Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 5).djvu/479

Rh attacked by thorn during his absence in the legis- lature. He was an active member of the Ma-si- chusetts convention that ratified the constitution of the United States in 17SX. In 17S9 he was elected to congress, of which he remained a representative by successive elections till March, 1790, when he was elected to the U. S. senate. He served in this body for three years, and was president pro tempore in 1797. In 1799 he was again elected to the house of representatives, and was chosen its speaker. In 1X02 he was appointed a judge of the supreme court of Massachusetts, which office he held till his death. Soon after the adoption of the Massa- chusetts constitution Elizabeth Freeman, a negro slave of great force of character and intelligence, having fled from her master in consequence of cruel treatment, Judge Sedgwick defended her from the hitter's suit to recover his slave. The court pronounced her free, thus making the earli- est practical application, so far as known, of the declaration of the Massachusetts bill of rights, that all men are born free and equal." He was an active member of the old Federal party, and an intimate associate of many of its leaders. His ju- dicial opinions were remarkable for clearness of expression and elegance of diction. He was a member of the American academy of arts and sci- ences, and in 1799 received the degree of LL. D. from -Princeton. His eldest son, Theodore, law- yer, b. in Sheffield, Mass., 31 Dec., 1780 ; d. in Pitts- field, Mass., 7 Nov., 1839, was graduated at Yale in 1798, studied law with his father, was admit- ted to the bar in 1801, and practised at Albany till 1821, when he removed to Stockbridge, Mass., owing to impaired health, and retired from the active practice of his profession. He afterward interested himself in agriculture, was repeatedly chosen president of the Agricultural society of the county, was a member of the legislature in 1824, 1825, and 1827, and in the last year carried through a bill for the construction of a railroad across the mountains from Boston to Albany, which had been generally regarded as a chimerical scheme. He was t'c >r a series of years the unsuccessful candidate of the Democratic party for lieutenant-governor. He was an earnest advocate of free-trade and tem- perance, and an opponent of slavery. His death resulted from a stroke of apoplexy, which occurred at the close of an address to the Democratic citi- zens of Pittsfield. He published " Hints to my Countrymen " (1826) : " Public and Private Econ- omy, illustrated by Observations made in Europe in 1836-'7" (3 vols., New York. 1838); and ad- div <es to the Berkshire agricultural association (1823 and 1830). His wife, Susan Ridley, author, b. about 1789 ; d. in Stoekbridge, Mass., in 1867. was a granddaughter of Gov. William Livingston, of New Jersey, and the author of ''Morals of Pleas- ure " (Philadelphia, 1829) ; " The Young Emi- grants " (Boston, 1830) : " Allen Prescott " (2 vols., New York, 1835); "Alida. or Town or Country" ( 1 X44) ; and " Walter Thornley " (1859). The Sedg- wick mansion at Stockbridge is seen in the illus- tration on page 452. Henry Dwi^lit, second son of the first Theodore, author, b. in Sheffield, Mass., in 1785; d. in Stockbridge, Mass., 23 Dec.. 1831, was graduated at Williams college in 1804. and became an eminent member of the New York bar. He contributed to the " North American Review " and other journals, and published an "Appeal to the City of New York on the Proposed Alteration of its Charter." His "English Practice of the Common Law " (New York. 1822) was an argu- ment against the complexity and absurdity of that system which was one of the first suggestions of the code of civil procedure afterward adopted by the state of New York. He was an ardent op- ponent of slavery and an advocate of free-trade, in support of which he published numerous pa- pers, including a series of forty-seven articles in the " Banner of the Constitution." Mr. Sedgwick was instrumental in persuading William Cullen Bryant to remove to New York, and was one of the first to appreciate his talents. During the struggle of the Greeks for independence two frig- ates that had been built for them in this coun- try were detained to answer exorbitant charges for their construction. Through the exertions of Mr. Sedgwick and his associate counsel one of the ships was discharged from attachment and sent to Greece. His death was caused by paralysis, brought on by his efforts in this litigation. His " Refuta- tion of the Reasons in the Award in the Case of the Two Greek Frigates " was subsequently published (1826). The first Theodore's daughter, 'Catherine Maria, author, b. in Stockbridge, Mass., 28 Dec., 1789; d. near Roxbury, Mass., 31 July. 1867, re- ceived an excel- lent education, and, on her fa- ther's death in 1813, undertook the management of a private school for young ladies, and con- tinued it for fifty years. Her broth- ers Theodore and Henry encour- aged the develop- ment of her pow- ers. Miss Sedg- wick's first work of fiction, "A New England Tale," appeared anony- mously (New York. 1822: last ed., with "Miscellanies," 1856). and its very favorable reception encouraged her to prosecute authorship. "Redwood " followed (2 vols., 1824). also anonymous. It was reprinted in England, and translated into four European languages, the French translator erroneously attributing the authorship to James Fenimore Cooper. "The Traveller" appeared next (1825) ; " Hope Leslie, or Early Times in Massachusetts " (2 vols., 1827) ; " Clarence, a Tale of our Own Times " (2 vols., Philadelphia, 1830) ; " Le Bossu." one of the " Tales of the Glauber Spa " (1832) ; and " The Linwoods, or Sixty Years Since in America " (2 vols., 1835). This was the last, and by many is thought to be the best, of her novels. That year she also published a collection of her "Sketches and Tales " from the magazines. She next issued a series of papers illustrative of common every-day life, and inculcating moral lessons, under the title of " The Poor Rich Man and the Rich Poor Man " (New York, 1836), in 1837 " Live and Let Live," and in 1838 " A Love-Token for Children " and " Means and Ends, or Self-Training." In the spring of 1839 she visited Europe, travelling for a year, and conveying her impressions in " Letters from Abroad to Kindred at Home," which were published after her return (2 vols., 1841). These were followed that same year by " Historical Sketches of the Old Painters "and biographies of the sisters " Lucretia and Margaret Davidson." Among her other works are "Wilton Harvey, and Other Tales " (1845) ; " Morals of Manners " (1846) ; " Facts