 
 ment. Yours truly, 
 
 C. B. Houston. 
 
94 
 
 POUGHKEEPSIE, N. Y., Jan. II, 1887. 
 
 My dear Mrs. Roach : When the news came 
 of Mr. Roach's having gone, a feeling of envy 
 came for the beautiful rest he has gone to enjoy. 
 Accept my sympathy, dear Mrs. Roach, in your 
 sorrow. Words are not of much value, I think, at 
 such times ; but great appreciation of Mr. Roach's 
 friendship and care for us impels me to send you a 
 word of love. 
 
 Carrie B. Grose. 
 
 Brooklyn, Jan. 16, 1887. 
 My dear Mrs. Roach : Although personally a 
 stranger to you, yet we are by recent events sis- 
 ters in sorrow, and this must be my excuse for 
 writing you at this time, to try to say something 
 to comfort you in your loss ; for though, alas ! 
 I am not comforted myself, yet by doing my 
 duty to my children and friends I am enabled to 
 bear up under my great sorrow, and be a com- 
 fort to others ; and this is really all that is left for 
 us to do. The great friendship which for so many 
 years existed between our late husbands impels 
 me to write this, to hope that you also may be 
 sustained and comforted by the loving care and 
 
95 
 
 affection of your children and grandchildren, until 
 the time comes for you to join him in that land 
 "where all tears are wiped away." With great 
 sympathy and respect, I remain sincerely your 
 friend, 
 
 Mrs. D. S. Babcock. 
 
 Boston, Jan. 12, 1887. 
 Mrs. Jo Jul Roach: 
 
 Dear Madam : I have just heard of the death 
 of your estimable husband, and do so wish I could 
 in some way minister to your comfort in this very 
 great affliction. 
 
 . . . Your husband had earned the esteem of all 
 good men, and will long be remembered as one of 
 the best types of self-reliant, courageous, kind, and 
 honorable American citizens. His life and w^ork 
 have brought honor to the land of his adoption. 
 He has left a name and a record for which you and 
 your sons and daughters may well be grateful. All 
 lovers of the good and noble, and all true patriots 
 and generous helpers of men, have been afflicted by 
 his adverse conditions and his sore sickness; and 
 you and yours share their sympathy and love. . . 
 Truly yours, 
 
 John Parker. 
 
96 
 
 Chester, Pa., Jan. lo, 1887. 
 Mr. and Mrs. John B. Roach. 
 
 Dear Friends : It was sad news that came to us 
 to-day, and the papers are now full of eulogy of 
 your father. Well might they say of him that he 
 was one of the most remarkable men of his time ; 
 and well may Chester feel that it has lost its best 
 friend. 
 
 Many flags are now at half-mast, and every one 
 has a kind word for him. Why should such men 
 have to endure such suffering ? That is a question 
 I have often asked myself, but can only make a 
 guess at the solution. It the more prominently 
 brings out their true greatness, and draws the hearts 
 of the people more towards them. I entirely agree 
 with one of the writers who says, "The better he is 
 known the better he is respected and appreciated." 
 But it was in his family that his best traits of char- 
 acter were shown, and the same writer says, " a 
 better husband or more affectionate father could 
 not be found." But I need not say this to you, and 
 I would not, only that I feel that comparatively few 
 know what a great, noble heart it was that ceased 
 to beat this morning. 
 
 We cannot express to you the sadness we feel, 
 nor the sympathy we would like to offer you ; but 
 none can tender you friendship more earnestly and 
 sincerely. 
 
 Yours very truly. 
 
 Dr. and Mrs. S. Starr. 
 
97 
 
 Auburn, N. Y., Jan. 13, 1887. 
 
 My dear Mrs. Roach : As I sit here, offering 
 you and your dear family my sympathy, I am re- 
 minded that the funeral services are being con- 
 ducted and the last offices of loving affection are 
 being rendered over the cherished remains of your 
 dear husband. 
 
 It was only last Summer, at Mount McGregor, 
 where I was spending part of my vacation, that I 
 first met your husband. My sympathies had been 
 profoundly stirred in his behalf long before this our 
 first meeting ; but when I came to see how his 
 treatment and bitter disappointments were telling 
 upon his health, how visibly he was descending into 
 his sfrave ; and when, too, I came to see the lovable 
 character of the man, all his vast resources of mind 
 and heart, his intellectual and moral gifts, his exec- 
 utive power, and at the same time see all these 
 excellences combined with such gentleness and 
 meekness — I felt that I had made one of the most 
 valuable acquaintances of my life and it was my 
 hope that he might, by the blessing of God, still for 
 many years bless his family and home by the light 
 and cheer of his presence, and add to the reputa- 
 tion of the land of his adoption by his brilliant in- 
 dustries. But, my dear friend, this does not seem 
 to be our Heavenly Father's will ; and I trust you 
 will not deem it an intrusion if, with our short ac- 
 quaintance, I venture to address you at this time, 
 and assure you and your loving family of the deep 
 13 
 
and earnest sympathy felt for you all by Mrs. 
 Brainard and myself. 
 
