Talk:Winthrop Welles Ketcham

Obituary

This material should be worked into the article, from an obituary published in The Luzerne Legal Register, Vol. 8, No. 51 (December 19, 1879) p. 301, now in the public domain:

As a boy, he was always hardworking and industrious, and seemed to understand that he had his own way to make in the world. He determined to obtain an education, and attended school whenever opportunity offered. As an instance of his energy and perseverance, it is said that when at work painting he would carry his books with him and learn his lessons during the dinner hour at noon. In 1843, when the Wyoming Seminary was first opened, he secured the position of teacher, under the late Dr. Reuben Nelson. In 1848 Ketcham went to Philadelphia, and became a teacher in Girard College, of which institution Judge Joel Jones was then president. Here he remained until the latter part of 1849, and then returned to Wilkes-Barre. His first public office was that of prothonotary of Luzerne county, to which he was elected in 1855. This he held during the term of three years. In 1858 he was elected a member of the House of Representatives, and served one year. In 1859 he was chosen state senator for three years. President Lincoln appointed him solicitor of the United States Court of Claims in 1864, and removed to Washington. In the fall of 1866 Ketcham resigned this office, as he was not in accord politically with Andrew Johnson. He was elected to Congress over Hon. H. B.Wright in 1874. In February, 1876, he had a violent attack of pneumonia in a hotel at Washington, and narrowly escaped death. It is said that he never entirely recovered from the effects of this severe illness. Before Ketcham's term in Congress had expired he was appointed judge of the United States Circuit Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, and retained that high position until his death. Soon after his appointment he removed to Pittsburg with his family, and visited Wilkes-Barre but rarely. Ketcham had four brothers,—Alexander H. Ketcham, now deceased; J. Holmes Ketcham, of Pittsburg, Daniel Ketcham, of Plymouth; and Hon. Lewis N. Ketcham, now deceased. His step-sister, Mrs. Hunt, and step-mother, Mrs. Susan Ketcham, reside in Kingston.

Judge Ketcham was busy as usual at his court on Saturday, the 6th instant, and returned to the St. Charles Hotel about three o'clock, and after dinner proceeded to his rooms. Shortly before five o'clock, while sitting reading, he complained to Mrs. Ketcham, the only occupant of the room, of a severe headache, arose from his chair to approach a lounge, and sank to the floor. The report of the fall was heard by Mr. and Mrs. C. A. Colton, who occupy rooms beneath, and they hastened to the room, where they found Mrs. Ketcham ministering to the sufferings of the judge. The stricken judge was aided to the lounge, and Dr. Benham summoned. The physician discovered at once that apoplexy was the ailment, and directed that the patient be put to bed. Mr. George Gamble, of the hotel, aided Judge Ketcham in walking across the room to another apartment, and on the way the latter remarked, " George, I'm blind." He quickly added, " George, George, in five or six hours it will all be over with me." This was about six o'clock in the evening. At seven the judge sank into unconsciousness. Soon after a number of leading physicians were summoned by Dr. Benham for consultation, but the patient remained unconscious till 11:50 P. M., when death ensued. Judge C. S. Fetter- man, John M. Kennedy, Esq., District Attorney McCormick, Mrs. Ketcham, and one or two others stood by the bed-side when the vital spark took its flight.

So popular had Judge Ketcham been with all classes of our people, that the expressions of sorrow and regret were universal. Born in humble circumstances, he had been a life-long friend of the poor, and among the workingmen there will be as genuine grief as in the circle of his wealthier and more influential admirers. It is impossible that a man who had for so long a time held positions of trust and responsibility, and who had for years been before the public in official capacities, should pass so suddenly from life without producing a deep impression upon the community. Both in public and private life, Judge Ketcham had friends without number, for he was genial, generous, warm-hearted, and true, and such men draw others to them by silken cords as stong as steel. We knew Judge Ketcham well and intimately for many years. He was our neighbor and friend, and we enjoyed many hours of social intercourse with him. He has gone out from us, and those who knew him will know him no more forever. Our acquaintance with Ketcham commenced over twenty years ago, he being prothonotary of the county, and we a law student at the time. He was the most accommodating officer that we ever knew, ever ready and willing to assist all persons having business with the office, and particularly the young. We knew him afterwards as a lawyer, as a member of the House of Representatives, as a state senator, as the solicitor of the United States Court of Claims, as a representative in Congress, and as a judge of the District Court of the United States. All these positions he filled well, with credit to himself and to his country. Ketcham, by his talents, sagacity, and his thorough knowledge of the government and of public questions, was admirably fitted for a party leader, and his friends many times endeavored to push him forward, but he shrunk from the mere contests of party. And yet, when occasion required it, he did not hesitate to break a lance with the most renowned champions, and always with credit to himself. He was not an ambitious man, in the ordinary sense of that term. He had a just regard for his own character, and a becoming solicitude for his own fame. He desired to be useful, to labor for his country, to benefit his race, and to possess the good opinions of his cotemporaries; but he had no desire for the possession of mere power. His tastes were all refined, delicate, and elevated. He could not tolerate the gross, vulgar, or indelicate. He loved the beautiful in whatever form it appeared. In social intercourse he was without a rival, so far as our observation goes. He was a man of exalted virtue. He was incapable of an impure or mean action. He was just in his dealing, truthful in every declaration, faithful to even' promise. We never knew a man who enjoyed more universally the respect and confidence of the entire community in which he dwelt, irrespective of all difference of social position, of character or creed. Always bold, frank, unreserved in his political opinions and utterances, no political antagonist ever grew into a personal enemy. For while he knew no fear or hesitation in the expression of his own political views, he extended the largest tolerance and charity to all who differed with him. He was, in the fullest meaning of the term, a self-made man. Commencing life without any of the advantages with which ancestry or wealth line the pathway of a young man, he felt that his future was to depend upon himself; that from his own unaided efforts he was to win success. He was one of those instances, so common under the favoring influences of the institutions and laws of this country, which illustrate that the avenues to the most honorable position and the highest success are here alike open to all, and within the reach of every man who will apply his God-given faculties with fidelity and earnestness of purpose. During his whole life he was never suspected, as far as we know or believe, of any impropriety involving his personal honor. He passed through all the vicissitudes of public life and the struggles of party without even having his action ascribed to improper influences. In this valley, where his life was mainly spent, and where his body now lies, his name and memory will be long cherished; and the present generation at least must fully pass away before the personal memories of his virtues, his kindnesses, and his true and manly heart, can perish from among us. The scene has closed. Winthrop Welles Ketcham has been gathered to his fathers; his spirit has gone to meet the responsibilities and the rewards of eternity; his life and character only remain, just objects of admiration and emulation to American youth.

Cheers! bd2412 T 23:28, 13 March 2009 (UTC)