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71-502: First valedictorian of the new Hamilton College (1818), and married to the daughter of the college president, he had "a fine mind", with "a strong literary bent and a marked gift for public speaking". He was called "the sage of Peterboro." He was well liked, even by his political enemies. The many who appeared at his house in Peterboro, invited or not, were well received. (In 1842 the names of 132 visitors were recorded.) Smith, one of

142-476: A Federalist to the 14th United States Congress , holding office from March 4, 1815, to March 3, 1817. He was not a candidate for renomination and after serving in the U.S. Congress, returned to the practice of law. From June 7, 1847, to January 1, 1855, Cady was a justice of the New York Supreme Court (4th D.) until he retired and resigned. Cady also served as an ex officio judge of

213-550: A $ 400,000 business [equivalent to $ 7,961,739 in 2023] to his son Gerrit in 1819 and bequeathed $ 800,000 more [equivalent to $ 16,955,556 in 2023] to his children in 1837. Gerrit also inherited 50,000 acres (20,000 ha) of land from his father, and at one point he owned 750,000 acres (300,000 ha), an area bigger than Rhode Island. Another source says that he inherited from his father over one million acres in Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New York. An 1846 listing of lands he

284-474: A constant stream of visitors. (See Peterboro, New York#Gerrit Smith .) His desk was said to have belonged to Napoleon . Besides a library of 1,000 volumes, on the wall was a framed map of the Eastern Seaboard, with his extensive land-holdings marked. "It must be admitted that few men in this country have been a candidate for high office so many times and polled so few votes." In 1840, Smith played

355-554: A definite date, or because there were multiple payments. After his death, a newspaper reported his philanthropic activities as follows: Valedictorian Valedictorian ( VD ) is an academic title for the highest-performing student of a graduating class of an academic institution. The valedictorian is generally determined by an academic institution's grade point average (GPA) system but other methods of selection may be factored in such as volunteer work , scholastic awards, research, and extra-curricular activity. The term

426-777: A delegate to the founding convention of the Prohibition Party . During the 1872 presidential election Smith was considered for the Prohibition Party's presidential nomination. According to Black Rev. Henry Highland Garnet , who moved there at Smith's invitation, "There are yet two places where slave holders cannot come—Heaven and Peterboro." After becoming an opponent of land monopoly , he gave numerous farms of 50 acres (20 ha) each to 1,000 "worthy" New York state Blacks. In 1846, hoping to help black families become self-sufficient, to isolate and thus protect them from escaped slave-hunters, and to provide them with

497-493: A disabled student sole honors. While those who do well in school often find success in university and professional life, one study claimed to show that valedictorians were not any more likely to excel at a global scale than other students, with the argument being made that those with passions for subjects are more likely to excel, yet those same students tend to find it more difficult to work hard at subjects that they are not interested in. The valedictory address, or valediction ,

568-496: A law career, the entire charge of his estate, described as "monumental". He became an active temperance campaigner, and attended temperance gatherings more than political ones. He claimed to have given in 1824 the first temperance speech ever in the New York State Legislature . In his hometown of Peterboro, he built one of the first temperance hotels in the country, which was not successful commercially, and

639-611: A leading part in the organization of the Liberty Party ; the name of the party was his. In the same year, their presidential candidate James G. Birney married Elizabeth Potts Fitzhugh, Smith's sister-in-law. Smith and Birney travelled to London that year to attend the World Anti-Slavery Convention in London. Birney, but not Smith, is recorded in the commemorative painting of the event. In 1848, Smith

710-471: A mild policy toward the late Confederate states , declaring that part of the guilt of slavery lay upon the North. In 1867, Smith, together with Horace Greeley and Cornelius Vanderbilt , helped to underwrite the $ 100,000 (~$ 1.79 million in 2023) bond needed to free Jefferson Davis, who had, at that time, been imprisoned for nearly two years without being charged with any crime. In doing this, Smith incurred

781-648: A second term. He was well liked, even by Southern members, who found him "one of the best fellows in the Capitol, as one, although well known as an abolitionist, still as one to be tolerated". By 1856, very little of the Liberty Party remained after most of its members joined the Free Soil Party in 1848 and nearly of all what remained of the party joined the Republicans in 1854. The small remnant of

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852-548: A seminary for Black students. In 1834 he began a Peterboro manual labor school for Black students, along the model of nearby Oneida Institute . It had only one instructor, and it lasted only two years. Previously a supporter of the American Colonization Society , he became an abolitionist in 1835 after a mob in Utica , including New York congressman and future Attorney General Samuel Beardsley , broke up

