572 



OBITUARIES, AMERICAN. (COTHEAL CURTIN.) 



Cotheal, Alexander Isaac, Orientalist, born in New 

 York city, Nov. 5, 1804 ; died there, Feb. 25, 1894. He 

 was educated in the old Broad Street Academy and in 

 the Pickett School, and entered the shipping office ol 

 his father and uncle. In 1836 he entered the tirm and 

 took charge of the French and Spanish correspond- 

 ence till 1849, when, on the death of his father, the 

 firm was dissolved. He then spent three years in 

 Oriental travel and study, and became proficient in 

 the Arabic, Turkish, Persian, Hindustani, and other 

 languages. In 1852 he went to Nicaragua, subse- 

 quently he spent several years in study and literary 

 work, and from 1871 till his death he was Nicaraguan 

 consul general in the United States. He was a di- 

 rector of the American Oriental Society, a founder of 

 the American Geological arid the American Ethno- 

 logical Societies, and president of the latter, and the 

 oldest member of the St. Nicholas Society. His pub- 

 lications include " A Sketch of the Language of the 

 Musquito Indians," several volumes of the "Transac- 

 tions of the American Ethnological Society," a trans- 

 lation of the rare Arabic text of "Atoff, the Generous," 

 incorporated by Sir Richard Burton in vol. vi of his 

 " Supplemental Nights." 



Crowell, Eugene, author, born in White Plains, N. Y., 

 Feb. 14, 1817 ; died in New York city, Oct. 29, 1894. 

 He was graduated in medicine at the University of 

 the City of New York in 1832, and went to San Fran- 

 cisco in 1849, engaging in the drug business and sub- 

 sequently establishing the largest wholesale drug 

 house on the Pacific slope. In 1854 he became Grand 

 President of the Know-nothing party ; in 1860 Presi- 

 dent of the San Francisco Industrial School ; and in 

 1861 President of the Board of Supervisors of the city. 

 He was also President of the Society of California 

 Pioneers and of the Odd Fellows' Society. While in 

 San Francisco he was nominated mayor by the dom- 

 inant party, but declined because of 'sickness in his 

 family. In 1868 he returned to New York city, be- 

 came interested in several financial enterprises, and 

 spent much time in the study of spiritualism. He 

 published " The Identity of Primitive Christianity 

 with Modern Spiritualism " (2 vols.. New York, 1874)*; 

 " Spiritualism and Insanity " (1877) ; " The Religion 

 of Spiritualism " (1878) ; " The Spirit World " (1879) ; 

 and " The Philosophy of Death." 



Cnmmings, Thomas Seir, painter, born in England in 

 1804; died in Hackensack, N. J., Sept, 24, 1894. He 

 was brought to New York city by liis parents while a 

 child, was trained for commercial business, and stud- 

 ied painting principally with Henry Inman As a 

 painter of miniature portraits he acquired skill and 

 fame, and he followed that line of work till the in- 

 vention of the daguerreotype rendered it unprofitable. 

 While a student he became acquainted with the young 

 men then drawing from the casts in the old American 

 Academy of Fine'Arts, of which John Trumbull, the 

 painter, was president. In 1825 a number of these 

 students withdrew from the academy and founded 

 the New York Drawing Association. On Jan. 16, 

 1826, this association was reorganized as the National 

 Academy of the Arts of Design, with 15 members, 

 who each chose another. Mr. Cummings was among 

 the first 15. The new academy in time bought at 

 public auction the collection of casts of the old acad- 

 emy, which soon went out of existence, and has been 

 conducted since on the principle, which made it 

 radically different from the original one, that all its 

 affairs shall be under the sole supervision of the art- 

 ists. Mr. Cummings was treasurer of the new acad- 

 emy for many years, was chairman of the building 

 committee, was commissioned a brigadier general of 

 militia in 1838, and was a founder of the Sketch Club. 