 God has indeed taken from you your dearest 
 earthly possession ; but if you are to be deprived of 
 his dear companionship during the few days that 
 remain, you can have, if you will, the closer inti- 
 macy and affection of Him who will never leave us 
 nor forsake us — who will walk by our side when 
 other friends have vanished, and other comforts 
 have failed. God bless you in these days of dark- 
 ened skies ; and as this world loses its chief attrac- 
 tion, let heaven be more dear and more real, as you 
 draw more closely to your Saviour and your God. 
 Remember me, and Mrs. Brainard also, to every 
 member of your family, and believe me to be. 
 Sincerely yours, 
 
 John Brainard. 
 
 Washington, Jan. 12, 1887. 
 My dear Mrs. Roach : We desire to assure you 
 and your family of our tenderest sympathy in your 
 great affliction. We have read with deep and sor- 
 rowful interest such accounts as the newspapers 
 have given us during the last few weeks of your 
 dear husband's condition. We should have been 
 glad to render him any service in our power ; but 
 we knew that he had no need of anything we could 
 
99 
 
 do, as all that affection and medical skill could sug- 
 gest would be invoked to comfort him. Now that 
 all is over, we desire to be counted among the many 
 who sincerely condole with you. 
 
 Mr. Roach was one of Mr. Ketcham's truest and 
 best friends, and his overflowing kindliness endeared 
 him to each of our family. Mr. Ketcham regrets 
 that an important engagement here will prevent his 
 being present to-morrow at the funeral. Praying 
 that God may bless and comfort you, I remain, with 
 kindest regards, in which Mr. Ketcham joins, to 
 each of your sorrowing circle, 
 
 Very sincerely yours, 
 
 A. A. Ketcham. 
 
 New York, Jan. 21, 1887. 
 M7\ Stephen W. Roach. 
 
 My dear Sir: Please convey to your mother 
 and to the members of her stricken household, and 
 to all her children who have gone out from the 
 maternal home, my sincere sympathy for them in 
 the great sorrow which has thrown its long dark 
 shadow over you all. 
 
 May you find comfort in the divine promise, 
 "As thy days, so shall thy strength be." 
 Yours sincerely, 
 
 William F. Harris. 
 
lOO 
 
 Syracuse, Jan. ii, 1887. 
 
 Dear Mrs. Roach : The blow has at last fallen, 
 and how desolate you must be ! I scarcely know 
 what words to use — they seem so cold and expres- 
 sionless. But how much you have to comfort you 
 in your grief ! I think that no one outside of your 
 family could think more highly of your dear hus- 
 band than I do. He was so good, and kind, and 
 true, and strong. He leaves you and all the children 
 and grandchildren what is far more desirable and 
 abiding than riches — a good name and a spotless 
 character. But you know him as I never could or 
 did. Now, in the midst of your overwhelming grief, 
 what will you do ? There is but one chief thing — 
 lean heavily on our dear Lord and Saviour, and let 
 the Father comfort you as He alone can. God will 
 somehow help you through this fiery trial, for He 
 loves you, for you are His. 
 
 And the children — how keenly I feel for them ! 
 Since we have known of the critical condition of 
 Mr. Roach, both Mrs. Backman and I have felt sad 
 and lonely, and we would like you to think of us as 
 partners in your family grief. Receive my Christian 
 sympathy and love, and believe me, 
 
 Always yours, 
 
 C. Backman. 
 
lOI 
 
 Geneva, Switzerland, Jan. 12, 1887. 
 My dear Mrs. Roach : I was inexpressibly 
 shocked and grieved to hear this morning of the 
 death of your husband, Mr. Roach. I beg to assure 
 you that our deepest sympathy goes out to you in 
 this your irreparable loss. A grand man, a true, 
 warm-hearted friend, a noble patriot, has gone from 
 among us. There were few like him. For our- 
 selves, we are indeed bereaved of a friend — the 
 truest and the best ; and we recognize the fact that 
 we will not find his like again in all the world. 
 
 May God in His mercy console and comfort you 
 in this your hour of affliction. 
 
 " After life's fitful fever, he sleeps well." 
 I remain, as ever, yours sincerely, 
 
 Sallie F. Tisdel. 
 