923-406: A small but most sincere acknowledgement of his pre-eminent services in [ sic ] behalf of the rights and liberties of an afflicted, despised and deeply outraged people, by ranking slavery with piracy and murder, and by denying it either a legal or Constitutional existence, this volume is respectively dedicated, by his faithful and firmly attached friend, Frederick Douglass. Years before,

994-461: A son named Eleazar, died at age 20 just before his graduation from Union College in Schenectady, New York . Only five daughters lived well into adulthood and old age. Their surviving children included: His wife was an unusually tall woman for her time, had a commanding presence, whom their daughter Elizabeth described as "queenly." Margaret was said to have been emotionally devastated by

1065-423: A speech. In France the term Major de promotion ("first in class") is used, although the term is not related to any ceremonial role, as there are rarely graduation ceremonies in schools or universities. The most common method of selection is typically based upon the highest grade point average . Some institutions confer the title on the class member chosen to deliver the final graduation address, regardless of

1136-444: A student at his Peterboro Manual Labor School, where "Mr. Smith liberally supplies us with stationery, books, board and lodging", stated that "if the man of color has a sincere friend, that friend is Gerrit Smith". A visitor to Smith's house in 1870 described it as follows: I have visited many houses...but never before one like this. One breathing the affluence of wealth without a touch of its insolence, characterized by refinement and

1207-476: A student's grade point average, the level of rigor within a student's academic program of studies, a vote by school administrators, the level of participation in and dedication to extracurricular activities , and one's public-speaking skills and abilities. In other schools, the position may be elected by the school body or appointed directly by the school administration based on various systems of merit. Some schools may feature "co-valedictorians" in lieu of conferring

1278-582: A suicide watch. When the Chicago Tribune later claimed Smith had full knowledge of Brown's plan at Harper's Ferry, Smith sued the paper for libel , claiming that he lacked any such knowledge and thought only that Brown wanted guns so that slaves who ran away to join him might defend themselves against attackers. Smith's claim was countered by the Tribune , which produced an affidavit, signed by Brown's son, swearing that Smith had full knowledge of all

1349-558: A year in Florida, he moved to Johnstown, then the county seat. As a young lawyer, he worked with such notables as Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr , and toward the end of his career, he served on a case with Abraham Lincoln , where they each represented clients in a land dispute associated with Beloit College . Cady was elected as a member of the New York State Assembly in 1808, serving three consecutive terms in

1420-497: Is an Anglicised derivation of the Latin vale dicere ("to say farewell"), historically rooted in the valedictorian's traditional role as the final speaker at the graduation ceremony commencement before the students receive their diplomas. The valedictory address, also known as the valediction , is generally considered a final farewell to classmates, before they disperse to pursue their individual paths after graduating. The term

1491-561: Is essential to human brotherhood; that women should have full political rights; that the Federal government and the states should prohibit the liquor traffic within their respective jurisdictions; and that government officers, so far as practicable, should be elected by direct vote of the people. Unhappy with his separation from his home and business, Smith resigned his seat at the end of the first session, ostensibly to allow voters sufficient time to select his successor. In 1869, Smith served as

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1562-550: Is not widely used outside the United States , Canada , and the Philippines , although some countries may award equivalent titles. In Australia, the title is sometimes awarded to a member of a graduating university class on the basis of a contribution to the school rather than academic success. The highest-ranking student in a graduating class is often referred to as dux (Latin for "leader"), and may or may not give

1633-660: Is said to have exceeded $ 8,000,000. Though a man of great wealth, his life was one of marked simplicity. He died in 1874 while visiting relatives in New York City . The Gerrit Smith Estate , in Peterboro, New York , was declared a National Historic Landmark in 2001. Frederick Douglass dedicated to Smith My Bondage and My Freedom (1855): To honorable Gerrit Smith, as a slight token of esteem for his character, admiration for his genius and benevolence, affection for his person, and gratitude for his friendship, and as

1704-459: Is the closing or farewell statement delivered at a graduation ceremony. It is an oration at commencement (in Canada, called convocation in university and graduation in high school) exercises in U.S. and some Canadian high schools, colleges, and universities delivered by one of the graduates. The mode of discourse generally is inspirational and persuasive. The various aims of this address are to inspire

1775-600: The 32nd , 33rd and 34th New York State Legislatures beginning on July 1, 1808, and continuing until June 30, 1811. From February to April 1813, Cady again served in the Assembly, this time the 36th New York State Legislature , while he was also the District Attorney of the Fifth District, which comprised Albany , Saratoga , Montgomery, Schoharie and Schenectady counties. Cady was elected as

