McKinley, Roosevelt, and Taft, was born in Ayrshire, Scotland. He was
Regent of Iowa State University, and in 1891 was elected to the chair
of Practical Agriculture in the College of Agriculture and Director of
the State Experiment Stations. He was wonderfully successful in the
expansion and administration of the "most useful public department in
the world."
LABOR. William Bauchop Wilson, born in Blantyre, near Glasgow,
Scotland, in 1862, Secretary-Treasurer of the United Mine Workers of
America (1900-09); Member of Congress (1907-13), and Chairman of the
Committee on Labor in the sixty-second Congress, Secretary of Labor
(1913).
POSTMASTER-GENERAL. The first postal service in the Colonies was
organized by Andrew Hamilton, a native of Edinburgh, who obtained a
patent for a postal scheme from the British Crown in 1694. A memorial
stone on the southwest corner of the New York Post Office at
Thirty-third Street commemorates the fact. John Maclean (1785-1861),
Postmaster-General from 1823 to 1829, was later Associate Justice of
the United States Supreme Court of Ohio, and unsuccessful candidate
for the Republican nomination for President in 1856 and again in 1860.
He took part in the famous Dred Scott case, in which he dissented from
Taney, maintaining that slavery had its origin merely in power and was
against right. James Campbell (1812-93), of Ulster Scot parentage,
Postmaster-General in the cabinet of President Pierce, made a record
by reducing the rate of postage and introducing the registry system.
Montgomery Blair (1813-83) was Postmaster-General in the cabinet of
President Lincoln. Adlai Ewing Stevenson, Assistant
Postmaster-General, later became Vice-President.
SCOTS IN THE SENATE
John Ewing Colhoun (1749-1802), Member of State Legislature of South
Carolina and Senator from the same state (1801), was of the same
family as John C. Calhoun. George Logan (1753-1821), a man of high
scientific attainments, grandson of James Logan, Quaker Governor of
Pennsylvania, went to France in 1798 with the design of averting war
with that country, Senator from Pennsylvania (1801-07). John
Rutherfurd (1760-1840) was grandson of Sir John Rutherfurd of
Edgerston, Scotland. James Brown (1766-1835), Senator and
Minister-Plenipotentiary to France, was of Scottish descent. Jacob
Burnet (1770-1853), Jurist and Senator, was the grandson of a Scot.
His father, William Burnet (1730-91), was a skilful physician and
Member of Congress. John Leeds Kerr (1780-1844), lawyer and Senator,
was the son of James Kerr of Monreith. Alexander Campbell (1779-1857),
Senator, was of Argyllshire descent. Walter Lowrie (1784-1868),
Senator (1819-35) and thereafter Secretary of the Senate for twelve
years, was born in Edinburgh. His four sons all became prominent in
law and theology. Simon Cameron (1799-1889), grandson of a Cameron who
fought at Culloden. His ancestor emigrated to America soon after the
'45 and fought tinder Wolfe against the French at Quebec. Simon
Cameron was also for a time Secretary of War in Lincoln's Cabinet and
Minister to Russia. He named his residence at Harrisburg "Lochiel."
