Joseph McKenna.
Another of the numerous successful jurists whose ancestry is Irish. He was the son of John and Mary McKenna, his father being from Ireland and his mother from England. He was born at Philadelphia, August 10, 1843, and was educated in the public schools and at St. Joseph college until 1855, when the family removed to Benicia, California, where he entered St. Augustine college and took up the study of law. Directly afterward he graduated and was admitted to the bar. In 1865 he was elected district attorney of Solano county. He served in this capacity for two terms. In 1873 he was elected to the legislature, and one year later the republicans nominated him for congress, but he was defeated, and not only on this occasion but again in 1878. In 1884, however, he was elected, and a year later entered congress, where he remained, by re-election, until 1891. As a member of the ways and means committee he had a great deal to do with important tariff legislation. In 1892 President Harrison appointed him circuit judge. In 1897 he entered McKinley’s cabinet as attorney-general, but in December of the same year was appointed judge of the Supreme Court of the United States to succeed Justice Field. He was married in San Francisco, 1869, to Amanda Borneman.
Alton Brooks Parker.
Alton Brooks Parker comes from good old New England stock. He was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, May 14, 1851. Later his family moved to Cortland, New York, in which place he was educated, graduating from the normal school at that place. He spent three years in teaching, and then entered a law school at Kingston, New York, and afterward took a course at the Albany law school, where he was graduated in 1872. After being admitted to the bar, he formed a partnership with W. S. Kenyon at Kingston, New York. In 1877 Mr. Parker was elected surrogate of Ulster county, and was again re-elected in 1883. Two years later he was appointed, by Governor Hill, justice of the Supreme Court to fill the vacancy occasioned by the death of Hon. Theodoric R. Westbrook. At the end of the year he was elected justice for the full term. In January, 1889, the second division of the Court of Appeals was created, and Judge Parker was appointed to it, he being the youngest member who ever sat in the Court of Appeals in New York city. The second division court was dissolved in 1892, and at that time Governor Hill appointed him member of the general term of the first department, where he continued until 1895. He has always been active in politics and has been a delegate to nearly every state convention, and also to the national convention in 1884 which nominated Grover Cleveland. In 1895 he was chairman of the Democratic state executive committee. In 1897 he was elected by a majority of over sixty thousand to the office of chief justice of the Court of Appeals, the highest judicial office in the state of New York. He has often been mentioned as a possible candidate for president by the Democratic party. He was married October 16, 1873, to Mary L. Schoonmaker.
SOLDIERS AND SAILORS.
Adna Romanza Chaffee.
Adna Romanza Chaffee was born at Orwell, Ohio, April 14, 1842. He was educated in the public schools and entered the army July 22, 1861, serving first as a private, but the close of the war, March 31, 1865, found him a captain. In 1868, in fighting the Comanche Indians on Paint Tree creek, Texas, he was made a major for gallantry in that and other campaigns, and was finally made lieutenant-colonel. At the breaking out of the Spanish-American war he was appointed brigadier-general of the United States volunteers, commanding the third brigade, fifth corps, in the Santiago campaign. He was promoted to major-general United States volunteers, July 8, 1898, and was honorably discharged as major-general, April 13, 1899, but was again appointed brigadier-general United States volunteers, one year later and assigned to the command of the United States forces for the relief of the United States legation at Pekin, China. In 1901 he was made a major-general United States army.
George Dewey.
George Dewey, the third admiral of the United States navy, was born at Montpelier, Vermont, December 26, 1837. His father, Julius Yemans Dewey, was a physician. George attended school in Montpelier and at Johnson, Vermont. In 1853 he entered the University of Norwich, Vermont, but, instead of completing his course, he secured an appointment in the United States naval academy in 1854. He was graduated with honors in 1858 and was attached to the steam frigate Wabash. In 1861 he was commissioned a lieutenant and assigned to the steam sloop Mississippi, of the West Gulf squadron. He saw his first service under fire with Farragut in 1862, served with distinction all through the Civil war, and, at the close, he was commissioned lieutenant-commander. From 1868 to 1870 he was an instructor in the naval academy. Promoted to a captaincy in 1884, he was placed in command of the Dolphin, but in 1895 was returned to the European station in command of the flagship Pensacola; there he remained until 1888, when he was ordered home and appointed chief of the bureau of equipment, ranking as commander. On February 26, 1896, he was commissioned commander and made president of the board of inspection and survey, which position he held until January, 1898, when he was given command of the Asiatic station. While at Hongkong Prince Henry of Germany gave a banquet, at which he proposed a toast to the various countries represented, but omitted the United States, whereupon Commander Dewey left the room without ceremony. Three days after the beginning of the war with Spain President McKinley cabled him at Hongkong: “Proceed at once to the Philippine Islands. Commence operations, particularly against the Spanish fleet. You must capture or destroy the vessels. Use utmost endeavor.” Dewey’s success in carrying out these orders is known to all the world. President McKinley yielded to the popular demand that the rank of rear-admiral be revived in favor of Dewey. Accordingly, on March 3, 1899, the appointment was confirmed in executive session of the United States senate. He was married at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, October 24, 1867, to Susan B., daughter of ex-Governor Ichabod Goodwin, who died in December, 1872; he was again married to Mrs. Mildred Hazen in Washington on November 9, 1899.