 Holy Trinity Mission, New York, Jan. 12, 1887. 
 My dear Mrs. Roach : I saw the notice in 
 this morning's paper, and hasten to send you my 
 sympathy in this your hour of bereavement. How 
 little can I say to you at this time !— but at least I can 
 say that which many others can, and that is, that I 
 have always found your husband a warm-hearted 
 friend and helper. I look back over all the years 
 in which I have known him, and in all our connec- 
 
102 
 
 tions I find only words of helpful kindness from 
 him. He has always been to me an inspiration. 
 In my business life I looked up to him and recog- 
 nized his true greatness, his sturdy uprightness, his 
 sterling ability. In my present life he has been no 
 less an inspiration to me, for in him, as in few men, 
 I see one who has ever lived up to his inner light. 
 I think that every one who came in contact with 
 your husband must have felt the force of his true 
 virtue and spirit, speaking to them not in words, 
 but in his life. That, after all, is the true and 
 effective preaching. Can I say anything more 
 comforting to you at this time, my dear Mrs. 
 Roach, than this — that I am a better man to-day 
 than I would have been, just because I knew and 
 loved and reverenced your husband. I thank God 
 that He ordered my life so that it came in contact 
 with your husband's life. I thank God for his good 
 example of honesty and Christian kindliness which 
 has made it easier for me and for others to lead a 
 better life. I thank God that your husband is now 
 at rest in the Paradise of God, free from all the 
 harm and misconceptions and weariness of this 
 mortal life. It will not be long before we too shall 
 go. God grant us all grace so to live uprightly and 
 lovingly that we too may receive the benediction 
 which I am sure he has heard, " Well done, good 
 and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy 
 Lord." 
 
 Yours in affectionate sympathy, 
 
 James V. Chalmers. 
 
I03 
 
 New York, Jan. lo, 1887. 
 My dear Mr. Roach: I am greatly grieved at 
 the death of your father. He was greatly endeared 
 to me. He had so much confidence in humanity. 
 He said to me once when he intrusted an important 
 commission to me, and remarked my surprise, " No 
 one cheats me." I said to myself, " I don't see 
 how any one could have the heart to do so." I 
 never saw him but he seemed anxious to in some 
 way benefit me. And this was the way he treated 
 a great many others, to my certain knowledge. 
 You have lost a kind father, but the world has lost 
 a friend of humanity. 
 
 Very truly yours, 
 Mr. Garrett Roach. M. A. Ruland. 
 
 Hot Springs, Arkansas, Jan. 7, 1887. 
 
 Dr. J. H. Douglas, in grateful remembrance of 
 kindnesses received from Mr. John Roach a year 
 ago, sends him this assurance of his profound 
 sympathy in his present distress. 
 
 It may gratify Mr. Roach to know that in this 
 far-off portion of our country the expressions I 
 hear are full of tenderness toward him, and that his 
 sterling qualities as a man and his unswerving 
 patriotism as a citizen are well known and appre- 
 ciated. 
 
 Mrs. Douglas joins me in most fervent expres- 
 sions of kindly feeling to the whole family. 
 
I04 
 
 TELEGRAMS. 
 
 New York, Jan. lo, 1887. 
 Mrs. John Roach : We have learned with deep 
 sorrow of the death of John Roach, who exempli- 
 fied in himself in so great a degree the possibilities 
 open to every workingman of the United States. 
 From our long-time knowledge of him and his 
 work we can truly say that our country has suffered 
 a great loss. You and your family have our sincere 
 sympathy. 
 
 W. & A. Fletcher. 
 
 New York, Jan. 10, 1887. 
 Mrs. John Roach : We tender you our sym- 
 pathy in your great bereavement. America has 
 lost one of her greatest citizens, and we one of our 
 best friends. We mourn his loss. 
 
 James E. Ward & Co. 
 
I05 
 
 New York, Jan. lo, 1887. 
 Mrs. John Roach: Please accept the sympathy 
 of the officers and employes of this corporation 
 in your great grief. 
 
 J. W. Miller, General Manager, 
 Providence and Stonington Steamship Co. 
 
 Chester, Pa., Jan. 10, 1887. 
 John B. Roach : You all have my deepest sym- 
 pathy in your great affliction. I mourn the loss of 
 a true friend and noble man. Universal sorrow 
 among foremen and employes. 
 
 Wm. Parker. 
 14 
 
io6 
 
 THE PRESS. 
 
 Through the reports of the Associated Press the 
 news of Mr. Roach's fatal illness and death was 
 carried to all parts of the country and throughout 
 the civilized world. For many weeks interest was 
 everywhere manifested that indicated in high de- 
 gree the public esteem and sympathy. The edito- 
 rial comments at his death were in most cases 
 worthy of the man and his achievements. We can 
 give here only extracts from leading journals in the 
 principal cities. These speak for themselves. Few 
 men in our nation have thus received larger recog- 
 nition and higher honor from the press. None 
 have better deserved it. 
 
lo; 
 
 New York Tribune, Jan. ii, 1887. 
 If the death of John Roach had occurred at any 
 time sh-ice his assignment in 1885 it would have 
 occasioned no surprise to those who knew him. 
 His was the finely sensitive Irish nature, which is 
 incapable of dull emotions. His moods were in- 
 tense and deep. They affected every fibre of his 
 body ; and when he found himself, through no fault 
 of his own, ruined in business, injured in credit and 
 reputation, with the magnificent enterprise that had 
 taken a lifetime to develop swept down in a day, 
 overwhelmed by the blindly partisan government 
 of a country which had found in him a loyal patriot 
 and a faithful son, even his buoyant courage and 
 superb constitution were not proof against the blow. 
 From that day John Roach walked in the shadow 
 of death. 
 