His brother James was Colonel of the New York Volunteers, the 79th
Highlanders, in the Civil War. James Donald Cameron (b. 1833), son of
Simon Cameron, was President of the Northern Central Railroad of
Pennsylvania (1863-74), Secretary of War Under General Grant, and
Senator from Pennsylvania. Charles E. Stuart (1810-87), Lawyer and
Senator, was a descendant of Daniel Stuart who came to America before
1680. Stephen Arnold Douglas (1813-61), Senator and unsuccessful
candidate of the Democratic party for the Presidency in 1860, was of
Scottish origin. Joseph Ewing MacDonald (1819-91), who held a foremost
place among constitutional lawyers and was Democratic candidate for
Governor of Indiana in 1864, was of Scottish ancestry. Francis
Montgomery Blair (1821-75), a descendant of Commissary Blair of
Virginia, was Senator from Missouri (1871-73), and Democratic
candidate for Vice-President in 1868. James Burnie Beck (1822-90),
born in Dumfriesshire, was Member of Congress (1867-75) and Senator
from 1876 to 1890. He served on many important committees. Joseph
McIlvaine (1765-1826), United States Senator from 1823 to 1826, was
grandson of a Scot. His father fought on the Colonial side in the
Revolution. Randall Lee Gibson (1822-92), of Scottish ancestry,
Major-General in the Confederate Army during the Civil War, was United
States Senator from Louisiana from 1883 till his death. His
grandfather, Randall Gibson, was one of the founders of Jefferson
College, Mississippi. John Brown Gordon (1832-1904),
Lieutenant-General in the Confederate Army, thirty-fifth Governor of
Georgia and United States Senator, was grandson of a Scot. Marcus
Alonzo Hanna (1837-1904) was also partly Scottish descent. Calvin
Stewart Brice (1845-1898), Chairman of the Democratic Campaign
Committee (1888) and Senator from Ohio (1891-97), claimed descent from
Bruce of Kinnaird. Daniel Hugh McMillan (b. 1846), was much identified
with the welfare of Buffalo. His grandfather was "John the Upright,"
arbiter of the Hollanders of the Mohawk Valley during the latter part
of the eighteenth century. Alexander McDonald (d. 1903), Senator from
Arkansas (1868-71), was the son of John McDonald who came to the
United States in 1827, and was one of the first to discover and
develop bituminous coal mines on the west branch of the Susquehanna
River in Pennsylvania. John Lendrum Mitchell (1842-1904), grandson of
John Mitchell, farmer of Aberdeenshire, was State Senator of
Wisconsin, Member of Congress from Wisconsin (1891-93), and Senator
from the same state (1893-99), was also noted as a capitalist. Samuel
James Renwick MacMillan (d. 1897), Chairman of the Committee of
Commerce, was of Covenanting descent.
SCOTS IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Only a very few names of Members of Congress of Scottish birth of
descent can be dealt with here. Some additional names will be found in
other sections of this work. William Houston (b. about 1755), son of
Sir Patrick Houston, was a Member of the Continental Congress. John
Morin Scott (1730-84), grandson of the second son of Sir John Scott of
Ancrum was Brigadier-General of New York State troops at the Battle of
Long Island and Member of Congress from 1779 to 1783. William Burnet
(1730-91), of Scottish parentage, physician and Member of Congress.
Among his sons the following are worthy of notice: Dr. William Burnet
of New Jersey, Major Ichabod Burnet of Georgia, Jacob Burnet, pioneer
of Ohio, and David G. Burnet, Provisional President of the Republic of
Texas. William Crawford (1760-1823), Member of Congress from 1809 to
1817, was born in Paisley. William Fitzhugh Gordon (1787-1858), Member
from Virginia (1829-35), of Scottish descent, is said to have been the
originator of the Sub-Treasury system. The town of Gordonsville,
Virginia, was named after him or after his family. Leonidas Felix
Livingston (b. 1832), grandson of Adam Livingston from Scotland, who
served in the Revolutionary War, was a Member of the Georgia
Legislature and Member of Congress. John Louis Macdonald (b. 1838),
newspaper editor, State Senator, etc., was born in Glasgow. James
Buchanan (b. 1839) of Scottish descent, was Member from New Jersey to
49th, 50th, 51st and 52nd Congress. David Bremner Henderson
(1840-1906), born at Old Deer, Aberdeenshire, served in the Civil War
and lost a leg at Corinth, was Member from Iowa (1880-99), and Speaker
of the House of Representatives (1899-1906). William Grant Laidlaw,
born near Jedburgh, Scotland, in 1840, served in the Civil War and was
Member of Congress from 1887 to 1891. John Edgar Reyburn (b. 1845),
Member State Senate of Pennsylvania, Member of Congress 1890-1907; and
James Fleming Stewart (1851-1904), were both of Scottish descent.
