Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 5).djvu/459

Rh the leadership of that party. His influence was strongly exerted in favor of the formation of the Union, and during the administrations of Washington his power was very great. Not only was he chairman of the board of commissioners for Indian affairs, but in 1782 he was made surveyor-general of the state, and also a member of the council of appointment of New York. In December, 1788, he and Rufus King were chosen the first senators of New York, and he held that office from 4 March, 1789, till 3 March, 1791. Again, succeeding Aaron Burr, he filled the same office from 15 May, 1797, till 3 Jan.,1798, when a severe attack of the gout, from which he had been a life-long sufferer, compelled his resignation. For Schuyler may be claimed the paternity of the canal system of New York. As early as 1776 he made a calculation of the actual cost of a canal that should connect Hudson river with Lake Champlain. Later he was a strong advocate of the building of the canal between the Hudson and Lake Erie. He was one of the principal contributors to the code of laws that was adopted by the state of New York, and in 1784 was one of the subscribers to the funds for the building of Union college. His residence in Albany (shown in the illustration) for more than forty years was distinguished by its generous hospitality. There Baron Dieskau became convalescent after his capture, and there the remains of Lord Howe were conveyed after his untimely death at Ticonderoga. During the Revolutionary war the congressional commissioners to Canada—Benjamin Franklin, Samuel Chase, and Charles Carroll—were entertained at this residence in April, 1776. Later, Gen. Burgoyne and his suite made it their home while in Albany, and Lafayette was among the host of guests that partook of its hospitality. Gen. Schuyler was buried with military honors in the vault of Gen. Abraham Ten Broeck, but finally his remains were deposited in the Albany Rural cemetery, where, in 1871, a Doric column of Quincy granite, thirty-six feet in height, was erected to his memory. See &ldquo;The Life and Times of Philip Schuyler,&rdquo; by Benson J. Lossing (2 vols., New York, 1860–'2; enlarged ed., 1872).—His wife, Catherine Van Rensselaer, d. in Albany, 7 March, 1803, was the daughter of John Van Rensselaer, the great-grandson of Killian, the first patroon of Rensselaerwyck, and married Gen. Schuyler on 17 Sept., 1755. She was the mother of eleven children, of whom Elizabeth married Alexander Hamilton; and Margarita, Stephen Van Rensselaer, the patroon.—Philip's grandson, George Lee, b. in Rhinebeck, N.Y., 9 June, 1811; d. in New York city, 31 July, 1890. He married successively two granddaughters of Alexander Hamilton. Mr. Schuyler was active in yachting matters, and in 1882 the "America's" cup was returned to him, as its sole surviving donor, by the New York yacht club. He at once prepared a new deed of gift, gave it back to the club, to be held as a challenge-cup, and in 1887 was referee in the race between the "Thistle" and "Volunteer." Mr. Schuyler had taken interest in gathering memorials of his ancestors, and had published &ldquo;Correspondence and Remarks upon Bancroft's 'History of the Northern Campaign in 1877.' and the Character of Major-General Philip Schuyler&rdquo; (New York, 1867).

SCHWARTZ, Jacob, librarian, b. in New York city, 13 March, 1846. In 1863 he entered the Apprentices' library of New York, of which he became chief librarian in 1871. He has introduced in the institution his system of classification, which has since been adopted wholly or in part by various librarians. This system is a combination of the three fundamental systems—the classified, the alphabetical, and the numerical. The method of management that is followed there was also devised by him. Mr. Schwartz has contributed to the &ldquo;Library Journal&rdquo; and other periodicals.

SCHWATKA, Frederick, explorer, b. in Galena, Ill., 29 Sept., 1849; d. in Portland, Oregon, 2 Nov., 1892. After graduation at the U.S. military academy in 1871 he joined the army and served on garrison and frontier duty until 1877. He also studied law and medicine, and was admitted to the bar of Nebraska in 1875, and received his medical degree at Bellevue hospital medical college, New York, in 1876. On hearing the story of Capt. Thomas F. Barry, who, while on a whaling expedition in Repulse bay in 1871–'3, was visited by Esquimaux who described strangers that had travelled through that region several years before, and who had buried papers in a cavern, where silver spoons and other relics had been found, Lieut. Schwatka determined to search for traces of Sir John Franklin's party, and, obtaining leave of absence, fitted out an expedition. On 19 June, 1878, accompanied by William H. Gilder (q. v.) as second in command, he sailed in the &ldquo;Eothen&rdquo; for King William's Land. The party returned on 22 Sept., 1880, having discovered and buried many of the skeletons of Sir John Franklin's party, and removed much of the mystery of its fate. Lieut. Schwatka found the grave of Lieut. John Irving, 3d officer of the &ldquo;Terror,&rdquo; and, in addition to many interesting relics, a paper which was a copy of the Crozier record that was found in 1859 by Lieut. William R. Hobson, of Sir Leopold McClintock's expedition, and which contained two records, the latter, under date of 25 April, 1848, stating the death of Sir John Franklin on 7 June, 1847. This expedition was also marked by the longest sledge-journey on record—3,251 statute miles, during which a branch of Back's river was discovered, which Lieut. Schwatka named for President Hayes. Afterward he explored the course of the Yukon river in Alaska, and rejoined his regiment in July, 1884. In August of that year he resigned the commission of 1st lieutenant, 3d cavalry, to which he had been appointed in March, 1879. He commanded the New York &ldquo;Times&rdquo; Alaskan exploring expedition of 1886. Lieut. Schwatka had received the Roquette Arctic medal from the Geographical society of Paris, and a medal from the Imperial geographical society of Russia, and was an honorary member of the Geographical societies of Bremen, Geneva, and Rome. He is the author of &ldquo;Along Alaska's Great River&rdquo; (New York, 1885); &ldquo;Nimrod in the North&rdquo; (1885); and &ldquo;The Children of the Cold&rdquo; (1886). See &ldquo;Schwatka's Search,&rdquo; by Col. William H. Gilder (New York, 1881): &ldquo;The Franklin Search under Lieut. Schwatka&rdquo; (Edinburgh and London, 1881); and &ldquo;Als Eskimo unter den Eskimo,&rdquo; by Henry Klutschak (Leipsic, 1881).