 Of such a life this is a pitiful end. He was born 
 in as humble a position as could obtain among 
 people who were honest and industrious. When he 
 landed, a mere child, at Castle Garden, the only 
 being he knew in America was a man, somewhere 
 in New Jersey, who had once worked with his 
 father. He became an apprentice in a machine- 
 shop, and in the face of misfortunes almost unnat- 
 ural he rose to become the possessor of the largest 
 machine-works in America, from which he has paid 
 out in wages about $45,000,000. A splendid 
 squadron of nearly one hundred iron merchant 
 vessels bears the imprint of his name ; and a trade 
 
io8 
 
 essential to the Nation's safety, not to speak of its 
 commercial prosperity, which had languished almost 
 to extinction, was by him placed upon a solid 
 foundation. 
 
 The world is busy these days, and it does not 
 pause long to mourn or to avenge other people's 
 misfortunes. But if the responsibility for this 
 crime — there is no other name for it — is not visited 
 by the people upon this Administration, it will 
 sooner or later be visited upon the people them- 
 selves. Governments cannot afford to strike down 
 the men to whom in times of danger they must 
 turn for aid. Though John Roach's life ended in 
 misfortune, it is not without its inspirations to 
 young men of courage and purpose. It is not 
 to be anticipated that organized cruelty will often 
 be practised by a government as the reward of 
 enterprise and public spirit, and the lessons of in- 
 domitable nerve, of consistent aim, of ready re- 
 source, and of irreproachable character, which are 
 to be read in the life of John Roach, are well worth 
 knowinjr. 
 
 Netv York Mail and Express, Jan. lo, 1887. 
 
 John Roach, the greatest of American ship- 
 builders and the most conspicuous victim of the in- 
 justice of the present national Administration, died 
 this morning. The history of the rise of the poor 
 
I09 
 
 Irish schoolboy to national fame and large fortune 
 as a shipbuilder reads like a romance. But there 
 was no " luck" in the steady ascent of the plucky, 
 tenacious, courageous, industrious, inventive, and 
 manly "Captain of Industry," who became such a 
 great power, and who did so much to develop a 
 great American industry. John Roach's character 
 and practical abilities were the secrets of his im- 
 mense achievements and brilliant successes. ... It 
 seems a national disgrace that an adopted citizen, 
 who had advanced and defended American interests 
 with such ability, persistence, and success, should 
 have finally died broken-hearted, by reason of the 
 treatment he experienced at the hands of his own 
 government. But his memory will long be honored 
 by Americans, and especially by the intelligent 
 mechanics of the country, of whom he was a most 
 successful and distinguished specimen. 
 
 New York Times, Jan. ii, 18S7. 
 
 The death of Mr. John Roach will be very gen- 
 erally regretted, and by none more deeply and sin- 
 cerely than by the large number of workingmen 
 who have been in his employ, and for whom he has 
 always shown manly sympathy and generous re- 
 gard. Mr. Roach was in many respects a remark- 
 able man, and his lons^ and brilliant career in busi- 
 
I lO 
 
 ness would have hardly been possible in any other 
 country or under other institutions than our own. 
 He came to America from Ireland a mere boy, 
 scarcely sixteen, without friends, without money,, 
 and with no special education. He began life as a 
 mechanic, and from that humble station he rose to 
 be the greatest ship-builder and one of the greatest 
 iron-founders of the country. The qualities to 
 which this success was due are recognized by those 
 familiar with his career to have been in every way 
 honorable to him. He had, of course, unbounded 
 energy and self-reliance ; he was not only industri-^ 
 ous and painstaking, but full of resource — shrewd, 
 long-headed, a manager of men, broad in his views, 
 tireless in the pursuit of his aims, honest of pur- 
 pose, and not only sanguine and zealous, but capa- 
 ble of inspiring confidence and zeal in those with 
 whom he had to deal. His conduct toward his 
 workmen was at once sagacious and kindly. He 
 used to take a just pride in the fact that no man 
 who worked for him — and at times they numbered 
 three thousand — had ever failed to receive his pay 
 when it was due. But he did not stop at this. He 
 aided his men in every way to get on in life, to 
 secure homes of their own, and to enter as far as 
 they were fitted to enter the field in which he him- 
 self made such an ample harvest. Such service may 
 properly be remembered by his fellow-citizens, not 
 only with respect, but with a certain degree of pride. 
 
New York World, Jan. ii, 1887. 
 
