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JOSEPH MEREDITH TONER. 
ever a vigilant and intelligent book-buyer. Though his 
earlier purchases were of medical and hygienic literature, he 
soon grew into a zealous collector of local history and biog¬ 
raphy. In his later years he devoted much time and money 
to the collection of the widely scattered biographic notices 
of American physicians, which expanded into a passion for 
sketches of the lives of all Americans. In this he cultivated 
an almost neglected field, by seeking to accumulate from a 
wide range of newspapers, magazines, etc., all the obituary 
and biographic portions. These he had mounted on manila 
paper and arranged in alphabetical order for ready reference. 
These fugitive biographical data are more valuable because 
not readily found by any ordinary researches. 
His zeal as a collector was further exemplified in his great 
assemblage of Washingtoniana, or of all the writings of 
George Washington. Of no American public man, perhaps, 
are there more extensive written remains than our first Pres¬ 
ident left behind him, but these autograph memorials are 
unhappily as widely dispersed as they are extensive. Dr. 
Toner set himself the task of securing for his collection au¬ 
thentic copies of everything which had ever been written by 
this illustrious man. Not satisfied with copying the long 
series of Washington’s private diaries in the Department of 
State, and arranging the w T hole of the writings as published 
in Sparks’s collection, with numerous corrections from the 
originals, he copied every letter not there found, from the 
many periodicals which have printed any such during this 
century or the last one, and made interest with the authori¬ 
ties of historical societies, libraries, and the many private 
owners of Washington autographs to permit copies to be 
made of all. Thus he accumulated and arranged in strict 
chronological order unquestionably the most complete as¬ 
semblage of the writings of Washington anywhere to be 
found. 
The crowning act that evinced the public spirit and benev¬ 
olence of our late associate was his gift to the nation, through 
deposit in the Library of Congress, of his entire collection 
of books, pamphlets, periodicals and manuscripts. This 
