Joseph Howland

Joseph Howland (born December 3, 1834 in New York City , † March 31, 1886 in Menton , France ) was an American officer , politician and philanthropist . He was New York's Treasurer of State from 1866 to 1868 .

Early years

Joseph Howland was born into a prominent merchant family who got rich from trade with China . His first American ancestor, John Howland , was a Pilgrim Fathers and a signatory to the Mayflower Treaty in 1620, the government document that served as the basis for the founding of the Plymouth Colony . The father of Joseph Howland was Samuel Shaw Howland, a partner in the shipping company Howland & Aspinwall . His mother was Joanna Esther Hone, the niece of Philip Hone , the noted diarist and Mayor of New York City. The family lived at 12 Washington Square. The Howlands were a deeply religious family. In this context Howland intended to pursue a ministry, but gave up these plans because of his poor health. His poor health also prevented him from attending school and university. As a result, he was homeschooled. A multi-year trip to Europe completed his training. His mother passed away when he was 14 years old. He lost his father at the age of 19.

At the age of 21 he married Eliza Newton Woolsey of New York, one of seven sisters well known as prominent reformers and anti- slavery activists. The couple spent their honeymoon in Europe and the Holy Land . During their trip through Italy , the Howlands ordered two marble busts of themselves from the Italian neoclassical sculptor Giovanni Maria Benzoni . These busts are now in the Howland Public Library in Beacon, New York. The couple returned to the United States in 1859 . That same year Howland acquired the Freeland farm along Fishkill Creek in the Village of Matteawan and named his new estate Tioronda. His great uncle, Philip Hone, was Peter A. Schenck's partner in 1814 when the first factory, a cotton spinning mill , was built in Matteawan.

War years

Howland's life as a country gentleman ended in 1861 with the start of the Civil War . After the outbreak of war, Howland immediately enlisted in the 16th New York State Volunteers, where he served first as a regimental adjutant and later as their chief of staff. When the commandant of the 16th New York State Volunteers received a promotion, Howland was unanimously elected to replace him as Colonel . Howland took part in the First Battle of the Bull Run in July 1861 .

He briefly commanded the 16th New York State Volunteers. On June 29, 1862, Howland was leading his men into their place in the line during the Battle of Gaines Mill , one of the seven-day battles during the Peninsula Campaign , when a Confederate bullet struck him in the thigh. He refused to go to the hospital and stayed with his men until the end of the battle. In the regiment's official report, Howland was credited with:

"... the most undaunted bravery and marked coolness ..."

as he sat on his horse, riding up and down the line, giving orders and loudly encouraging his men

"... unmindful of ... the leaden hail ..."

through which he had ridden. For his courage in Gaines Mill, he was appointed Brevet - Brigadier General appointed the Volunteers.

The official report also stated that his wounding made him:

"... will disable him for several weeks."

Indeed, the wound ended his military career. The wound and the resulting fever had damaged his health to dangerous levels and made further active duty impossible. Howland resigned as commander of the 16th New York State Volunteers and never served on the battlefield. He returned to New York City during the Draft Riots in 1863 and served the civil and military authorities as they tried to put down the largest communal riot in American history. He quickly raised a regiment of civilian volunteers to help clean up the mess. Then he returned to civilian life.

Late years

Howland Cultural Center in Beacon, New York

After the end of the war, the Republican Party nominated him in 1865 for the office of Treasurer of State. In the next election in November 1865, he won a victory. Howland also played an active role in drafting the trusts for Cornell University and in building the Hudson River State Hospital for the insane , since the humane treatment of the mentally ill was one of his and his wife's greatest concerns. He was instrumental in building the Presbyterian Church in Matteawan and the public library that still bears his name. In this context, he commissioned his brother-in-law, the architect Richard Morris Hunt , to design the library building. The building is now the Howland Cultural Center and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places . In 1976 the library moved to a different location on Main Street. Howland also took an active role in founding the National Bank at Fishkill-on-Hudson. He was President of the Mechanics' Savings Bank of Fishkill-on-Hudson from March 24, 1866 to September 30, 1868 . The Highland Hospital was established on May 1, 1871. Howland acquired the property, equipped it as a hospital and donated it to the town.

death

Howland died in Menton (France) in 1886 and was buried there. He and his wife had no children. After his death, Eliza Howland never returned to Tioronda because, according to her, the memory of her husband made it too difficult for her. She died in 1917 in Newport ( Rhode Iceland ) at the age of 82 years. After her death, Tioronda became Craig House, a hospital for the mentally ill.

The writer Louis Auchincloss was his great-grand-nephew.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d} General Joseph Howland, The Howland Cultural Center
2. ^ ^{A b} Verplanck, William E .: Hasbrouck's History of Dutchess County - The Town of Fishkill , SA Mathieu, Poughkeepsie, 1909
3. ^ ^{A b} The War of the Rebellion , United States Government Printing Office, 1971, p. 452
4. ^ Samuel Ralph Harlow and HH Boone: Life Sketches of the State Officers, Senators, and Members of the Assembly of the State of New York, in 1867 ; Weed, Parsons, 1867, p. 32
5. ↑ James H. Smith: History of Dutchess County , D. Mason & Company, Syracuse, 1882