 The death of John Roach ends a busy, energetic, 
 and prosperous career. It will occasion widespread 
 regret, because the deceased was a kind employer, a 
 warm friend, a genial, generous man, and was pos- 
 sessed in no ordinary degree of those qualities 
 which win popularity. 
 
 New York Star, Jan. 11, 1887. 
 
 John Roach w^as a typical product of American 
 institutions and opportunities. In spite of deficient 
 education, and with no other backing than per- 
 sonal energy, a quick wit, and good judgment, he 
 acquired a foremost position as a master mechanic 
 and manufacturer. ... In private business Mr. 
 Roach's reputation as a ship-builder and an employer 
 stood high. He built many of the largest and 
 finest of our river and sound steamboats, and some 
 of the stanchest and swiftest of our sea-going pas- 
 senger and freight steamers. He firmly held the 
 confidence and esteem of the men he employed, and 
 he liberally aided those he thought worthy in ac- 
 quiring homes for their families. 
 
112 
 
 Nezu York Evening Post, J'^fi- lo, 1887. 
 
 As a ship-builder Mr. Roach stood without an 
 equal in this country. His shipyard at Chester was 
 probably the most complete in the world, and was 
 the only one where the iron could be received in 
 the ore and converted into a finished ship . . . 
 Mr. Roach was greatly liked by his employes. No 
 man could be kinder or a better friend to workmen. 
 Thousands of dollars were given by him in charity. 
 . . . He was remarkable for his shrewdness, in- 
 domitable will, and honesty of purpose. In a busi- 
 ness career of nearly fifty years he had never been 
 sued, nor had he ever found it necessary to sue a 
 customer. He was honored by the business men 
 of New York on many occasions. 
 
 Neiv York Sun^ Jan. 11. 
 
 John Roach made his own way in the world by 
 force of native pluck, shrewd industry, and the in- 
 born capacity to deal with large affairs. He had 
 many of those qualities that win friends and keep 
 them. He was warm-hearted, loyal, interesting. 
 To the thousands of workingmen to whom for 
 years his various enterprises gave employment he 
 was a just and often a generous master. He knew 
 how to build good ships, and his perseverance under 
 
113 
 
 discouraging conditions, his unconquerable self- 
 assertion in a department of industry in which he 
 believed himself the only thoroughly representative 
 man, did much to keep the American flag upon the 
 seas. There is no doubt about that. 
 
 New York Morning Journal, Jan. ii. 
 
 The lesson of John Roach's noble, persevering, 
 hard-working life will be learned and taken to heart 
 by generations of Americans yet to be. He was a 
 credit to Ireland, and an honor to the land of his 
 adoption. 
 
 New York Herald, Jan. ii. 
 
 A man who accomplished so much must have 
 been either a very lucky man, or exceedingly 
 talented, persevering, and businesslike. It will be 
 seen that John Roach did not owe much to Dame 
 Fortune, but that his purpose in life was achieved 
 by fortitude, by courage, and by perseverance. It 
 is impossible to read the story of his early struggles 
 without admiration. His sturdiest opponent on 
 the question of protection, now that he has passed 
 away, will fain admit that he did much for the 
 development of the iron industry of his adopted 
 country, and that his efforts to foster that of ship- 
 building were earnest. It has been estimated that 
 '5 
 
114 
 
 ninety per cent of all the iron vessels flying the 
 American flag have been turned out from Mr. 
 Roach's yards. 
 
 Philadelphia Evefiing Call, Jan. lo. 
 
 The greatest shipbuilder of the age died this 
 morning from the effects of a lingering disease. 
 In our news columns will be found a sketch of his 
 long and useful life and the service he has done to 
 this country. It has been a long series of triumphs. 
 It is sad to chronicle that his death was hastened 
 by political hatred and misrepresentation, but it is 
 pleasant to add that he goes to his grave with his 
 reputation untarnished and his probity placed 
 beyond reproach. 
 
 Philadelphia North American, Jan. ii. 
 
 The lesson of such lives as John Roach lived, 
 though not wholly lost on the contemporary gener- 
 ation, is seldom effective. How mean and object- 
 less in comparison seem the lives of men who 
 create nothing and assist to build nothing. The 
 passage of John Roach from poverty to the high 
 position he occupied among the chiefs of great 
 enterprise when death laid him low constitutes one 
 of the most notable examples of self-help to be 
 found anywhere. And though the last days of his 
 life were overcast, his was a successful life and a 
 
115 
 
 grand example. There can be none greater than 
 he who deserves success, and none will deny that 
 John Roach achieved no mean measure of success, 
 while he deserved the utmost. 
 
 Philadelphia Press, Jan. ii. 
 