1846-416: The American Colonization Society had no intention of abolishing slavery. Smith was a laggard instead of a leader in changing from supporting colonization to "immediatism", immediate full abolitionism . Support for Jefferson Davis after the war would have been unthinkable for Garrison, Douglass, or other abolitionist leaders. Gerrit's stately house was not only an Underground Railroad stop, it received

1917-607: The Erie Canal , at public expense, and publicly-supported schools, which could not teach religion, which Smith thought the main function of schools. The remedy was less government, and the less, the better. The only political office to which Smith was ever elected, and that by a very large majority, was Representative in the U.S. Congress. Smith served a single term in Congress, on the Free Soil ticket, from March 4, 1853, until

1988-631: The Liberty Party 's presidential candidate. At the National Liberty Convention , held June 14–15 in Buffalo, New York , Smith gave a major address, including in his speech a demand for "universal suffrage in its broadest sense, females as well as males being entitled to vote." The delegates approved a passage in their address to the people of the United States addressing votes for women: "Neither here, nor in any other part of

2059-665: The New York Court of Appeals in 1849 and 1853. In 1856 , Cady was a presidential elector on the Republican John C. Fremont ticket. Cady presided over the New York electoral college , which cast 35 votes for Fremont who lost the election to Democrat James Buchanan . He is considered by some the father of Fulton County, virtually engineering the county's creation in 1838 after the Montgomery county seat

2130-665: The United States Constitution as an antislavery document, as opposed to abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison , who believed it was to be condemned as a pro-slavery document, and was in favor of secession by the North . In 1852, Smith was elected to the United States House of Representatives as a Free-Soiler . In his address, he declared that all men have an equal right to the soil; that wars are brutal and unnecessary; that slavery could be sanctioned by no constitution, state or federal; that free trade

2201-495: The fur trade and alone in real estate, Peter Smith [had] managed to amass a considerable fortune. Peter was the county judge of Madison County, New York , and has been described as 'easily its leading citizen'." He was "a devout and emotionally religious man". From 1822 on, Peter Smith was intensely engaged in the work of the Bible and tract societies." The author of the only book on Peter calls him greedy, self-centered, driven by

Gerrit Smith - Misplaced Pages Continue

2272-538: The temperance movement and the colonization movement , before abandoning colonization in favor of abolitionism , the immediate freeing of all the slaves. He was a member of the Secret Six who financially supported John Brown's raid at Harpers Ferry , in 1859. Brown's farm , in North Elba, was on land he bought from Smith. Smith was born in Utica, New York , when it was still an unincorporated village. He

2343-619: The valedictory address, and describing his stay at the college as "very active with many friends". (His father was one of the trustees.) In January 1819, he married Wealtha Ann Backus (1800–1819), daughter of Hamilton College's first President, Azel Backus D.D. (1765–1817), and sister of Frederick F. Backus (1794–1858). Wealtha died in August of the same year. In 1822, he married 16-year-old Ann Carroll Fitzhugh (1805–1879), sister of Henry Fitzhugh (1801–1866) and of Wealtha's brother's wife. Their relationship "appeared to be loving"; although Ann

2414-457: The city's large free black community. The Pearl incident attracted widespread national attention after the 77 slaves were intercepted and captured about two days after they sailed from the capital. The Fugitive Slave Convention was held in Cazenovia, New York , on August 21 and 22, 1850. It was a fugitive slave meeting, the biggest ever held in the United States. Madison County, New York ,

2485-493: The election, carrying 2,545 popular votes, all from New York . At the request of friends, Smith had 3,000 copies printed of an 1851 speech in Troy in which he set forth his views of government. Smith laments the people's universal dependence on government. As a consequence of that dependence, government occupies itself "for the most part, in doing that it belongs to the people to do". He opposed tariffs, internal improvements, such as

2556-456: The end of the session on August 7, 1854, although he said that because of his business activities he had sought neither the nomination nor his election. ("My nomination to Congress alarmed me greatly, because I believed that it would result in my election.") He made a point of resigning his seat on the last day of the session. He then published a lengthy letter to his constituents explaining his frustrations in Congress and his decision not to run for

2627-690: The episode with this quote from Brown: "G S he knew to be a timid man". While in the New York Lunatic Asylum, now the Utica Psychiatric Center , he was treated with cannabis and morphine . Smith was a major benefactor of New-York Central College , a co-educational and racially integrated college in Cortland County . Smith supported the American Civil War , but at its close he advocated

