Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1889, volume 6).djvu/339

Rh prosecuting attorney of Ashtabula county, which office he held till 1837. In that year he was chosen as a Whig to the state senate,. where, as a member of the judiciary committee, he presented a report that put an end to the granting of di- vorces by the legisla- ture. In 1839 he was active in opposition to the passage of a more stringent fugi- tive-slave law, which commissioners from Kentucky were urg- ing on the legislature. The law passed, but his forcible speech against it did much to arouse state pride on the subject and to make it a dead letter. His action cost him his re-election to the senate, but he was chosen again in 1841. In February, 1847, he was elected by the legislature president-judge of the 3d judicial district, and while on the bench he was chosen, on 15 March, 1851, to the U. S. sen- ate, where he remained till 1869. He soon be- came known as a leader of the small anti-slavery minority, advocated the homestead bill and the repeal of the fugitive-slave law, and opposed the Kansas-Nebraska bill of 1854, the admission of Kansas under the Lecompton constitution of 1858, and the purchase of Cuba. After the assault on Charles Sumner, Robert Toombs avowed in the senate that he had witnessed the attack, and ap- proved it, whereupon Mr. Wade, in a speech of great vehemence, threw down the gage of personal combat to the southern senators. It was expected that there would be an immediate challenge from Toombs, but the latter soon made peace. Subse- quently Mr. Wade, Zachariah Chandler, and Simon Cameron made a compact to resent any insult from a southerner by a challenge to fight. This agreement was made public many years afterward. Wade was present at the battle of Bull Run with other congressmen in a carriage, and it is related that after the defeat seven of them alighted, at Wade's proposal, being armed with revolvers, and for a quarter of an hour kept back the stream of fugitives near Fairfax Court-House. This incident, as narrated in the journals, made a sensation at the time. Mr. Wade labored earnestly for a vigor- ous prosecution of the war, was the chairman and foremost spirit of the joint committee on the con- duct of the war in 1861-2, and was active in urg- ing the passage of a confiscation bill. As chair- man of the committee on territories, he reported a bill in 1862 to abolish slavery in all the terri- tories. He was instrumental in the advancement to the portfolio of war of Edwin M. Stanton, whom he recommended strongly to President Lincoln. Though he cordially supported the administration, he did not hesitate to criticise many of its acts, and after the adjournment of the 38th congress he issued, with Henry Winter Davis, what became known as the Wade-Davis manifesto, condemning the president's proposed reconstruction policy. Mr. Wade became president pro tempore of the senate, and thus acting vice-president of the United States, on 2 March, 1867, succeeding La- fayette S. Foster. He advised President Johnson to put on trial for treason a few of the Confeder- ate leaders and pardon the rest, and was radical in his ideas of reconstruction. In the impeachment of President Johnson he voted for conviction. In 1869, at the close of his second term, he was suc- ceeded in the senate by Allen G. Thurman, and he then returned to his home in Jefferson, Ohio. He was one of the chief members of the Santo Domingo commission in 1871, and then became attorney for the Northern Pacific railroad. He was chairman of the Ohio delegation in the Cincinnati national convention of 1876, and earnestly advocated the nomination of Rutherford B. Hayes, but after his accession to the presidency Mr. Wade bitterly con- demned his course in relation to the southern states. Though Mr. Wade had been called " Frank Wade" in Ohio, from his middle name, he was known in congress and throughout the country as Ben or " Old Ben " Wade. He was popularly looked upon as one of the bulwarks of the National cause in the darkest hours of the civil war, and was widely admired and respected for his fearless- ness, independence, and honesty. His rugged and forcible style of oratory always commanded atten- tion. See his " Life," by Albert Gr. Riddle (Cleve- land, Ohio, 1888). — His son, James Franklin, en- tered the army on 14 May, 1861, as 1st lieutenant of the 6th U. S. cavalry, and rose in rank till at the close of the war he was major and brevet brigadier-general of volunteers. He became lieu- tenant-colonel on 20 March, 1879, and colonel of the 5th cavalry on 21 April, 1887.

WADE, Melancthon Smith, merchant, b. in Cincinnati, Ohio, 2 Dec, 1802 ; d. in Avondale, near Cincinnati, Ohio, 11 Aug., 1868. His father, David E. Wade, removed to Ohio from New Jer- sey in 1789. The son was educated in his native place, and became a dry-goods merchant, but re- tired from business in 1840. He was active in militia matters, holding successively the offices of captain, colonel, and brigadier-general, and on 1 Oct., 1861, was commissioned a brigadier-general of U. S. volunteers. He was the first post-com- mander of Camp Dennison, Ohio, but resigned from the army, 18 March, 1862, on account of feeble health. He devoted his leisure to the culti- vation of fruit, and was an active member of the Cincinnati horticultural society.

WADHAMS, Edgar Philip, R. C. bishop, b. in Lewis, Essex co., N. x„ 21 May, 1817. His parents were Protestants, and destined him for the ministry of the Episcopal church. After studying at Mid- dlebury college, Vt., he was gradu- ated at the Gen- eral theological seminary, New York city, receiv- ed deacon's or- ders, and was sta- tioned for some time near Port Henry. He was received into the Roman Catholic church in June, 1846, entered St. Mary's seminary, Baltimore, immediately afterward, to prepare for the priesthood, and was ordained on 15 Jan., 1850. He was appointed assistant at the cathedral of Albany, and continued in this post till 1865, when he was appointed pastor of the cathedral and vicar-