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(This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. T...)
This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.
Stephen Van Culen White was a U. S. Representative from New York.
Background
Stephen Van Culen White was born in Chatham County, N. C. , the son of Hiram and Julia (Brewer) White. His mother belonged to a Carolina family and his father was descended from a Pennsylvania Quaker who migrated to North Carolina after the close of the Revolutionary War. Hiram White, who hated slavery intensely, refused to do police duty during the wave of dread that swept over the South as a result of Nat Turner's insurrection in 1831, and when Stephen was only six weeks old the family was obliged to leave the state. They settled in a log cabin near Otterville, Jersey County, Ill. , not far from the junction of the Illinois and Mississippi rivers.
Education
White attended the free school founded by Dr. Silas Hamilton in Otterville, helped about his father's farm and grist mill, and trapped fur-bearing animals. With the help of an elder brother he prepared for Knox College at Galesburg, Ill. , where he received the degree of A. B. in 1854.
Career
On leaving college he kept books for a mercantile house in St. Louis for eight months and then entered the law office of B. Gratz Brown and John A. Kasson. An ardent opponent of slavery, White wrote articles for the Republican party during Frémont's presidential campaign. He was admitted to the bar on November 4, 1856, and in the same year moved to Des Moines, Iowa. Here he practised until the end of 1864, during which year he was acting United States district attorney for Iowa. In the beginning of 1865 he moved to New York state, making his home in Brooklyn. Although he was admitted to the local bar he did not practise, but instead joined the open board of brokers and became a member of the banking and brokerage firm of Marvin & White, with offices in Wall Street. After the failure of this house in 1867, White went into business by himself. In 1869 he became a member of the New York Stock Exchange. He soon became known as a daring, though not always successful, stock manipulator, especially in the shares of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad. In 1872 he was obliged to suspend for the second time in consequence of losses sustained through the great fire in Boston. In 1882 he formed the partnership of S. V. White & Company. He was elected as a Republican to the Fiftieth Congress in 1886 and served one term (1887 - 89), declining a renomination. In 1891 he tried to corner the corn market, but miscalculated the available supply and failed for almost a million dollars instead of making the huge profit he had counted upon. His creditors, however, having faith in his honesty and ability, cancelled their claims against him and returned to him his $200, 000 remaining assets. He was readmitted to the stock exchange on Feburary 15, 1892, and by the end of that year had paid off the last of his obligations, with interest. A warm friend of Henry Ward Beecher, whose legal expenses in the famous Beecher-Tilton trial he is said to have defrayed, White was a trustee of Plymouth Church from 1866 till 1902 and its treasurer from 1869 till 1902. In that year he retired from much of his business activity to give time to his avocations.
(This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. T...)
Personality
He was a short, stocky man with a full beard, quick and alert in his movements, cordial in manner, and always attired in a frock coat with a soft, turned-down collar and a black string tie.
Connections
In February 1857, at Stanton, Ill. , he married Eliza M. Chandler, by whom he had a daughter.