Samuel Tilden
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Samuel Jones Tilden (1814 - 1886)

Governor Samuel Jones Tilden
Born in New Lebanon, Columbia, New York, United Statesmap
Ancestors ancestors
[sibling(s) unknown]
Died at age 72 in Yonkers, Westchester, New York, United Statesmap
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Profile last modified | Created 4 Feb 2014
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Preceded by
24th Governor
John Adams Dix
Samuel J. Tilden
25th Governor
of New York
Seal of the State of New York
1875—1876
Succeeded by
26th Governor
Lucius Robinson

Contents

Biography

Notables Project
Samuel Tilden is Notable.
TILDEN, Samuel Jones, an American lawyer, born in New Lebanon, Columbia co., N. Y., Feb. 9, 1814. He entered Yale college in 1833, but completed his course at the university of New York, and was admitted to the bar. He was a member of the state constitutional convention of 1846, and also of assembly, and did much to shape the canal policy of the state. In 1855 he was defeated as democratic candidate for the office of attorney general of the state. In 1866 he was chosen chairman of the state democratic committee, and in 1867 was a member of the constitutional convention. In 1869-'70 he was active in the organization of the bar association. In 1870-'71 he was prominent in detecting important frauds in the government of New York city, and in 1872 was a member of assembly. In November, 1874, he was elected governor of New York by 50,317 majority. He has been counsel in many important cases, prominent among which are the Flagg contested election for the comptrollership of New York city in 1855; the Burdell heirs against Mrs. Cunningham in 1857; the Cumberland coal case in 1858; and the Delaware and Hudson canal company against the Pennsylvania coal company in 1863.
http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_American_Cyclop%C3%A6dia_(1879)/Tilden,_Samuel_Jones


Samuel Jones Tilden (February 9, 1814 – August 4, 1886) was the Democratic candidate for the U.S. presidency in the disputed election of 1876, the most controversial American election of the 19th century. A political reformer, he was a Bourbon Democrat who worked closely with the New York City business community, led the fight against the corruption of Tammany Hall, and fought to keep taxes low.
http://tildenmemories.com/page3.html

A lawyer whose clients included many railroads, and a shrewd investor and businessman, Samuel Tilden was very rich, and spent accordingly. In 1863, he bought a home at 15 Gramercy Park South, an upscale neighborhood in Manhattan. He loved to entertain, and added a dining room, wine cellar, and extensive gardens. In 1874, he also bought the mansion next door. His plan to merge the two into one luxurious dwelling was delayed when he was elected governor in 1874, becoming the first governor to live in the executive mansion in Albany. After his loss in the 1876 presidential election, he returned to Gramercy Park and had the two mansions merged into one home. which contained 40 rooms including a dining room with a stained glass ceiling. (Source: Daytonian in Manhattan. This source contains many interesting pictures of this palatial home.)

In the 1880 census, he was living in this home, with his widowed sister Mary Pelton and Mary's orphaned granddaughter, 17-year-old Laura Pelton, as well as six servants. (Source: 1880 Census)

By then, he had also purchased a summer residence in Yonkers (20 miles north of Manhattan). "Greystone", a mansion of 99 rooms, sat on 33 acres of land on the Hudson River. He added 13 greenhouses and created gardens. Samuel Tilden died at Greystone in August, 1886; after his death the property was sold to Samuel Untermeyer, who enlarged the gardens. The mansion no longer exists, but the extensive gardens are now a public park. (Source: Untermeyer Gardens)

Of the many rooms in Tilden’s homes, one of the most important was the library, housing 20,000 books. At his death, his book collection, as well as the greater part of his fortune, was bequeathed to create the New York Public Library. Books on history and family lineage enabled him to trace the Tilden family back to 1463, although modern genealogists might not approve of his method: “the record was compiled from information picked up here and there, jotted down and tossed into a drawer.” (Source: Mitchell, South Dakota, Daily Republican, 8 August 1886, quoted by Tina Ordone). Other books would have been about his hobbies: raising saddle horses and dairy cattle, and growing exotic plants in his greenhouses.

Although he never married, in his latter years he was reported to have been engaged twice. Nellie Hazeltine, “the Belle of St. Louis,” however, married another suitor and died in 1884. Mary Celeste Stauffer of New Orleans, who like Nellie was young, beautiful, and rich, received a bequest of $100,000 at his death.

(Sources: Tina Ordone, “Stephentown Genealogy”; New York Times, “Upstate Memorial to Tilden”; Find a Grave: Nellie Hazeltine Paramore; Find a Grave: Mary Celeste Stauffer Eastwick.)

On August 4, 1886, Samuel Tilden died at Greystone. His funeral there four days later was attended by President Cleveland and other dignitaries, as well as hundreds of local citizens. Crowds watched solemnly as the funeral procession made its way from the mansion to the train station for the journey to New Lebanon, where the great statesman was buried near his family. Newspapers throughout the country provided every detail of the somber events. (Source, Tina Ordone)

Census 1880

Name: Saml. J. Tilden
Age: 66
Birth Year: abt 1814
Birthplace: New York
Home in 1880: New York City, New York, New York
Race: White
Gender: Male
Relation to Head of House: Self (Head)
Marital status: Single
Father's Birthplace: Connecticut
Mother's Birthplace: Connecticut
Neighbors:
Occupation: Lawyer
Household Members:
Name Age
Saml. J. Tilden 66
Mary B. Pelton 67 sister
Laura Pelton 17
Source Citation: Year: 1880; Census Place: New York City, New York, New York; Roll: 870; Family History Film: 1254870; Page: 38C; Enumeration District: 071; Image: 0079.

New York Politicians and Postmasters

Name: Samuel J Tilden
Birth Date: 1814
Birth Place: New Lebanon NY
Death Date: 4 Aug 1886
Death Place: Nyc
Father: Elam Tilden
Source: New York RedBook 1898, Governors from first to 1898
Source Information: Cuccinello, Karen, comp.. New York Politicians and Postmasters, 1898 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2000.
Original data: Edgar L. Murlin. The 1898 New York Red Book: an Illustrated Legislative Manual of the State List of Politicians and Postmasters in New York. New York, USA: 1898.

Burial

The monument which marks his final resting place was designed by famous architect Ernest Flagg and created by noted sculptor Carl Conrads (Source: Wikipedia, “Gov Samuel J. Tilden Monument.”) It was restored in 1984 (Source: New York Times, "Upstate Monument to Tilden") and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2006. (Source: National Record of Historic Places).

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 30 March 2021), memorial page for Samuel Jones Tilden (9 Feb 1814–4 Aug 1886), Find A Grave: Memorial #1036, citing Cemetery of the Evergreens, New Lebanon, Columbia County, New York, USA ; Maintained by Find A Grave .

Sources

  • Entered by Laura Lee Scott, Feb 4, 2014
  • Mayflower Families Through Five Generations, Silver Books, Volume Eighteen, Part 2, The Descendants of Richard Warren Through His Children Mary, Anna, and Elizabeth, Published 2011, Page 149




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