On Thursday evening, January 16, 1879, a large company gathered in the hall of the House of Representatives at Washington. They came to honor the memory of one of our greatest in science, since Franklin,—Joseph Henry, the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. Addresses were made by the Hon. Hannibal Hamlin, Professor Asa Gray, a most distinguished scientist, the Hon. James A. Garfield, General W. T. Sherman, the Hon. S. S. Cox, and others.
Not alone at the Capitol were memorial services held for Professor Henry. Before the United States National Academy of Sciences, before the American Association for the Advancement of Science, before the Philosophical Society of Washington,—of all these he had been president,—before the College of New Jersey at Princeton, where he was Professor of Natural Philosophy for fourteen years, before the Albany Institute, of which he was one of the original members, and before various other societies in which he had been a leading spirit, heartfelt testimony was given to America's loss in the death of a great scholar and a good man.
JOSEPH HENRY.
Joseph Henry was born in Albany, N. Y., December 17, 1797, or 1799, probably the latter date, this uncertainty arising from the illegibility of the faded records in the old family Bible. His grandparents came from Scotland, landing in this country June 16, 1775, the day before the battle of Bunker Hill. The father, William Henry, of whom little is known, died when his first son, Joseph, was nine years old. The boy had gone two years previously to live with his maternal grandmother at Galway, in the county of Saratoga, N. Y.
Joseph's mother is remembered as a lady of great refinement, delicate in form and feature, and very beautiful in her youth. She was deeply devotional, and probably to this fact is partially due Professor Henry's earnest religious character through life.
At the district school of Galway, under Israel Phelps, Joseph exhibited no special aptitude for books, though he showed an inquisitive mind. At the age of ten, he was placed in a store kept by a Mr. Broderick, who was very kind to him, allowing him to attend school in the afternoons.
His fondness for reading developed from a singular circumstance. Having lost a pet rabbit, which had run into an opening in the foundation wall of the village meeting-house, he crept through the hole on his hands and knees, to find the runaway. Discovering a light through a crevice, boy-like, he decided to investigate his surroundings. He soon reached the vestibule of the building, and found there a book-case containing the village library. The first book which attracted his attention was Brooke's "Fool of Quality," a work of fiction. He began to read, and soon forgot about his rabbit.
From this time he made frequent visits to the library, by the underground passage, reading all the novels he could find. In the evening, to the lads who gathered about the stove in the village store, he rehearsed the wonderful things he had read. He was a handsome, slender lad, of delicate complexion, vivacious manners, and a great favorite. Mr. Broderick, the proprietor, enjoyed the stories, and finally obtained proper access to the library for his young clerk.
When about thirteen or fourteen, Joseph was apprenticed to Mr. John F. Doty of Albany, a watch-maker and silversmith. He found very little pleasure in the trade, and was probably glad when, after two years, the apprenticeship came to an end, through Mr. Doty leaving the business.