SCOTS IN THE JUDICIARY
As with the medical and theological professions the legal has shared
the dominating influence of Scotland, and indeed it is perhaps not too
much to say that much of the distinctive character of American
jurisprudence is due to the influence of men of Scottish blood at the
bench and bar. The second Chief Justice of the United States Supreme
Court (John Rutledge) and two of the four original Associate Justices,
Blair and Wilson, were of Scottish origin. The mother of John
Marshall, the great Chief Justice, was of Scottish origin (Keith). Of
fifty judges of the United States Supreme Court from 1789 to 1882, at
least fifteen were of Scottish birth or descent. We have space here to
deal with only a selection of the most prominent names.
Andrew Kirkpatrick (1756-1831), Chief Justice of New Jersey for
twenty-one years, whose "decisions especially those on realty matters,
show a depth of research, a power of discrimination, and a justness of
reasoning which entitle him to rank among the first American jurists,"
was of Scottish parentage, descended from the Kirkpatricks of
Dumfriesshire. His son, also named Andrew, was President Judge of the
Court of Common Pleas of Essex County (1885-96) and United States
District Judge (1896-1904). George Robertson (1790-1874), Chief
Justice of Kentucky (1829-43), "whose name stands first in the list of
great men who have occupied and adorned the Appellate bench of
Kentucky," and who declined the offer of the governorship of Arkansas,
was of Scottish ancestry. Robert Cooper Grier (1794-1870), Associate
Justice of the Superior Court of Connecticut (1846-70) was of same
origin. Eugenius Aristides Nisbet (1803-71), descended from Murdoch
Nisbet, a Lollard of Kyle, after a brilliant career in the state
legislature became Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia.
Thomas Todd (1765-1826), Associate Justice of the Supreme Court
(1807-26). The first Chief Justice of Delaware, William Killen
(1722-1805), was born in the north of Ireland of Scottish parentage.
John J. Milligan (1795-1875), grandson of a Scottish emigrant from
Ayrshire, was Associate Justice of Delaware, and refused, on account
of ill health, the portfolio of Secretary of the Interior in the
cabinet of President Fillimore. Ellis Lewis (1798-1871), Chief
Justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania (1855-57) was of Scottish
descent. Alexander Addison (1759-1807), born in Scotland, became
President Judge of the fifth judicial district of Pennsylvania under
the constitution of 1770. Robert Hunter Morris, Lieutenant-Governor of
Pennsylvania, was Chief Justice of New Jersey for twenty-one years.
John McLean (1785-1861), Associate Justice, is noticed under Scots in
the Presidential Cabinet; and William Paterson, Associate Justice
(1793-1806), is mentioned under Colonial Governors. Samuel Nelson
(1792-1873), Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, was of Ulster
Scot descent. "His decisions have stood the test of time and the
searching analysis of the most able lawyers." Thomas Douglas
(1790-1853), first Chief Justice of Florida, was of Scots ancestry.
William Wallace Campbell (1806-81), great-grandson of an Ulster Scot,
was distinguished as a jurist and as a historian of New York State. He
was author of _Annals of Tryon County_ (1831), _Border Warfare of New
York_ (1849), _Life and Writings of De Witt Clinton_ (1849), etc.
