United States the sum afterward used to establish the Smithsonian Institution at Washington. In 1847 he was appointed by President Polk minister to France, a position he held until in 1851, when he resigned and returned to the United States. SAMUEL SAMUEL DELUCENNA INGHAM AMUEL D. INGHAM-Secretary of the Treasury from March 6, 1829, to June 20, 1831. Born near New Hope, Bucks county, Pennsylvania, September 16, 1779. Son of Dr. Jonathan and Ann (Walling) Ingham. Educated in the common schools. Married Rebecca Dood; Deborah Kay. Died in Trenton, New Jersey, June 5, 1860. 1813-Member national House of Representatives. Samuel D. Ingham came of a sturdy Bucks county Quaker family, a thrifty, industrious race that had been settled in that county for four generations. His father was a physician, farmer and merchant and was also a devotee of classical learning, but did not give his son a collegiate course. After getting a fair education in the neighborhood schools Samuel was apprenticed to a papermaker and some time later set up a paper mill on his father's farm. In this enterprise he was successful. Taking an active interest in politics as a Jeffersonian Republican, he held several offices, such as justice of the peace, member of the state legislature and secretary of the commonwealth, and in 1813 was sent to Congress where he served until July 6, 1818, when he resigned. He was again sent to Congress in 1822 and served until he was appointed Secretary of the Treasury by President Jackson. In Congress he was classed as a Republican and counted among the friends of Mr. Calhoun. He opposed the caucus method of selecting presidential candidates and refused to attend the caucus which placed William H. Crawford in nomination as the candidate of the Republicans in 1824. He was always regarded as a "working" member and served on many important committees. His name has been connected with the "Bargain and Sale" charge against Henry Clay and President Adams. When President Jackson was forming his cabinet Pennsylvania presented two men, Henry Baldwin and Mr. Ingham. General Jackson, on account of personal reasons, preferred the former, but the Calhoun interests pushed Mr. Ingham and he was finally chosen. He became involved in the cabinet troubles over the wife of Secretary of War Eaton, and resigned with the other members of the cabinet in 1831. At the time of surrendering his office a newspaper publication caused Secretary Eaton to send Mr. Ingham a challenge, but Mr. Ingham treated the challenge with such contempt that Mr. Eaton sought to assault him personally, but in this was prevented. As Secretary of the Treasury Mr. Ingham had little opportunity to display any administrative or financial ability. LOUIS MCLANE OUIS MCLANE-Secretary of the Treasury from August 8, 1831, to May 29, 1833; Secretary of State from May 29, 1833, to June 30, 1834. Born in Smyrna, Delaware, May 28, 1786. Son of Allan McLane. Educated at College of New Jersey. Married, in 1812, Miss Catharine Mary Milligan. Died in Baltimore, Maryland, October 7, 1857. 1817-Member national House of Representatives. 1829-Minister to England. 1831-Secretary of the Treasury. 1833-Secretary of State. 1845-Minister to England. 1850-Member Delaware Constitutional Convention. In his youth Louis McLane, the future cabinet minister, was ambitious for service in the navy and at the age of twelve years received a commission as midshipman. He was ordered to the frigate Philadelphia and sailed on a twelve months' cruise. In 1801 he resigned from the navy at the earnest solicitation of his mother and devoted himself to securing an education, later attending college at Newark, New Jersey. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1807. He rapidly rose to eminence as a sound lawyer. In politics he was a Federalist, but during the War of 1812 sustained the administration of President Madison and acted as a volunteer in a company commanded by Ceasar A. Rodney. In 1817 he took his seat in the national House of Representatives, serving until 1827. In the House he was noted for his strength in debate, especially upon all constitutional and economic questions. He favored internal improvements and voted against the restricting clause in the bill admitting Missouri into the Union. He was a member of the committee appointed to inves. tigate the affairs of the United States Bank and joined in the report sustaining the bank. During the most of his service in the House he was chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means. In 1829 he was sent to the Senate and as a member of that body supported the protection theory of a tariff. When General Jackson began forming his cabinet Senator McLane was strongly urged for the Treasury Department, Mr. Van Buren writing a letter in his favor, and his name was also considered in connection with the office of Attorney General. He was greatly disappointed at not being given the Treasury Department, but accepted the mission to England. He made a very favorable impression in England and as a representative of the country displayed diplomatic talents. In 1831, when President Jackson was reorganizing his cabinet to make a place for Mr. Van Buren, who had resigned the State Department in order to give the President an opportunity to reorganize his cabinet, Mr. McLane was recalled from England to take the head of the Department of the Treasury that had been refused him in the original formation of the cabinet. Mr. McLane entered the cabinet just as President Jackson was formulating his fight against the United States Bank. The new Secretary of the Treasury was a Federalist and a strong supporter of the bank. The President knew this, but he had an admiration for the plain, straight-forward dealing of Mr. McLane. In his first report as Secretary of the Treasury Mr. McLane took strong grounds in favor of a recharter. The enemies of the bank becoming alarmed at the growing influence of Mr. McLane with the President endeavored to have him removed, but the President would not consent. The President regarded Mr. McLane as too strong a man to lose from his cabinet, but, to relieve the fears of the anti-bank men, transferred him to the State Department, sending Secretary Livingston to France. At the cabinet meeting to discuss the removal of deposits Mr. McLane strongly opposed the removal, submitting an elaborate paper in which he made a suggestion whereby the President would escape the charge of ignoring Congress. He proposed the President should assert executive control over the deposits, order their removal on January 1, 1834, and make an announcement to that effect in his message to Congress in December, 1833. As Secretary of State Mr. McLane followed a bold course in dealing with Great Britain in the controversy over trade with the West Indies and succeeded in perfecting a satisfactory arrangement. He ardently and warmly sustained the President in his fight against nullification. The friction over the removal of the deposits continuing, Secretary McLane tendered his resignation and retired from the cabinet June 30, 1834. From 1837 to 1847 Mr. McLane was president of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. In 1845 he was again sent to England as minister, but remained only one year. WILLIAM JONES DUANE WILLIAM J. DUANE-Secretary of the Treasury from June 1, 1833, to September 23, 1833. Born in Clanrood, Ireland, in 1780. Son of William and Catharine (Corcoran) Duane. Married Deborah Bache. Died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, September 27, 1865. 