Glenni William Scofield (1817-1891)

Portrait courtesy of the Library of Congress.

    An intriguingly named U.S. Representative from Warren County, Pennsylvania, Glenni William Scofield rose from humble origins in Chautauqua County, New York to become one of the Keystone State's most prominent 19th-century public officials. Since beginning this project over a decade ago, Mr. Scofield has been one of my favorite figures to point out, not only for his unique first name but for his ties to my home county of Chautauqua. During a political career that extended over four decades, Scofield served in both houses of Pennsylvania legislature, was a six-term U.S. Representative, a Register of the U.S. Treasury, and later a judge on the U.S. Court of Claims--truly a man of many achievements. Scofield is honored today on the 121st anniversary of his death as the newest profile added to the site and his extensive article here will conclude with a few photographs I took of his gravesite at Warren's Oakland Cemetery during two trips, one in October 2010 and one in May of this year.  
   Glenni William Scofield's story begins with his birth in the small village of Dewittville in Chautauqua County, New York on March 11, 1817, the fifth of eight children born to Darius (1788-1862) and Sallie (Glenni) Scofield (1788-1860). Glenni received his education in the common schools of his native county and didn't attend school beyond age 14, having left to learn the printing trade. He engaged in printing until age 17 and soon after returned to his studies, eventually enrolling at the Hamilton College at Clinton, New York in 1836. Scofield graduated from Hamilton in 1840 for the next few years was a teacher in Fauquier County, Virginia and later in the McKean County, Pennsylvania area.
   In the early 1840s, he left his teaching career behind and began pursuing a law degree, studying under future U.S. Representative Carlton Brandaga Curtis (1811-1883). Scofield was admitted to the Pennsylvania state bar in 1842 and shortly thereafter relocated to Warren, Pennsylvania, where he would reside and practice law for the rest of his life.
  After opening a law practice in Warren, Scofield married in November 1845 to Laura Margretta Tanner (1823-1909), with whom he had three children, Ellie G. (born 1850) and Archibald Tanner (born 1854) and Mary M. (1859-1887). Laura Tanner Scofield came from pioneer genes in the Warren, Pennsylvania area, being the daughter of Archibald Tanner (1786-1861), a deputy Warren postmaster, county treasurer, and newspaper publisher. Tanner is also recorded as helping to bring "the first steamboat on the Allegheny River to Warren".
   Glenni W. Scofield began treading the political waters in 1846, when he was named by then Pennsylvania Governor Francis Rawn Shunk as Warren County District Attorney, a post he'd continue to fill until 1848. In the following year, Scofield was elected to his first term in the Pennsylvania State House of Representatives and was re-elected to that body the following year. During his house service Scofield was mentioned in the 1887 History of Warren County as "one of its most effective debaters" and as a firm abolitionist, Scofield "never relinquished his early convictions in hostility to slavery."
  In the last part of the 1850s, Scofield continued his rise through the Pennsylvania political ranks, winning election to the state senate in November 1856. Taking office in January 1857, Scofield served in the Senate for three terms, the last of which concluded in 1860. Two years later he won the first of six elections to the U.S. House of Representatives, defeating  Democratic candidate Milton Courtwright by a vote of 9,954 to 9,462. 

                      Scofield as he looked early in his term in the U.S. House of Representatives. 

   Scofield's twelve years in Congress saw him serve on the Committees on Revisal and Unfinished Business, Indian Affairs, Elections and later chaired the Committee on Naval Affairs. For a good majority of his tenure, Scofield was aligned with the "radical" faction of the Republican Party, and he is noted as being a prime mover behind reconstruction legislation while in Congress and was also a strident advocate for racial equality and black voting rights. In numerous speeches on the House floor, Scofield made impassioned pleas on the subject, arguing that Congress should "awaken the hope and ambition of the whole race throughout the country" and that "the ignorant white people have been led to believe that the elevation of the Negro is the equivalent to their debasement. The reverse is true. The more we improve this unfortunate race, the more we improve our own."
  While Mr. Scofield was obviously a man of honor and good character, his sterling reputation took a hit in 1872 when it was discovered that he had involvement with Congressman Oakes Ames of Massachusetts, President of the Crédit Mobilier Company. Four years previously in 1868, Scofield had purchased Cedar Rapids stock bonds from Congressman Ames, who then suggested to Scofield that he purchase some stock in Crédit Mobilier. No contract was ever consummated between the two men, as Scofield later "disinclined to take the stock" and after a settlement was reached, he was recorded as taking "a thousand dollars Union Pacific bond and ten shares of Union Pacific stock." Obviously, this action was a miscalculation in judgment on Scofield's part, one which left a blemish on an otherwise sterling career in the public forum.

