THOMAS EDDY.

THE character of Mr. Eddy as a merchant and a man induces us to place it on record. Connected as he was with those great projects for ameliorating the moral and physical condition of New York, the Erie Canal and the penitentiary system, and exhibiting the pure example of a spotless life, as well as a model of commercial integrity, it is believed that a short account of one who occupied so prominent and useful a position in the history of his country will be peculiarly acceptable to that portion of the present generation who now throng the busy marts of trade and commerce. That noble charity, the New York Hospital, stands a monument of the liberal, warm, and active spirit which glowed in all his actions, through a long and varied life. The philanthropist Howard was his beacon-light; and emulating the example of that good man, he devoted himself, body and soul, to the mitigation of human misery, in whatever shape it assumed. Such, indeed, were his virtues, that he received by general consent the appellation of the 66 'HOWARD OF AMERICA."

THOMAS EDDY was born in Philadelphia, on the 5th of September, 1758. His parents were from Ireland, and had emigrated about five years before. They belonged to the Society of Friends. His father was engaged in the shipping business until 1766, when he went into that of the hardware, in which he continued until his death, which occurred in the latter part of the same year. Mrs. Eddy, with a large family of children, continued the business for a number of years after her husband's death, when she removed to Bucks county. On account of the disordered

state of the times, seminaries of learning were few and badly conducted, and the scholastic acquisitions of young Eddy, at the age of thirteen, were comprised within narrow limits. "All the learning," he says, in a short memoir of himself, "all the learning I acquired was reading, writing, and arithmetic as far as vulgar fractions. As to grammar, I could repeat some of the definitions by rote, but was totally ignorant of its principles." At the age we have referred to, he was apprenticed to a Mr. Hoskins, of Burlington, New Jersey, to learn the tanning business, but some misunderstanding having occurred with his employer, he remained but two years with him.

An acquaintance formed in his sixteenth year, with a young man named William Savary, seems to have given such an impulse to his moral virtues as remained through life, and gave birth to the line of conduct which has since made him conspicuous among the few who are really good. He pays a rich compliment to this friend of his early years:

"Of William Savary, it would be difficult for me to say too much. No two persons could entertain a more near and tender regard and affection for each other, than always subsisted between us. He was a man of uncommonly strong mind, and good understanding. When about twenty-five years of age he became a minister, and perhaps there never was one more highly esteemed and beloved. He was admired by all classes, and openly opposed to every thing in the least marked with bigotry or superstition. As a preacher, he was in the first rank. His manner of delivery was pleasing and solemn, his mind was cultivated and improved, and he was uncommonly liberal in his sentiments toward those of other societies. I have often thought there never was so nearly perfect a character within my knowledge in our society, and none that more extensively inculcated and effectually diffused true, practical, Christian principles."

Upon the evacuation of Philadelphia by the British, Mr. Eddy went to New York, shortly after his brother Charles had sailed for England. He arrived in that city on the 4th of September, 1779, with the sum of ninety-six dollars. Totally ignorant of any kind of business, and with a slender education, he struggled hard to defray his necessary expenses. In the memoir to which we have referred, and from which we make liberal extracts, he says: "I took board with William Backhouse, in the house now occupied by Daniel McCormick in Wall-street, at the rate of eight dollars per week, besides having to pay one dollar weekly for washing; Samuel Elain, late of Newport, deceased, John I. Glover, and two or three other respectable merchants, boarded at the same house; becoming acquainted with them was highly useful to me, as it was the first opportunity I ever had of acquiring a knowledge of commerce, and the course of mercantile dealing. I knew that it was out of my power to support myself with what I then possessed, and that I must soon come to want, unless I could succeed in business. The first thing to which my attention was turned, was daily to attend auctions at the Coffee House, and being sensible of my own ignorance, I endeavored by every means in my power to acquire information, carefully inquiring of others the names of articles exposed for public sale, as it often happened that I was not even acquainted with the names of many of them. I then inquired their value, and advised with some persons previous to purchasing; sometimes, on noticing an article intended to be sold by auction, I would procure a sample, and call on some dealer in the article, and get them to offer me a fixed price on my furnishing it. In this way, by first ascertaining where I could dispose of the goods, I would purchase, provided the price would afford me a profit. On this plan I have found a purchaser for goods, bought and delivered them, and received the money, which enabled

me to pay the auctioneer the cost of them, without my advancing one shilling. I was obliged to live by my wits, and this necessity was of great use to me afterward. Some months after my arrival at New York, my brother Charles arrived from Ireland, and brought with him, on account of merchants there, provisions, linens, &c., shipped from Dublin, Cork, Belfast, and other ports. He returned to Europe in 1780, previous to which we formed a copartnership with Benjamin Sykes, under the firm of Eddy, Sykes & Co.

"This firm prosecuted business mostly in consignments from England and Ireland, and some shipping business. My partner was a good-natured, honest Englishman, but not possessed of a very intelligent, active mind; in consequence of this, the management and contrivance of the business fell to my lot, and, though very young and without experience, I had to write all the letters, and carry on every kind of correspondence, besides mostly making all the purchases and sales. By every packet we had to write twenty or thirty letters to England and Ireland, and to accomplish this, had frequently to sit writing till twelve or one o'clock in the morning. I was sedulously and actively employed in business, and in this way acquired considerable knowledge of commercial affairs. Our concerns were extensive, and were prosecuted with tolerable success, respectability, and reputation. My brother George was at this time in Philadelphia, about eighteen years of age. He possessed a remarkably sensible and comprehensive mind. Although he had no knowledge of business, he was full of enterprise. By him, in Philadelphia, and by Eddy, Sykes & Co. in New York, an arrangement was made, with the consent of General Washington, to supply the British and foreign troops with money, who were taken with Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown. The money was raised by my brother at Philadelphia, drawing on us at New York, and the moneys thus raised were paid to the paymaster of the

British and foreign troops, prisoners at Lancaster, Pennsylvania, for which he received and sent to Eddy, Sykes & Co. that paymaster's drafts on the paymaster-general at New York. By an agreement made with Sir Henry Clinton, the British commander, we were paid six per cent. commission. The whole amount paid amounted to a very large sum, and proved a profitable contract."

On his arrival at New York he renewed an intimacy previously formed in Philadelphia with Miss Hannah Hartshorne, for whom he entertained a tender and warm affection. His attachment was reciprocated, and they were united, in 1782, at the Old Meeting-house in Liberty-street.

Before the Americans re-entered the city of New York, Mr. Eddy removed to Philadelphia, where he formed a mercantile connection with his brother George. Charles had settled in Europe, and was prosecuting business there on his own account. In January, 1784, Thomas went to Virginia for the purpose of making purchases of tobacco, and shipping it to England. During the revolutionary war, tobacco, in Europe, sold at a very extravagant price; and for a year after peace was declared great quantities were shipped, thus causing the market to be so overstocked and the price so reduced, that immense sums were lost by the shippers. Thomas and George Eddy were included among those engaged in this unfortunate speculation. About this time the ill effects of a large importation of European goods, cut off by the war, began to be felt. The country was inundated with extensive shipments; remittances were difficult to be made, and consequently a great many houses, both here and in London, became bankrupt. Charles had supplied Thomas and George Eddy with goods on credit to a large amount, and they in turn had given extensive credits to their customers. The failure of the former, in London, expedited that of the latter. They were relieved from their embarrassments under a general act of bank