2698-476: The graduates and to thank individuals responsible for their successes while reflecting on youthful frivolity and the accomplishments of the class. Above all, however, the primary aim of the valedictory address is to allow a representative of the graduating class to bid a final farewell to the students and to the school, as the graduates prepare to disperse and to begin the next phase of their lives. Daniel Cady Daniel Cady (April 29, 1773 – October 31, 1859)

2769-419: The highest culture, yet free from all the impertinance of display. Plainness of attire, simplicity of manner, absolute sincerity, and an all-pervading spirit of love characterize the family and give tone to the home—a home free from press and hurry and confusion, where differences of opinion are expressed without irritation, where the individual is respected, where the younger members of the family are reverent and

2840-564: The incoming freshman class, not students already enrolled. Another New Jersey case raised the question of whether accommodations for students under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and related laws should affect valedictorian honors. In Hornstine v. Township of Moorestown , a U.S. District Court judge blocked the Moorestown Superintendent of Schools from retroactively changing school policy to deny

2911-752: The initial meeting of the New York Anti-Slavery Society , which he attended at the urging of his friends Beriah Green and Alvan Stewart . At his invitation, the meeting continued the next day in Peterboro. He resigned as a trustee of Hamilton College "on the grounds that the school was insufficiently anti-slavery", and joined the board of and financially assisted the Oneida Institute , "a hotbed of anti-slavery activity". He contributed $ 9,000 (equivalent to $ 265,819 in 2023) to support schools in Liberia , but realized by 1835 that

Gerrit Smith - Misplaced Pages Continue

2982-480: The loss of so many children and fell into a depression, which prevented her from being fully involved in the lives of her surviving children. Cady died in Johnstown on October 31, 1859. He was buried at Johnstown Cemetery . Daniel Cady's wife's sister Elizabeth, who married Peter Gerrit Smith, was the mother of Gerrit Smith , the prominent abolitionist who was married to Ann Carroll Fitzhugh . Gerrit Smith

3053-459: The nomination for the presidency. In the end, Smith was nominated for president and Samuel McFarland from Pennsylvania was nominated for vice president. The ticket won 171 popular votes from Illinois and Ohio . In Ohio, a slate of presidential electors pledged to Smith ran with the name of the Union Party. Smith, along with his friend and ally Lysander Spooner , was a leading advocate of

3124-435: The older ones considerate, where all are mindful of the interests of each, and each is thoughtful for all. Money was for Smith a resource that belonged to others, a divine gift to be used for the common good. Smith provided support for a large number of progressive causes and people and, except for his land grants, did not keep careful records. The dates given are in some cases approximate, either because documents do not provide

3195-446: The particulars of the plan, including the plan to instigate a slave uprising. In writing later of these events, Smith said, "That affair excited and shocked me, and a few weeks after I was taken to a lunatic asylum . From that day to this I have had but a hazy view of dear John Brown's great work. Indeed, some of my impressions of it have, as others have told me, been quite erroneous and even wild." Ralph Harlow concluded his examination of

3266-631: The party renominated Smith under the name of the "National Liberty Party". In 1860, the remnant of the party was also called the Radical Abolitionists. A convention of one hundred delegates was held in Convention Hall, Syracuse, New York, on August 29, 1860. Delegates were in attendance from New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, Kentucky, and Massachusetts. Several of the delegates were women. Smith, despite his poor health, fought William Goodell in regard to

3337-669: The project to fail. As Smith put it, "I was perhaps a better land-reformer in theory than in practice." The John Brown Farm State Historic Site is all that remains of the settlement, called Timbuctoo, New York . Peterboro became a station on the Underground Railroad . Due to his connections with it, Smith financially supported a planned mass slave escape in Washington, D.C., in April 1848, organized by William L. Chaplin , another abolitionist, as well as numerous members of

3408-446: The property ownership that was needed for Blacks to vote in New York, Smith attempted to help free blacks settle approximately 120,000 acres (49,000 ha) of land he owned in the remote Adirondacks . Abolitionist John Brown joined his project, purchasing land and moving his family there. However, the land Smith gave away was "of but moderate fertility", "heavily timbered, and in no respect remarkably inviting". In Smith's own words, it

3479-476: The raid, its outcome, and its aftermath, expecting to be indicted, Smith suffered a mental breakdown; he was described in the press as "a raving lunatic", who became "very violent". For several weeks he was confined to the Utica Psychiatric Center , at the time called the State Lunatic Asylum. He was accused of feigning his illness, but multiple reports state that it was genuine. He was initially on