                          This article on Scofield's involvement in Credit Mobilier appeared in 1884.

  The Credit Mobilier scandal tarnished several political careers (including that of Vice President Schuyler Colfax) but Scofield (who declined to run for another term in the house in 1874) is mentioned as having "no interest in the Crédit Mobilier stock" after the settlement with Ames, and "derived no benefit therefrom."
  Despite the sting of Crédit Mobilier, Scofield's public career continued on the upswing after leaving Congress. After returning to Warren in 1875 he maintained a private law practice until 1878 when he was appointed by President Rutherford B. Hayes as Register of the U.S. Treasury, serving in this post until May 1881. Soon after leaving the post of registrar, Scofield was named by newly elected President James Garfield to a seat on the United States  Court of Claims. Scofield was confirmed and served on this court until July 29, 1891, when health concerns compelled him to resign.

                                  Scofield as he appeared in the 1887 History of Warren County.

   For the last month of his life Scofield is listed by his New York Times obituary as suffering from debilitating health problems, and in the week preceding his death suffered a paralytic stroke that confined him to his bed. He died from "heart trouble" on August 30, 1891, at age 74 at his home in Warren, and his funeral was held the following Tuesday at his home. He was memorialized in the Titusville Herald as a man "full of anecdote and reminisce", and that "his strong sense, his accessibility, his varied experience, his familiar acquaintance with statesmen and business of the departments of Washington made his counsel much sought for, and his influence was often exerted on behalf of his friends and constituents."

                          Scofield's obit as it appeared in the New York Times on August 31, 1891.

                             Another death notice for Scofield that appeared in the Watertown Daily Times.

   On October 10, 2o10 I visited Oakland Cemetery to photograph Scofield's gravesite, and after some tedious searching found his impressive monument overlooking a tree-lined hill towards the middle of the cemetery. On April 8th of this year, I returned to Oakland to photograph the gravesites of two other oddly named politicians buried here (Rasselas Brown and Lansing Ditmars Wetmore) and took the following pictures below!

   Buried in this plot are Judge Scofield, his wife, their children, and Warren pioneer Archibald Tanner (1786-1861), who was the father of Glenni's wife Laura. In the above picture, Glenni Scofield's headstone is third from left.

   
  Buried a few yards downhill from the Scofield impressive monument (which as you can see stands well over twenty feet tall) is the resting place of Judge Lansing Ditmars Wetmore (1818-1905) who served as Presiding Judge for Warren County's 37th district from 1874-1881. Congressman Carlton Brandaga Curtis (whom Scofield studied law under) is also buried here, although I wasn't able to find his gravesite!

    
  On either side of the Scofield monument are the names of the family members buried within the plot. Directly to the right of Glenni's inscription is his wife Laura's. Laura Tanner Scofield survived Glenni by nearly twenty years, dying at age 86 in 1909.

  
120 + years of wear and harsh weather have eaten away at the inscription, as you can see from the photo above. Algae is also quite prevalent on both the monument and Glenni's headstone, which is shown below.

                                                                                         "Glenni W. Scofield"

Uzziel Putnam Jr. (1826-1879), Uzziel Stevens Whitcomb (1817-1898)

Uzziel Putnam Jr. as he appeared in the History of Cass County, Michigan, published in 1882.

   Today's profile highlights the life and political career of  Uzziel Putnam Jr., an oddly named resident of Cass County, Michigan. Mr. Putnam is listed as being the "first white child born in Cass County" and throughout his short life served in several local political offices, later distinguishing himself as a member of both houses of the Michigan Legislature.

