Death of Hon. Daniel S. Dickinson, April 1866

 Chenango American, Greene, NY, April 19, 1866

The people of the State will be startled by the announcement that the Hon. Daniel S. Dickinson died in New York last night.  The announcement comes without premonition, for we had not heard of his illness. As no man in the State was better known, and few men held in higher esteem, this intelligence will be received with universal sorrow.

Mr. Dickinson was a native of Connecticut, having been born in Goshen, Sept. 11, 1800.  He was, therefore, in his 66th year.  In 1806, his father removed to Chenango [County, NY], where the deceased, in the intervals of severe labors on the farm, received the simple rudiments of an English education.  He became in his early manhood an ardent politician and attached himself to the Democratic party.  His first office was that of constable, which led to his introduction to the law, and in 1826 he was admitted as an attorney, and very soon acquired a high place among the eminent lawyers of the State.

Mr. Dickinson has held the following offices:  Constable in 1826-7; Senator from 1836 to 1840; Lieutenant Governor in 1843-4; United States Senator from 1844 to 1851; Attorney General of the State 1861-2, and United States District Attorney, for the Southern District of New York at the time of his death.

While in the Senate, his commanding ability as a debater, gave him a prominent position, and his name is associated with every leading subject which has agitated the country during the past thirty years.  Until the formation of the Republican party, he was identified with the Democratic organization, and, in the divisions of that party, was known as a "hunker," or extreme conservative.  In 1844, he aided in the nomination of James K. Polk, for the Presidency, and ran as a Presidential Elector in his interest.  During the Slavery discussions, involved in the Kansas and other controversies, he cooperated with the South; and by his course, hastened the disruption of this party.  When General Cass was nominated, he supported him with all his great ability, and adhered to the conservative views of that wing of the Democracy, until the armed resistance of the South cast him into the ranks of the Republican party.

Mr. Dickinson was, on several occasions, pressed by his admirers for the Presidency; and in 1852, he received a flattering support in the National Convention. But he was defeated by the "barn burners" of his own party, headed by Gov.  Marcy, and Mr. Pierce was nominated and elected.  Mr. Pierce desired to make him Secretary of State; but Mr. Marcy was pressed as a competitor and succeeded.  To conciliate him, Mr. Dickinson was offered the lucrative position of Collector of the Port of New York; but he "spurned the bribe," and became instead, "The Sage of Binghamton"--the idol of a large and influential circle of friends, who admired his virtues, and were ready, on all occasions, to follow his lead.

During the war, no man was more earnest or effective in support of the Union.  He devoted himself, in every way, to the cause of the country; and the most brilliant orations of his life are among those he delivered in rallying the people to the support of the Government.

Socially, Mr. Dickinson was a man of most genial temper.  He was the life of every circle - an attractive conversationalist and full of humor.  As a public speaker, he was without a peer.  No man was ever liked better "on the stump," or spoke with more telling effect.  He was recognized as an able lawyer, and as a loving and faithful husband, father and friend.

Thus, one by one, are our eminent men passing away.  There are but few of Mr. Dickinson's contemporaries remaining in public life, and these, in the order of nature, will soon pass away, leaving to a new generation the work of carrying forward the nation in its career of greatness and glory.  Happy will it be for the Republic if they shall inherit the wisdom and earnest patriotism of their Fathers.  Albany Journal, 13th inst.

The Funeral

Binghamton [Broome Co., NY] April 15, The closing obsequies of the late Daniel S. Dickinson were concluded here this afternoon, from the home of deceased, in accordance with the rites of the Episcopal church, and was witnessed by upwards of six thousand people.  The body of the lamented Dickinson was deposited in a quiet little cemetery on the outskirts of the village, known as "Spring Grove."

Obituary

Suddenly, at the residence of his son-in-law, in New York City, on the 12th inst., the Hon. Daniel S. Dickinson departed this life.

One by one the great men of the nation pass away, and their firm footsteps are heard upon the busy walks of life no more forever; yet their example and their memory will endure in history until the latest period of time.  As surely as the rivers empty their contents into the sea, just so surely is life drifting onward to suddenly throw itself into the depths of eternity, and the great minds with the lesser, the proud and the humble, the rich and the poor, must fall at the end of their allotted race. When men die, who by every act of their lives have endeared themselves to an admiring people, it is meet that more than a passing notice be given to their memory; we should mourn and pray that others might come up to fill the place made vacant.  A Washington rose up, and during his life he created a name which will endure as long as America endureths, and the people call him the "Father" of his country.  A Clay and a Webster have lived, and by their eloquence in legislative halls, have been termed the "Nestors" of the American Senate.  Lincoln, the upright, the true and faithful defender of the liberty which Washington gave us to inherit through all time, fell a martyr, and he is embalmed in history as the "Preserver," of the land of his birth.

And now, at the head of this article, we record the decease of another public servant, whom the people have delighted to honor.  The death of Mr. Dickinson was sudden, but he was prepared through a well-ordered life to meet the summons.  As a public man, in Congress, in the State legislature, and in offices of minor importance, he has worked for the good of the whole people, abnegating self and localities, for he was too honest to benefit one man at the expense of another.  The people have lost an eloquent expounder of the law, and the country a faithful and efficient servant; but his family have lost more - a kind husband and father.