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Show s . SEWELL WAS A vELT. New Jersey Senator, Deceased, Was Born in County Mayo. Hon. William Joyce ' Sewell. United States senator from New Jersey, who died Dec. 27. was a native of County Mayo, Ireland, a fact which the press seems to igrnore. and like, most Irishmen, Irish-men, -came to. this country at an early-age. early-age. By energy and perseverance, he attained success and fame. He became prominent as an attorney , in the east, ! being a recognized authority on cor- J pora tion law; served with bravery in! some of 'the most noted battles of the civil war, being promoted from colonel to . major general because of his gallantry; gal-lantry; was elected and re-elected to congress and the United States senate, being a leader on political and state questions. H.e was one of the few men in civil life to whom President Mc-Kinley. Mc-Kinley. though an adversary, politically, politic-ally, offered a major general's commission commis-sion in the Spanish-American war. Of him the Irish eWorld says: "United States Senator William Joyce Sewell, a good Irishman, a brave soldier, sol-dier, a wise statesman.' splendid Business Busi-ness executive., a model citizen gener-.'. ally, died at his home in Camden; N.; J., after a long'lllncss. General Sewell was born in the town of Ballina, Couni - I ty Mayo, Ireland, in 1S35. His mother, a woman of no mean mental ability, I kept a littl store in the town. She ' was a Methodist, the only one in the .place. With his brother, the late Robert Rob-ert Sewell, one of the leading lawyers of his time in this city, he came here at an early age. Both attained that success and prominence that , this free land holds out for men of push, ability and genius. "General Sewell entered the Union army at the outbreak of the civil war, in the Fifth New -Jersey volunteers, and participated in all . the engagements engage-ments in which his regiment took part down to the battle of Spottsylvania in May, 1S64. In. the battle of Chancellors-ville Chancellors-ville he assumed charge of a. brigade, and at a critical point in the engagement engage-ment led it forward in a resistless charge and achieved one of the most brilliant successes of the war. He captured cap-tured eight colors from the Confederates Confeder-ates and retook the regimental standard stand-ard of a New York regiment. His services ser-vices were scarcely less brilliant at Gettysburg and other important points. He was wounded twice, at Gettysburg and Chancellorsville. - He was made brevet major general of volunteers on April 9, iS63, 'for .gallant and .meritorious .meritori-ous conduct at the battle of Chancellorsville,' Chancel-lorsville,' and major .general at the close of the war for meritorious services. ser-vices. - "After the war he entered the service ser-vice of the Pennsylvania railroad and became . one of the chiefs of the east ern envision ot mac great corporation, being at the time of his death president presi-dent of the United Railways of New Jersey. He was serving his second term in the United States senate, where he was always regarded as a wise and prudent statesman. He never forgot the land of his birth, and ever proudly acknowledged his fealty to it as a son of the 'Joyce country.' In his death we have lost a fine representative representa-tive of our raca and the republic on of its most estimable citizens. May he rest in peace." |