  Uzziel Putnam Jr. was born in the township of Pokagon, Michigan on August 12, 1826, the son of Uzziel Putnam Sr. (1793-1881) and his wife Anna Chapman (died 1880). Uzziel Sr. is noted as being one of the earliest settlers in Cass County and was also a veteran of the War of 1812, serving in the Pennsylvania militia. Uzziel Jr. received his education in the town of Niles, Michigan, and in 1849 began attending the University at Ann Arbor, graduating with honors in 1853.

  Soon after his graduation Putnam began pursuing the study of law, eventually reading law in Detroit. After being admitted to the Michigan bar in 1855 he established a law practice in Pokagon, but "soon abandoned it for the quiet home life upon the farm, to which he was accustomed and warmly attached." Putnam engaged in farming for the majority of his life, and in addition to farm work was also named to many local offices of public trust, serving at various times as School Inspector, Justice of the Peace, and Circuit Court Commissioner.

   In January 1862 Uzziel Putnam married Pokagon native Jane Clyborne, with whom he had three children, Adie (birthdate unknown), Mabel (born 1869), and Ira (birthdate unknown.) Jane Clyborne Putnam died aged 29 in 1871 and in 1875 Uzziel remarried to Lizzie Finch, with whom he had a fourth child, Hilda (born 1875.)

   In 1868 the citizens of Cass County elected Uzziel Putnam to the Michigan State House of Representatives, and the History of Cass County  makes note that the "higher offices in which he filled, like the humble ones, came to him unsought, simply through the recognition and the rewards of his manliness of character." Putnam took his seat in January 1869 and in the next year was elected to the State Senate, serving until 1872. A roster from the 1871 Senate session (bearing Putnam's name) is located below.

   Shortly after leaving the Senate Putnam was named by then Michigan Governor John Judson Bagley to a seat on the Michigan State Board of Charities and was reappointed to this board in 1877, serving until his death two years later. While serving on this board Putnam succeeded his father as President of the Cass County Pioneer Society, and as he was the first white child born in Cass County, it was said that he was "particularly suited" for this position, "not alone for the fact that he was the oldest native of the county, but because of the lively interest which he exhibited in all matters of early history and pioneer experience."

   Uzziel Putnam Jr. died at age 52 on February 10, 1879, and was interred at the Sumnerville Cemetery in Sumnerville, Michigan. Putnam was survived by both his mother, father, and second wife, and was memorialized in the 1882 History of Cass County as a man whose:

 "Character rested on a granite basis and sustained high public virtue and private integrity that nothing could corrupt. He has left streaming behind the bright effulgence of his character to illumine the way for others and to lighten and soothe the sorrows of bereavement. His life is his eulogy."

 A Michigan legislative resolution mentioning Uzziel Putnam's death in 1879.

   

  A few days after the above article on Uzziel Putnam was published, another politician was discovered who also has the same odd first name "Uzziel". Read on to find out more!

Uzziel S. Whitcomb as he appeared in "The Whitcomb Family In America", published in 1904.

  This oddly named politician is Uzziel Stevens Whitcomb, a longtime resident of Richmond, Vermont who served in both houses of the Vermont legislature. He was born in Richmond on January 21, 1817, the son of Thomas and Anna Stevens Whitcomb, and attended schools in the Richmond district.

  Whitcomb married in March 1842 to Ms. Marilla Sheldon, with whom he would have six children. Uzziel and his family relocated to Canada when he was in his twenties and later moved to California to take part in the ongoing gold rush there during the early 1850s. He eventually returned to Jericho, Vermont where he purchased a farm and resided here for nearly a decade, after which he returned to California for a time. 

   In 1864 Uzziel Whitcomb resettled in Richmond, Essex County, Vermont, and here purchased a farm. This farm eventually grew to over a thousand acres and was listed by the Genealogical and Family History of Vermont as "the largest farm in town." Whitcomb spent the majority of his life engaged in farming and "through industry, perseverance, and hard work, he succeeded in cultivating his land, so that it yielded him a large amount of profit."