 John Roach is one of the best examples of the 
 self-made man which this country has produced. 
 His pluck, energy, business capacity, and natural 
 genius served him better than any family or friends 
 could have done to build up an enormous business 
 from small beginnings, and create a great fortune 
 by labor, skill, and thrift. ... His life is a most 
 striking example of the rare opportunities which 
 this country offers to fortuneless youths who have 
 the genius to perceive and make the most of them. 
 
 Philadelphia Inquirer, Jan. ii. 
 
 By the death of John Roach a prominent figure 
 is removed from American industry and politics, 
 for the great ship-builder, if not a politician, which 
 he was not in the general sense, was a vigorous 
 partisan, and the near associate of all the leading 
 Republicans of the country. What his life was 
 most typical of was the exhibition of the opportun- 
 ity which is offered to every man in this country, 
 to rise from the humblest to the foremost place, to 
 achieve both wealth and power. 
 
ii6 
 
 His ships were upon every sea, in the navy of 
 the United States and in its merchant marine. He 
 sailed ships as well as built them, and his enter- 
 prise was one of his most remarkable characteristics. 
 The death of a man of such extraordinary force of 
 mind, of such sturdy worth, such marvellous energy 
 and public spirit, is a national loss, a great and 
 common calamity. John Roach was not only an 
 example to all poor men having the ambition to 
 rise to wealth and influence, but he exercised a 
 distinctive force upon the country's industry, which 
 he extended in one direction at least further than 
 any other American had done. 
 
 If it be true that peace has victories as war has, 
 then must it be conceded that he was one of the 
 greatest captains of peace. His weapons were only 
 the saw and hammer, but with them he created 
 whole fleets and navies, thereby adding to the 
 greatness and wealth of his country. 
 
 Chester {Pa.) Times, Jan. 13. 
 
 John Roach is dead. How solemn, how mourn- 
 ful the intelligence comes to the hundreds of his 
 late employes, to the millions of his countrymen. 
 The stout heart is forever stilled. The hand that 
 was so strong in its friendly grasp lies cold across 
 the breast. The kindly eye has looked its last on 
 earth, and what was known as John Roach will 
 
117 
 
 hereafter live only in the memory of those who 
 honor manly worth, who prize noble endeavor, and 
 who realize that such as he are the glory of Repub- 
 lican institutions. 
 
 Loved, honored, and revered as John Roach was 
 in every part of this broad land, nowhere was he so 
 near and dear to so large a proportion of a popula- 
 tion as to the citizens of Chester. A just employer, 
 a kind friend to all who merited his counsel, a gen- 
 erous patron to every man who manfully strove to 
 help himself, his death is mourned in Chester homes 
 as deeply almost as if death had visited the family- 
 circle. 
 
 His enterprise was equalled only by his bound- 
 less generosity, and now that John Roach stands in 
 the presence of his God, a thousand deeds of kind- 
 ness will plead in his behalf. John Roach is dead, 
 but the memory of what he was, the memory of 
 what he did, will never die. The good men will 
 follow them, and the blessings which this man 
 during a life of usefulness strewed like fragrant 
 flowers along his pathway will cause his name to 
 be remembered when the accidental creatures who 
 made his last few days so weary are forgotten. As 
 for them, we say, in the presence of our beloved 
 dead, " Father, forgive them, for they knew not 
 what they did." 
 
ii8 
 
 Chicago Tribune, Jan. ii. 
 
 In nearly every respect the career of John Roach 
 was a remarkable one. He came from Ireland to 
 this country in his early years, with no other capital 
 than a pair of stout hands and indomitable will, 
 with an extraordinary capacity for industry. He 
 became known as one of the greatest ironmasters 
 of this country and one of the greatest ship-builders 
 of the world. 
 
 In many respects Gen. Grant and John Roach 
 were alike. They were both men of a bluff and 
 rugged mould, strong in will, and conspicuous for 
 hard, practical common-sense. Both had great 
 constructive power — the one in the manipulation of 
 machinery, the other in the manipulation of men. 
 Both had the somewhat rare faculty of inspiring 
 friendships, of strong attachment to their friends, 
 and of exposure to imposition by those whom they 
 called friends. Both in their old age were visited 
 by reverses of fortune which swept away all their 
 accumulations under circumstances which unjustly 
 reflected upon their personal honesty. Both were 
 attacked by and died of the same disease. Both 
 have left a life record worthy of study, as showing 
 how much can be accomplished by good sense, 
 strong will, and hard labor. It can never be any- 
 thing but a national regret, however, that the end 
 of two such careers should have come in disaster 
 and defeat through no fault of their own. 
 
Chicago Inter-Ocean, Jan. ii. 
 
 John Roach was a fine character, and a sturdy 
 one. His success in life, through high personal 
 qualities and clean business methods, was a teach- 
 ing by example that will do more to stimulate 
 proper ambition and shape character than years ot 
 lecturing. The country never needed such men 
 more than now ; and it could ill afford to lose so 
 true a patriot, so earnest a worker, so firm a be- 
 liever in American institutions, and one so closely 
 identified with the Nation's material progress. 
 