3550-559: The resentment of Northern Radical Republican leaders. Smith's passions extended to religion as well as politics. Believing that sectarianism was sinful, he separated from the Presbyterian Church in 1843. He was one of the founders of the Church at Peterboro , a non-denominational institution open to all non-slave-owning Christians. His private benefactions were substantial; of his gifts he kept no record, but their value

3621-462: The search for profits, and someone who did not like people who were not like him: white, male, and Dutch. He was not philanthropic. "Other people...[were] objects to be used for his own benefit, especially if they were culturally different than himself. Native Americans, poor people, black people, and non-Christians he viewed with disrepect." Peter spent his last years in a religious fanaticism that led him to give up all his worldly goods. He turned over

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3692-407: The speaker's academic credentials. Historically and traditionally, however, schools confer the title upon the top ranked graduate of the class, whether determined by GPA or some other means such as a faculty vote, who thereby earns the honor of delivering the valedictory address. Some institutions award the title based upon various criteria such as an overall academic record of grades and credits ,

3763-420: The title on a single individual from among the graduating class. This may occur in the case of a numerical tie in grade point averages, as part of a Latin honors system. A valedictorian is usually given a gold medal during the graduation ceremony, with the salutatorian receiving a silver medal. The awarding of the valedictorian honor may be the subject of heated controversy. Often the differences separating

3834-562: The top student from the nearest competitors are small, and sometimes there are accusations that the winner took advantage of the rules in a way that seemed unfair, such as taking easy courses to get additional credits. Some schools have dropped the honor or changed the rules to allow multiple recipients. In turn, such changes have led to complaints that it is unfair to change the rules after a competition has begun. The New Jersey Commissioner of Education , for example, required schools to make changes to valedictorian award policy effective only for

3905-590: The wealthiest men in New York, was committed to political reform, and above all to the elimination of slavery. So many fugitive slaves came to Peterboro to ask for his help (usually, in reaching Canada) that there is a book about them. Peterboro was, because of Smith, the capital of the abolition movement. The only assembly of escaped slaves (as opposed to free Blacks) ever to meet in the United States—the Fugitive Slave Convention of 1850—took place in neighboring Cazenovia because Peterboro

3976-412: The world, is the right of suffrage allowed to extend beyond one of the sexes. This universal exclusion of woman...argues, conclusively, that, not as yet, is there one nation so far emerged from barbarism, and so far practically Christian, as to permit woman to rise up to the one level of the human family." Reverend Charles C. Foote was nominated as his running mate. The ticket would come in fourth place in

4047-454: Was 9. Gerrit was described as "tall, magnificently built and magnificently proportioned, his large head superbly set on his shoulders;" he "might have served as a model for a Greek god in the days when man deified beauty and worshipped it." He attended Hamilton Oneida Academy in Clinton, Oneida County, New York , and graduated with honors from its successor Hamilton College in 1818, giving

4118-499: Was Smith's first cousin. Elizabeth Cady met her future husband, Henry Stanton , also an active abolitionist, at the Smith family home in Peterboro, New York . Established in 1795, the town had been founded by and named for Gerrit Smith's father, Peter Smith, who built the family homestead there in 1804. Another source says that Peter Smith moved to Whitesboro "about 1803" and that he removed to Peterboro in 1806. Gerrit came there when he

4189-421: Was a candidate for President of the United States in 1848 , 1856 , and 1860 . Through his daughter Elizabeth, Daniel Cady was the grandfather of Daniel Cady Stanton (1842–1891), Henry Brewster Stanton, Jr. (1844–1903), Gerrit Smith Stanton (1845–1927), Theodore Weld Stanton (1851–1925; a prominent journalist), Margaret Livingston Stanton Lawrence (1852–1930), Harriot Eaton Stanton Blatch (1856–1940; also

4260-448: Was a religious, church-going person who worried that Gerrit was not. They had eight children, but only Elizabeth Smith Miller (1822–1911), mother of his grandson Gerrit Smith Miller , and Greene Smith (c. 1841–1880) survived to adulthood. In the year of his graduation, the death of his mother plunged his father, Peter, into severe depression. He withdrew from all business and vested in his second son Gerrit, who had to abandon plans for