   While farming was obviously Whitcomb's main means of earning a living, he also was a distinguished man of affairs in Richmond. He served as a deacon in the local Congregationalist church and was also elected as a town selectman on a number of occasions.  In November 1859 Whitcomb was elected to the Vermont State House of Representatives, where he ably represented the county of Chittenden for one term (1860-1861). Whitcomb was returned to the legislature in November 1865 and served another term from 1866 to 1867. A roster from that legislative session (bearing Whitcomb's name, along with the other Chittenden County representatives) has been posted below.

  After leaving the legislature in January 1868 Uzziel Whitcomb returned to his farming pursuits and spent time at his farm until 1881 when he was elected to the Vermont State Senate. Taking office in January 1882, Whitcomb was remarked as being the oldest senator serving in that session and held a seat on the committees on Federal Relations and the joint standing committee on Reform Schools.

  Whitcomb served one term in the Senate which concluded in 1884. He died in Richmond at age 82 on August 24, 1898, and was subsequently buried in the Riverview Cemetery in Richmond. His wife Marilla survived him by three years, dying in January 1901 at age 80, and was also interred at the Riverview Cemetery.

Memorable Walker Creagh (1817-1872)

                                    Creagh's name on a roster of Alabama State Representatives.

   Today we profile an infinitely obscure Alabama state representative with the unusual name of Memorable Walker Creagh. As you may have guessed, no picture of Memorable Creagh could be found for this article, and the information contained herein mainly comes from the only available biography on him (a small column in the History of Alabama and Dictionary of Alabama biography, Volume 3.)

  Creagh was born in South Carolina on July 4, 1817, and relocated to Alabama with his family in 1826. As a young man, he earned a degree in law in his native South Carolina. Later, Creagh earned a degree to practice medicine from a school in Philadelphia, but the book mentioned above states that he "never practiced either profession."

  Creagh inherited a large plantation from his father and with it, the plantation's slaves. This period also saw him enter politics. In 1849 he was elected to the Alabama state House of Representatives from Marengo County and was re-elected to another four-year term in 1853. It is mentioned that Creagh was an "old-line Whig" until that party's dissolution in the 1850s, and later switched political allegiance to the Democratic party. He was subsequently acknowledged as a "good speaker and had considerable influence on the floor of the house."

 On May 21, 1872, at age fifty-seven, Memorable Creagh died at his home in Demopolis, Alabama. He was later interred at the Riverside Cemetery in that city and was survived by his wife Willie Harris (Burton) Creagh (1927-1898) and two sons. 

Addendum--December 17, 2020

  Several years after the above article on Memorable Creagh was published here, a helpful blog reader posted a comments section link (that has since disappeared) regarding Creagh's connection to Matilda McCrear (ca.1857-1940), the last known survivor of the last American slave ship, the Clotilda. McRear (whose given name was Abake) was a member of the Yoruba tribe in modern-day West Africa, and as a two-year-old was captured and sold into slavery with her mother and sisters. 

  Transported to the United States aboard the Clotilda, Abake, her mother, and sister were purchased at a slave auction by Creagh, to work on his plantation in Marengo County. Upon their resettlement on Creagh's plantation, Abake's name was changed to Matilda. After the conclusion of the Civil War Matilda, her mother (having married a fellow Clotilde survivor), and stepfather moved to Athens, Alabama. Matilda's surname of Creagh (having been given by her former master) changed to McCrear, which was kept through the remainder of her life.

  Matilda McCrear had become the mother of three children by the late 1870s and later had a decades-long relationship with a German immigrant, with whom she had a further seven children. During a long life, McCrear sought compensation for her being enslaved while a child, a legal claim that was ultimately dismissed by the courts. McCrear lived long enough to be photographed and died in January 1940, being past eighty years of age. Through the efforts of modern historians, McCrear was revealed to be the last survivor of the Clotilde and was profiled in a February 2020 National Geographic article. Some months later, further facts on her life (as well as the history of Cudjo Lewis, a fellow Clotilde survivor) were featured on the History Channel webpage, which can be viewed in its entirety at the following link.