Mr. Lincoln's Cabinet.
sketches of its members.
The telegraph informs us this morning that the United States Senate yesterday, confirmed the following appointments by
Mr. Lincoln, of members of his Cabinet:
W. H. Seward, of New York,
Secretary of State;
Salmon P. Chase, of
Ohio,
Secretary of the Treasury;
Simon Cameron, of
Pennsylvania,
Secretary of War;
Montgomery Blair, of
Maryland,
Postmaster General;
Gideon Wells,
Secretary of the Navy;
C. B. Smith, of
Indiana,
Secretary of the Interior, and
Ed. Bates, of
Missouri,
Attorney General.
The following sketches of these gentlemen will be interesting at this time:
Mr. Seward was born in
Orange county, in the
State of New York, on the 16th of May, 1861. He was educated at Union College, in New York, and took the degree of
Bachelor of Arts in 1820, and of Master of Arts in 1824.-- in the age of 21 he established himself at
Auburn in the profession of the law, and soon required a lucrative and extending practice.--
Early in his public and professional life he traveled in the
Southern slave States, and is supposed to have formed at that time the opinions and principles hostile to slavery, to which it has since given expression.
To a greater degree than is known of any other American --
Mr. Sumner, perhaps, excepted — the object of his life seems to have been to counteract the extension of slavery.-- In he had acquired such influence and character that he was elected a member of the Senate of the State of New York, then the highest judicial tribunal of the
State, as well as legislative body.
In 1834, at the close of his term of four years, he was nominated a candidate for the Governorship of the
State of New York, in opposition to
Mr. William L. the then Governor, and, later, the distinguished
Secretary of State of the
U. States.
on this occasion
Mr. Seward was defeated by a majority of nearly 10,000. In 1839, his party becoming bolder and stronger, he was triumphantly elected, in opposition to
Mr. Mar the majority being greater than his previous minority.
Without having passed through the lower stratum of the House of representatives, he was, in 1849, elected to the of the
United States for six years.--He gave so much satisfaction that he was elected in 1855.
S. P. Chase, Secretary of Treasury.
Salmon Portland Chase was born at Corn-
N. H., on the opposite bank of the
Connecticut river from
Windsor, Vt., in the year . When nine years of age his father died, and three years after this bereavement, in the young
Chase was found at the seminary in
Worthington, Ohio, then conducted by the Venerable
Bishop Philander Chase, his uncle.
Here he remained until
Bishop Chase accepted the Presidency of Cincinnati College, and was entered there.
After a year's residence in
Cincinnati, he returned to his maternal home in
New Hampshire, and shortly after resumed his studies in Dartmouth College.
Hanover, where he graduated in 1826. He shortly after commenced the study of law in the city of
Washington, under the guidance of the celebrated
William Wirt, then
Attorney General of the
United States.
He was admitted to the bar at
Washington in 1829, and at the following year returned to
Cincinnati and entered upon the practice of his profession, in which he soon rose to eminence.
He was subsequently elected a member of the United States Senate, and upon the expiration of his Senatorial term he was put in nomination for
Governor of
Ohio, and elected.
He was again put in nomination for Governor and was again elected to that position.
Gen. Simon Cameron was born in
Lancaster county.
Pennsylvania, Reverses and misfortunes in his father's family cast him very early in life on the world to shape and carve out his own fortune.
After having removed to Sonbury, in
Northumberland county, his father died, while
Simon was yet a boy. In he came to
Harrisburg and bound himself as an apprentice to the printing business as
James Peacock.
Having completed his apprenticeship he went to
Washington city, and was employed as a journeyman printer.
In 1824, his party — then in the ascendancy in the Congressional district--proposed to nominate him for Congress, an honor which he declined, as interfering with the enterprise in which he was then engaged.
He was appointed
Adjutant General of the
State in 1828, an office which he filled creditably and acceptable during
Gov. Shultz's term; and in 1831, unsolicited, he was appointed by
Gen. Jackson as a visitor to
West Point.
He has always been prominent in the internal improvements of
Pennsylvania, but not in matters of war.
Judge Montgomery Blair resides at Montgomery Castle, near
Silver Spring, Montgomery county.
Md.
Judge Blair is a son of
Francis P. Blair, well known in
Gen. Jackson's time.
He graduated at
West Point, went to the
State of Missouri, practiced law in
St. Louis, was made
Judge, and was appointed by
President Pierce one of the
Judges at the Court of Claims, from which place he was removed by
President Buchanan.
He is son-in-law of the late
Hon. Levi Woodbury of
New Hampshire, and brother of
Frank P. Blair, Jr.,
Congressman elect from the St. Louis district.
Gideon B. Wells has been for 30 years a leading
Connecticut politician.
He for some time held the office of Postmaster of
Hartford, under
Mr. Van Buren's administration, and left the office soon after the election of
General Harrison in 1840. During a part of
Mr. Polk's administration he occupied an important position in the Navy Department.--
Mr. Wells disagreed with his party on the subject of the repeal of the
Missouri Compromise.
He was a delegate from the
State at large to the Chicago Convention, and constituted, one of the committee to proceed to
Springfield with official notice of
Mr. Lincoln's nomination.
C. B. Smith,
Secretary of the Interior.
Mr. Smith is well known in
Indiana.
He has been in Congress, and was
Commissioner to
Mexican claims.
Edward Bates,
Attorney General.
Edward Bates was born on the 4th of September, 1793, on the banks of
James river, in the county of
Goochland.
Virginia, about 30 miles above
Richmond.
He was the seventh son and youngest child of a family of twelve children, all of whom lived to a mature age,
Thomas Bates and
Caroline M. Woodson.
After the death of his parents he was educated by his brother,
Fleming Bates, of
Northumberland co., Va. In 1812, having renounced service in the Navy, and with no plan of life settled, his brother Frederick (who was
Secretary of the
Territory of Missouri from 18 to 1820, when the
State was formed, by successive appointments under
Jefferson,
Madison and
Monroe, and was second
Governor of the
State) invited him to come out to
St. Louis, and follow the law, offering to see him safely through his course of study.
He accepted the invitation, and was to have started in the spring of 1813, but an unlooked for event detained him for a year — Being in his native county of
Goochland, a sudden call was made for volunteers to march for
Norfolk, to repel an apprehended attack by the British fleet, and he joined a company in February, marched to
Norfolk, and served to October of that year, as private,
corporal, and sergeant successively.
The next spring he left out for
St. Louis.
He came to the bar in the Winter of 1816-'17, and practiced with as a beginner.
In 1853, he was elected
Judge of the Land Court of
St. Louis county, and after serving in the office about three years he resigned, and returned again to the practice of law. He acted as
President of the River and Harbor Improvement Convention, which sat at
Chicago, and in 1852 acted as
President of the Whig National Convention which met at
Baltimore.
In 1850, he was appointed by
President Fillmore and confirmed by the Senate
Secretary of War, but declined the appointment for personal and domestic reasons.