 It is not pleasant to remember that this self-made 
 man, this loyal, kind-hearted gentleman, who had 
 done so much for the working-man and for the 
 country, went down to his grave staggering under 
 a blow delivered by those who pretended to believe 
 that bad faith on the part of a government was not 
 a crime. 
 
 Pittsburg Daily Times, Jan. ii. 
 
 It cannot be doubted that John Roach was a re- 
 markable man of the class who are of the greatest 
 value to the country and society. And he had corre- 
 sponding success, which, it is said, was owing 
 
I20 
 
 largely to his consideration for his workmen, and 
 the justness of all his dealings. Thousands of 
 dollars were given by him in charity, and the wid- 
 ows of faithful employes were invariably kept on 
 the pay-roll until their children were able to support 
 them. The improvements of the homes of his 
 workmen was one of his special studies, and he made 
 it easy for them to own their homes by paying for 
 them on instalments. He sought earnestly to im- 
 prove their condition and circumstances, and sur- 
 round their children with advantages greater than 
 their own. 
 
 Pittsburg Chronicle-Telegraph, Jan. lo. 
 
 News comes to-day of the death of John Roach, 
 foremost of American ship-builders, and one of the 
 highest types of the class designated as self-made 
 men. Humble of birth, he started in life at the 
 very foot of the ladder, with no capital save good 
 health, strength, correct habits, a thorough knowl- 
 edge of the craft he had selected by which to win 
 bread for him and his, industry, energy, and fru- 
 gality. Step by step he advanced, adding slowly to 
 his possessions and increasing his facilities, until, 
 arrived at the prime of life, he stood at the head of 
 
12 
 
 the ship-building industry of the country, and was 
 possessed of a large fortune. He introduced many 
 marked improvements in naval architecture, and 
 sent out some of the best and fleetest ships ever 
 floated. Although misfortune came upon him in 
 his old age, sweeping away the results of a life- 
 time's hard work, no dishonorable action clouded 
 his record, and he leaves his family an untarnished 
 name. There is little doubt that Mr. Roach's 
 death was hastened by the ill-fortune which fell 
 upon him through no fault or shortcoming of his 
 own, but came rather from the unwarranted inter- 
 ference with his affairs of political opponents. He 
 will occupy a prominent place in the history of 
 American progress and industry, and have more 
 honorable mention than those who were the cause 
 of his downfall. 
 
 San Francisco Morning Call, Jan. ii. 
 
 In the death of John Roach the country loses a 
 man who has been its greatest ship-builder, and one 
 who has, perhaps, done more to keep that industry 
 from becoming a lost art in the United States than 
 any other man. He was eminently a self-made man, 
 and advanced by gradual stages from a hard-work- 
 ing mechanic to the head of the great establishment 
 i6 
 
which has produced so many vessels for the Gov- 
 ernment, and particularly for our merchant marine. 
 For a quarter of a century he has been the most 
 prominent figure among our marine constructors, 
 and the results he has achieved in the face of the 
 great competition of the English ship-yards have 
 been of great value to our shipping interests. 
 
 Cleveland News and Herald, Jan. lo. 
 
 John Roach was one of the most useful and 
 valuables natives of Ireland that ever landed in 
 America. He was a striking instance of what the 
 Celtic race is capable of in the way of business 
 thrift and persevering enterprise. 
 
 Boston Advertiser, Jan. ii. 
 
 Shortly after eight o'clock yesterday morning, 
 John Roach died. Who he was and what he did 
 for American ship-building and commerce all 
 Americans know. They know that he began life 
 as a destitute Irish immigrant lad in the city of 
 New York, and gradually built up, by his indomi- 
 table pluck, industry, and talent, the greatest iron 
 
123 
 
 ship-yards in this country. He made American 
 ships with American labor from American materials. 
 He mined the ore, smelted the iron, converted the 
 bars to steel, and forged the plates for his vessels 
 from keel to rail. American stokers fed his fur- 
 naces, American smiths guided his rolls and ham- 
 mers, and American mechanics cut and riveted his 
 plates. Ninety per cent of the iron ships now sail- 
 ing under the American flag were built by him. 
 His works gave employment to thousands. He 
 never wronged a laborer who worked for him. It 
 might have been thought that he deserved well of 
 his country. 
 
 He was guilty, however, of harboring the preju- 
 dice of patriotism. He wanted to see his country 
 independent, and not reliant upon foreigners for the 
 necessities of transport and defence. He sought to 
 keep American labor from grinding competition. 
 For this offence he was especially singled out as a 
 target for free-trade slings. All kinds of missiles 
 were used, and one of the last stones was thought- 
 lessly hurled by a Secretary of the Navy who 
 wanted to figure as a reformer. To gratify this 
 petty ambition the foremost ship-builder was 
 struck. 
 