During a visit to Scotland in 1848 he was elected an honorary member
of the Clan Campbell at a great gathering at Inveraray. Thomas
Drummond (1809-90), grandson of a Scot from Falkirk, was Justice of
the Illinois Supreme Court. John Archibald Campbell (1811-89),
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court (1853-61), was Assistant
Secretary of War in the Confederate Cabinet, and in 1865 took part in
the "Hampton Roads Conference." John Wallace Houston (1841-95),
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Delaware, was of Scots
descent. His ancestors first settled in New York city, and Houston
Street is named after one of them. Other Associate Justices of
Delaware of Scottish descent are Charles Mason Cullen (1829-1903), and
George Gray (b. 1840), Attorney-General (1879-85), United States
Senator, Member of the Russo-Japanese Peace Commission of 1898, and
Member of the Anthracite Coal Strike Commission of 1902. James
Gilfillan (1829-94), born at Bannockburn, Stirlingshire, "a profound
scholar, and as a jurist was distinguished for his ability, firmness,
and absolute impartiality." William Joseph Robertson (1817-98), born
in Virginia of Scottish parents, was Judge of the Supreme Court of
Virginia and Judge of the Supreme Court of Appeals (1859). Thomas
Sloan Bell (1800-61), of Scottish parentage, became President Judge of
the Judicial District of the counties of Wayne, Pike, Carbon, and
Monroe, in Pennsylvania, in 1855, and held many other important
positions. Samuel Dana Bell, son of Samuel Bell, Governor of New
Hampshire, was Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of New Hampshire
(1859-64). Matthew Hall McAllister (1800-65), for several years Mayor
of Savannah, Georgia, afterwards United States Circuit Judge of
California, LL.D. of Columbia University, was of Scottish ancestry.
Thomas Ewing (1829-96), son of Thomas Ewing, Secretary of the
Treasury, at the age of twenty-nine was elected first Chief Justice of
the Supreme Court of Ohio. During the Civil War he took a conspicuous
part and rose to the rank of General. William Harper (1790-1847), born
in Antigua, Leeward Islands, of Scottish parents, was Chancellor of
the University of South Carolina (1828-30, 1835-47) and Judge of the
Court of Appeals of South Carolina (1830-35). John Bannister Gibson
(1780-1853), Chief Justice of Pennsylvania, was of Ulster Scot
descent. Harry Innes (1752-1816), of Scottish parentage, was one of
the Commissioners appointed to draft a constitution for Kentucky,
being chosen by Washington because of his integrity. He was also
appointed first Chief Justice of Kentucky but declined the office.
John Buchanan (1772-1844), of Scottish ancestry, was Chief Justice of
Maryland, and Chief Justice of the Court of Appeals for thirty-seven
years. His brother, Thomas, was associated with him on the bench.
David Torrance (1840-1906), Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of
Connecticut, was born in Edinburgh.
SCOTS AS AMBASSADORS
Some of those who have represented this country at foreign courts
previously held office in the Cabinet or were Members of the Senate
are noted under these headings:
John Graham (1774-1820), Minister-Plenipotentiary to Brazil (1819),
was brother of George Graham, Acting Secretary of War in the cabinets
of Madison and Monroe. Charles Johnston McCurdy (b. 1797), of Ulster
Scot descent, was Minister to Austria (1851-52) and Justice of the
Supreme Court. Miller Grieve (1801-78), born in Edinburgh,
Representative in the Georgia Legislature, Chairman of Board of
Trustees of Oglethorpe University, was Chargé d'Affaires at
Copenhagen. William Hunter (1774-1849), of Scottish parentage, a
scholar and linguist, United States Senator from Rhode Island
(1812-20), was Minister-Plenipotentiary to Brazil in 1834. William
Bradford Reed (1806-76) was Envoy-Extraordinary and
Minister-Plenipotentiary to China. Lewis Davis Campbell (1811-82),
Chairman Ways and Means Committee in the thirty-fourth Congress, was
United States Minister to Mexico. Robert Milligan McLane (1815-98),
son of Allen McLane, was United States Minister to China (1853-55),