4331-564: Was an American lawyer, politician and judge in upstate New York . The father of activist Elizabeth Cady Stanton , Judge Cady served one term as a U.S. representative from New York . Cady was born in that part of Canaan , Columbia County, New York which was later split off to form Chatham, New York . He was a son of Eleazer Cady (1745–1819) and Tryphena ( née Beebe) Cady (1749–1839). His siblings included Typhema Cady (1768–?), Zilpha Cady Halsey (1770–1858), Eleazer Cady (1775–1856), Ruth Cady (1777–?), and Sally Cady Eaton (1780–1816). He

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4402-570: Was disliked by many locals. Smith wrote of himself: But as an extemporaneous Speaker and Debater, we do not hesitate to place him in the first class. Here his eloquence is the growth of the hour and the occasion. He warms with the subject, especially if opposed, until at the climax, his heavy voice rolling forth in ponderous volume and his large frame quivering in every muscle, he stands, like Jupiter, thundering, and shaking with his thunderbolts his throne itself. He attended numerous revival meetings, and taught Sunday school . He thought of establishing

4473-672: Was during this movement that he first met and financially supported John Brown . Smith was a member of what much later was called the Secret Six , a informal group of influential Northern abolitionists, who supported Brown in his efforts to capture the armory at Harpers Ferry , Virginia (since 1863, West Virginia), and start a slave revolt. After the failed raid on Harpers Ferry, Senator Jefferson Davis unsuccessfully attempted to have Smith accused, tried, and hanged along with Brown. Governor Wise suggested that Smith be brought to him, "by fair or foul means", but residents of Peterboro said publicly that they would use guns to protect him. Upset by

4544-417: Was his "poorest land"; his better land he sold. Most grantees never saw the remote land Smith had given them; many of those who did visit it soon left, and in 1857, it was estimated that less than 10% of the grantees were actually living on their land. The difficulty of farming in the mountains, coupled with the settlers' lack of experience in housebuilding and farming and the bigotry of white neighbors, caused

4615-635: Was moved from Johnstown to Fonda, New York . The newly established county was named after Robert Fulton , a cousin of Cady's wife. On July 8, 1801, Cady was married to Margaret Livingston (1785–1871), the daughter of Col. James Livingston , an officer in the Continental Army during the American Revolution who fought at Saratoga and Quebec , and assisted in the capture of Major John Andre at West Point . Five of their children died in early childhood or infancy. A sixth child,

4686-587: Was nominated for the Presidency by the remnant of this organization that had not been absorbed by the Free Soil Party . An "Industrial Congress" at Philadelphia also nominated him for the presidency in 1848, and the "Land Reformers" in 1856. In 1840 and again in 1858 , he ran for Governor of New York on an anti-slavery platform. On June 2, 1848, in Rochester, New York , Smith was nominated as

4757-402: Was offering for sale fills 45 pages. Gerrit had an older brother, Peter Smith Jr., who was a problem drinker that died young, and a younger brother Adolph, who was "clinically insane and confined to a nearby institution." Smith's maternal aunt, Margaret Livingston, was married to Judge Daniel Cady . Their daughter Elizabeth Cady Stanton , a founder and leader of the women's suffrage movement,

4828-584: Was one of four children of Peter Gerrit Smith (1768–1837), whose ancestors were from Holland ( Gerrit is a Dutch name), and Elizabeth (Livingston) Smith (†1818), daughter of Col. James Livingston and Elizabeth (Simpson) Livingston. Peter, an actor as a young man, and who coached Gerrit in public speaking, was a slave owner, the first judge in Madison County , and the largest landholder in New York State. "In partnership with John Jacob Astor in

4899-726: Was the abolition headquarters of the country, because of philanthropist and activist Gerrit Smith, who lived in neighboring Peterboro, New York, and called the meeting "in behalf of the New York State Vigilance Committee." Smith paid the legal expenses of several persons charged with infractions of the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 . Smith became a leading figure in the Kansas Aid Movement , a campaign to raise money and show solidarity with anti-slavery immigrants to that territory. It

4970-533: Was too small for the meeting. Smith was also, and less successfully, a temperance activist, and a women's rights suffrage advocate. He was a significant financial contributor to the Liberty Party and the Republican Party throughout his life. Besides making substantial donations of both land and money to create Timbuctoo , an African-American community in North Elba, New York , he was involved in

5041-650: Was uncle to John W. Cady (1790–1854), who was also a U.S. representative from New York . He learned the shoemaker 's trade, but accidentally injured an eye and lost the sight of it at age 18. He then studied law, first in Canaan with Judge Whiting, then in Troy with John Woodworth at the Albany Law School. Cady was admitted to the bar in 1795, and commenced practice in Florida , Montgomery County . After

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