 He was author of " The Historic Annals of the Na- 

 tional Academy, from its Foundation to 1865" (Phila- 

 delphia, 1S<>;, ), and survived all the founders. 



Curtin, Andrew Gregg, lawyer, born in Bellefonte, 

 Center County, Pa., April 22,1817; died there, Oct. 

 7, ls<4. He received an academic education; was 

 graduated at the law department of Dickinson College, 

 and was admitted to the bar in 1837. Earlv in his 





practice he became active in politics, and being en- 

 dowed with fine oratorical abilities, he made a State 

 reputation as an effective speaker, when only twenty - 

 three years old, in the Tippecanoe campaign of 1840. 

 In 1844 he made a brilliant canvass for Henry Clav ; 

 in 1848 he took the stump for Gen. Taylor, and was a 

 presidential elector; and in 1852 was a candidate for 

 presidential elector on the Scott ticket. Four years 

 afterward he was urged to accept the nomination 

 for Governor of Pennsylvania, but declined in favor 

 of a former schoolmate, James Pollock, who ap- 

 pointed, him Secretary of the Commonwealth. In this 

 campaign he was also chairman of the Republican 

 State Central Committee. As Secretary of the Com- 

 monwealth, he was 

 also Superintendent 

 of Common Schools, 

 and as such officer 

 inaugurated many 

 reforms. Among th e 

 effects of his admin- 

 istration of the last 

 office were the in- 

 stitution of the pres- 

 ent system of coun- 

 ty superintendents 

 and the establish- 

 ment of State nor- 

 mal schools. At the 

 close of his term he 

 resumed law practice 

 and engaged in pro- 

 moting the construc- 

 tion of new lines of 

 railway in the cen- 

 tral part of the State. In 1860 he became one of the- 

 most conspicuous men in the Northern States. Penn- 

 sylvania had given her vote to the Democracy under 

 Buchanan in 1856, but had been carried twice since 

 by the Republicans. Those who favored the nomina- 

 tion of Abraham Lincoln for the presidency believed 

 that his election depended on the strength developed 

 in two States, Pennsylvania and Indiana, and the 

 support of the former particularly became a matter of 

 grave concern. The success of the Republican candi- 

 date for Governor in the October election was deemed 

 necessary for a national success in November, and Mr. 

 Curtin was selected. He went into the State Conven- 

 tion, announced himself as a candidate for the nomina- 

 tion for Governor, and, despite formidable opposition, 

 won it. The Pennsylvania delegation to the Repub- 

 lican National Convention, among whom Thaddeus 

 Stevens and David Wilmot were the leaders, were 

 instructed to vote for Simon Cameron for presidential 

 nominee, with John McLane, of Ohio, for its second 

 choice. When the convention met it seemed evident 

 that William H. Seward was the choice of the major- 

 ity of the delegates. It was also believed that Penn- 

 sylvania could not be carried by the Republicans 

 with Seward as their candidate. In this emergency 

 Mr. Curtin was sent for. He hastened to the conven- 

 tion, and to the leading men declared that the nomi- 

 nation of Seward would imperil his own candidacy in 

 the State election, and that the defeat of the Repu'bli- . 

 cans there would bring disaster to the national ticket. 

 It was soon evident that the Seward delegates outside 

 of New York were willing to forego then- preference 

 and to unite on such a candidate as would prove 

 acceptable to the candidates for Governor of the two 

 doubtful October States. For these considerations 

 Andrew G. Curtin, of Pennsylvania, and Henry S. 

 Lane, of Indiana, held the entire convention in their 

 grasp, and to their influence more than to that of any 

 other person or persons the nomination of Abraham 

 Lincoln, it is said, was due. When the presidential 

 ticket was nominated Mr. Curtin returned to Penn- 

 sylvania and entered the dual campaign with all his 

 energy and brilliancy. He spoke at least once in 

 nearly every county," and, though the Democracy 

 rallied to the support of Henry D. Foster, Mr. Curt in 

 was elected by over 32,000 votes, and, it was believed. 