Mexico (1859-60), and France (1885-88). John M. Forbes (d. 1831),
descendant of the Scottish family of Forbes, was Secretary of Legation
to Buenos Ayres (1823) and Chargé d'Affaires (1825-31). James Hepburn
Campbell (1820-95) Member of Congress and Minister to Sweden and
Norway (1864-67). John Adam Kasson (1822-1910), descendant of Adam
Kasson (1721) from Argyllshire, had a distinguished career, the list
of honors held by him is long. Whitelaw Reid (1837-1912), one of the
half dozen most distinguished representatives of this country abroad
was of Scottish descent on both sides. Wayne MacVeagh (b. 1833), of
Scottish origin, was United States Minister to Turkey (1870-71),
Ambassador to Italy (1893-97), and was also Attorney-General under
President Garfield. Thomas Barker Ferguson (b. 1841), diplomat and
inventor, was great-grandson of James Ferguson who emigrated from
Scotland at end of seventeenth century. He was Commissioner of Fish
and Fisheries (1878-87), Envoy-Extraordinary and
Minister-Plenipotentiary to Sweden and Norway (1893-97), etc. His
grandfather was a Member of the South Carolina Provincial Legislature
and Member of the Council of Safety. Whiteside Godfrey Hunter, born in
Londonderry in 1841, of Scottish ancestry, was a Member of Congress
and Envoy-Extraordinary and Minister-Plenipotentiary to Guatemala and
Honduras. Richard Renshaw Neill (b. 1845), was Secretary of United
States Legation at Lima, Peru, and has been Chargé d'Affaires there
eight different times. Hugh Anderson Dinsmore (b. 1850), of Ulster
Scot origin, was Minister Resident and Consul General in Corea
(1887-90) and later Member of Congress (1892-1906). John Wallace
Riddle (b. 1864), held several diplomatic posts culminating in
becoming Ambassador to Russia (1906-09). Thomas Cleland Dawson (b.
1865), son of a native of Clackmannan, was Secretary of the American
Legation to Brazil (1897-1904), Minister Resident and Consul General
to Santo Domingo (1904), and author of "South American Republics," a
standard work (2 v. 1903-4). George Brinton McClellan Harvey the
present Ambassador to Great Britain is descended from Stuart Harvey
who came from Scotland in 1820.
SCOTS AS STATE GOVERNORS
MAINE. Robert Pinckney Dunlap (1794-1859), eighth governor, and Hugh
Johnston Anderson (1801-81), fourteenth Governor (1844-47), were of
Ulster Scot descent. Abner Coburn (1803-85), twenty-fourth Governor,
was also most probably of Scottish or Ulster Scot descent.
NEW HAMPSHIRE. Jeremiah Smith, fourth Governor (1809-10), was of
Ulster Scot parentage. His son, of the same name, was an Associate
Justice of the Supreme Court of the state. Samuel Bell (1770-1850), a
descendant of one of the Ulster Scot settlers of 1718, was three times
elected Governor (1819-23) with little or no opposition. John Bell
(1765-1836), his brother, was thirteenth Governor (1828-29). Joseph
Merrill Harper (1789-1865), who served as acting Governor in 1831, was
of Ulster Scot descent. Samuel Dinsmoor (1766-1835), sixteenth
Governor (1831-33), a distinguished factor in the history of his
state, was of Ulster Scot descent on both sides. His eldest son
(1799-1869), also named Samuel, served as twenty-fourth Governor
(1849-52). Noah Martin (1801-63), of Ulster Scot descent on both
sides, was the twenty-fifth Governor. Charles Henry Bell (1823-93),
son of Governor John Bell, was forty-first Governor of the state. John
Butler Smith, forty-seventh Governor (1893-95), was a descendant of
one of the settlers of 1718. John McLane (1852-1911) fifty-seventh
Governor (1905-06), was born in Lennoxtown, Scotland. He was host at
the Russian-Japanese Conference at Portsmouth.
VERMONT. Charles James Bell, fiftieth Governor (1905), was descended
from one of the Londonderry, N.H., settlers of 1718. John Wolcott
Stewart, thirty-third Governor (1870-72), was descended from Robert
Stewart who went from Edinburgh to Londonderry, Ireland, and whose son
was one of those who emigrated from there to Londonderry, N.H., in
1718. His grandfather fought in the Revolutionary War.
MASSACHUSETTS. William Claflin (1818-1905), twenty-third Governor, was
a descendant of one of the Scots prisoners taken at the battle of
Dunbar in 1650.