1833-Secretary of the Treasury. The only public office held by William J. Duane was that of Secretary of the Treasury, which he held for a few days more than three months. His father was a printer and for a long time editor of the Aurora, a weekly paper printed in Philadelphia, chiefly known for its violent opposition to Presidents Washington and John Adams, and Alexander Hamilton and Albert Gallatin. He at first desired that his son should follow in his footsteps as an editor, but the young man preferred the law. He was admitted to the bar in 1815 and soon became a noted attorney. He was for several years the attorney for Stephen Girard, the great philanthropist, and drafted the will of that eminent financier. When President Jackson was looking for someone who would, as Secretary of the Treasury, withdraw the government deposits from the United States Bank, the choice fell on Mr. Duane. It was said his name was suggested by Mr. McLane, who was about to be transferred to the Department of State, and who had, himself, while Secretary of the Treasury declined to issue the order. The paper published by the elder Duane had long been a bitter opponent of the bank and the younger Duane had also been classed as among those in opposition. Secretary McLane was transferred from the Treasury to the State Department and the Treasury Department was offered to Mr. Duane. He took the matter under advisement for more than a month and finally accepted. When it was suggested that he issue the removal order he declined to do so. Persisting in his refusal the President peremptorily dismissed him from the cabinet, he being the second cabinet officer thus dismissed. L LEVI WOODBURY EVI WOODBURY-Secretary of the Navy from May 23, 1831, to June 730, 1834; Secretary of the Treasury from July 1, 1834, to March 3, 1841. Born in Francestown, New Hampshire, December 22, 1789. Son of Peter and Mary (Woodbury) Woodbury. Educated at Dartmouth College. Married, in 1819, Miss Elizabeth W. Clapp. Died at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, September 4, 1851. 1816-Judge of the Superior Court of New Hampshire. 1825-Speaker of New Hampshire House of Representatives. 1831-Declined seat in State Senate. 1831-Secretary of the Navy. 1834-Secretary of the Treasury. 1841-United States Senator. 1845-Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. For a quarter of a century Levi Woodbury was a prominent figure in the political history of the United States. His American ancestors were among the first to settle in New England. The family was descended from John Woodbury, who settled at Cape Ann in 1623. The father of Levi was a successful farmer and merchant and for thirty years an active magistrate. Levi was the second of ten children born to his parents. After receiving a preparatory education he matriculated at Dartmouth College, graduating in 1809. He almost immediately began the study of law and was admitted to the bar in 1812, beginning his professional life in his native town. In 1817 he was elected clerk of the New Hampshire Senate, and at the close of that year was appointed associate justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court. In 1819 he removed to Portsmouth and made that his future home. He took an active interest in politics and in 1822 was elected governor of the state and was reelected the next year. He was again a candidate in 1824, but was defeated. In 1825 he was elected a member of the state legislature and on the first day of the session was chosen speaker and at the close of the session was elected to the United States Senate. He became an active adherent of General Jackson and was recognized as one of the most vigorous of the Jackson wing of the Republican party. Soon after his inauguration President Jackson tendered to Mr. Woodbury the mission to Spain, but the offer was declined. After the close of his term in the Senate Mr. Woodbury returned to New Hampshire. When President Jackson reorganized his cabinet in 1831 he selected Mr. Woodbury for the head of the Navy Department. He was appointed during the recess of the Senate. Secretary Woodbury introduced order and system into the department, making many important changes in the methods of transacting business and in the management of the navy itself. He revised the navy regulations and materially curtailed the power of subordinate officers to punish seamen. He made an elaborate and valuable report on the live-oak supply of the country, that timber being used exclusively in the construction of naval vessels. He sent a frigate to punish the Malay pirates and a fleet to Charleston to aid in enforcing the collection of the revenue at the time of the threatened nullification by South Carolina. His administration of the Navy Department was vigorous and successful. In June, 1834, when the Senate rejected the nomination of Roger B. Taney as Secretary of the Treasury, President Jackson at once substituted the name of Secretary Woodbury for the vacant place. His nomination was confirmed the same day. He entered upon the discharge of his duties on the first of July. He served through the remainder of the administration of President Jackson and through that of President Van Buren. It was under his administration of the Treasury Department the last of the public debt was discharged. The government deposits had been removed from the United States Bank before he became Secretary of the Treasury and had been distributed among the various state banks. It was while Mr. Woodbury was Secretary of the Treasury during the administration of President Van Buren that the great Swartwout defalcation was uncovered. Swartwout had been appointed collector of the port of New York early in President Jackson's first administration. It developed later that he almost immediately entered upon a series of embezzlements. Secretary Woodbury was not satisfied with his reports and sent a special agent to investigate. The embezzlements |