124 
 
 Evening Express, Portland, Me., Jan. ii. 
 
 The death of John Roach, announced in our 
 telegraphic columns yesterday, removes a promi- 
 nent figure from among the ranks of those self-made 
 men who have achieved eminence in building up 
 great industries. Mr. Roach came to this country 
 at the age of sixteen, and by energy and sagacity 
 became the owner and director of the largest pri- 
 vate ship-yard in the United States. Although 
 compelled by stress of circumstances beyond his 
 control, and as unexpected as they were discredit- 
 able to the present Administration, to suspend pay- 
 ment, this misfortune served to brino: out in stronof- 
 est relief the sturdy honesty and straightforwardness 
 of his character. He was a man of strong com- 
 mon-sense, unswerving integrity, and wonderful 
 business and mechanical capacity. 
 
 Baltimore American, Jan. ir. 
 
 John Roach was the greatest ship-builder in the 
 country. His sickness drew forth the sympathy of 
 all who knew him. His old employes almost 
 worshipped him, and his death will be sincerely and 
 widely deplored. In his career he showed what 
 pluck and enterprise can do. He labored for suc- 
 cess, and eot it. 
 
25 
 
 Baltimore Sun, Jan. ii. 
 
 By the death of John Roach the United States 
 loses its largest and most famous builder of iron 
 ships, and of the machinery by which they are 
 driven. No stronger example could be given of 
 what a self-made man can accomplish by dint of 
 sheer industry and natural capacity than may be 
 learned from the story of John Roach. 
 
 Froi'idence /our?ial, Jan. ii. 
 
 His life, indeed, was conspicuous, even in a 
 country happily full of such histories, of the possi- 
 bilities stretching before the poorest youth who 
 possesses integrity, thrift, energy, patience, and in- 
 domitable purpose. John Roach rose from the 
 very bottom : there was no poverty, hardship, or 
 discouragement which he did not face ; and he rose 
 to a position of national influence and national 
 helpfulness because he willed it so, and would not 
 be kept down. 
 
126 
 
 Brooklyn Union, Jan. lo. 
 
 John Roach's career is one of the most inspiring 
 that can be found in the long list of men who have 
 risen by their own industry and patriotism from 
 poverty to wealth and influence as citizens of the 
 republic. . . . He was not one of our rich men 
 who by reason of mere wealth become known 
 throughout the world. But he did what few of the 
 possessors of vast properties ever do — he gave em- 
 ployment to thousands of skilled workmen ; the 
 products of his industry and good management were 
 substantial additions to the wealth of the world, and 
 he used his influence to uphold the policy of the 
 loftiest patriotism and the party which saved the 
 Union. Although not born on our shores, John 
 Roach was an American of the Americans. Every 
 impulse was patriotic, and every action of the man 
 loyal. 
 
 Buffalo Commercial Advertiser, fan. lo. 
 
 John Roach, the veteran ship-builder, died this 
 morning. We do not envy the feelings with which 
 William C. Whitney, Secretary of the Navy, must 
 contemplate the complete success of his eff'orts to 
 break down this old man in pursuance of his ambi- 
 tious plans for discrediting the Republican adminis- 
 
127 
 
 stration of the Navy Department. His fortune and 
 his good name were involved in the contracts for 
 building the four cruisers ; and he broke down in 
 mind and body under the persecuting policy adopted 
 by Secretary Whitney. 
 
 Dry Goods Chronicle {^JVew York), Jan. 14. 
 
 The death of that good man and citizen, John 
 Roach, is directly traceable to the injustice of our 
 Government. . . . Worse, far worse than the money 
 losses was the fact that it broke down his spirit. 
 He prided himself on his successful and honest 
 career. He had always paid every dollar of in- 
 debtedness at maturity. He thought because he 
 had failed to pay his debts at maturity it was a dis- 
 grace ; it ruined his health ; and the result is that we 
 are mourning the death of one of our noblest citi- 
 zens, a self-made man — one who has done more to 
 build up our commercial marine than any man in 
 this country. We, in common with thousands of 
 citizens in every rank of life, mourn his loss. 
 
 Marine Journal {Netu York), Jan. 15. 
 
 It is a beautiful sight to see capital and labor, 
 rich and poor, drop silent tears over the grave of 
 the distinguished deceased. It is a rare event, but 
 
128 
 
 the incident has been chronicled in history the pres- 
 ent week in the demise of the great ship-builder, 
 Christian gentleman, and earnest citizen, Mr. John 
 Roach. 
 
 Ifidus trial World {Chicago), Jan. 12. 
 
 Mr. Roach was not merely a successful business 
 man. He was a big-brained statesman, without 
 ever having held or aspired to hold an office of 
 state. He demonstrated this throughout a whole 
 lifetime in his advocacy by tongue and pen of the 
 doctrine of protection to American labor. 
 
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