RHODE ISLAND. General Ambrose E. Burnside (1824-81), Governor
(1867-69). William Gregory (1849-1901), forty-second Governor
(1900-01), was of direct Scottish descent.
CONNECTICUT. George Payne McLean, forty-first Governor (1901-03), was
of Scottish descent.
DELAWARE. Charles Polk (1788-1857), thirteenth Governor (1827-30), and
President of the Constitutional Convention of his state in 1831, was
of Ulster Scot descent. John P. Cochran (1809-98), twenty-sixth
Governor (1875-79), was of the same origin.
PENNSYLVANIA. Thomas McKean, Governor (1799-1808), is already noticed
under Signers of the Declaration of Independence. William Findlay
(1768-1846), fourth Governor (1817-20), of Ulster Scot descent, was
also United States Senator and Treasurer of the Mint at Philadelphia.
William Freame Johnston (1802-72), Governor from 1848 to 1852, was of
Scottish parentage. He did much to develop the oil region of
Pennsylvania, and was also President of the Allegheny Valley Railroad.
James Pollock (1810-90), Governor (1855-58). It was through his
efforts that "In God we trust" was placed on the coinage. John White
Geary (1819-73), Governor from 1867 to 1873, was of Ulster Scot
descent.
MARYLAND. John Francis Mercer (1759-1821), eleventh Governor
(1801-03), was a descendant of the Mercers of Aldie, Perthshire.
Robert Bowie (1749-1818), twelfth and fifteenth Governor (1803-06,
1811-12), and Robert Milligan McLane (1815-98), forty-second Governor
(1884-85), were of direct Scottish descent. Frank Brown, forty-fifth
Governor (1892-96), was descended from Abel Brown who emigrated from
Dumfries, c. 1730.
VIRGINIA. James Barbour (1776-1842) was eleventh Governor (1812-14).
Barbour County, Florida, was named in his honor. David Campbell
(1779-1859), twenty-first Governor (1837-40), was of Scottish descent
on both sides. Thomas Walker Gilmer (1802-44), twenty-second Governor
(1840-41) was a descendant of the Scottish physician, Dr. George
Gilmer. John Mercer Patton (1797-1858), Lieutenant-Governor and acting
Governor (1841), was son of Robert Patton who emigrated from Scotland.
His mother was a daughter of Gen. Hugh Mercer. John Rutherford
(1792-1865), twenty-third Governor (1841-42), was most probably of
Scottish descent. William Ewan Cameron, thirty-sixth Governor
(1882-86) descended from the Rev. John Cameron, a graduate of Aberdeen
University, who came to America, c. 1770. Henry Carter Stuart (b.
1855), Governor (1914-18), descended from Archibald Stuart who fled
from Scotland for political reasons and settled in Virginia in 1726.
WEST VIRGINIA. William Erskine Stevenson (1820-1883), second Governor
(1869-71) was born of Ulster Scot parentage. William Alexander Mac
Corkle (b. 1857), eighth Governor (1893-97) is of Scottish descent.
His grandfathers, Captain John MacCorkle and Captain John McNutt, fell
at the battle of Cowpens, 1781.
NORTH CAROLINA. Nathaniel Alexander (1756-1808), thirteenth Governor
(1805-07), was of Scottish descent. William Alexander Graham
(1804-75), thirtieth Governor (1845-49), was son of Gen. Joseph
Graham, a Revolutionary officer. He was also Secretary of the Navy in
1850, and projected the expedition to Japan under Commodore Perry. Tod
R. Caldwell (1818-74), fortieth Governor (1871-74), and David Lindsay
Russell, forty-eighth Governor (1897-1901), were both of direct
Scottish descent.