Biographical Sketch of the Hon.

Chas. Denby,?LL.D.

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CHARLES DENBY, eldest son of Nathaniel and Jane Denby, was born at?Mt.Joy,?Botetourt County, Virginia, on June16, 1830. Mt.Joy was the country residence?of his grandfather, Matthew Harvey, and it?is still pointed out to visitors to Virginia as?a place of note.

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Mr. Denby received his early education at?the Tom Fox Academy, Hanover County, Virginia, attending later Georgetown College,?D. C., and the Virginia Military Institute,?from which he graduated with high honours?in 1850.

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During his early youth, his father, who was?a Virginia ship-owner, interested in the European trade, was appointed to a post at Marseilles, France, the functions whereof were

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similar to those of a consul-general, but then?known as Naval Agent of the United States.On taking up his post, Nathaniel Denby took?his son with him,?and these years of boyhood?spent in France formed an important period in?the education of the youth. There he acquired?the French language, his fluent and idiomatic?control of which he never lost, and which,?in?his later diplomatic career, was of inestimable?advantage to him. The years spent in France?were also of great utility in laying the foundation of the military training, afterward perfected at the Virginia Military Institute, which?enabled him, at the call to arms in 1861, to?place at the disposal of his country the services?of a master of military drill and tactics. Colonel Denby in after life frequently referred with?affectionate pride to the lessons he had learned?at the Collège Royal, at Marseilles, and their?great value to him.

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On graduating from the Virginia Military?Institute, Mr. Denby went to Selma, Ala.,where he taught school for three years. In1853,?he removed to Evansville, Indiana,?which remained his home until his death.?Evansville was then a town of six thousand?inhabitants, which, from its position on the?Ohio River, at the terminus of the Wabash?and Erie Canal, seemed destined to a great?development. At Evansville, Colonel Denby?devoted himself to the study of law and to?newspaper work. He represented his county?in the Legislature of Indiana, during the session of 1856-57. While in the Legislature?Mr. Denby became acquainted with Miss Martha Fitch, daughter of United States Senator?Fitch, of Indiana, and they were afterward?married. This union was an ideally happy?one, and was only broken by his death.

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On the day Fort Sumter was attacked, Mr.Denby realized that a bitter war was upon the?nation. Against his Virginia birth and training lay his devotion to his country. Without?hesitation his course was chosen,?and, closing?his office, he at once proceeded to organize a?company for home service under the stars?and stripes. Under his able command these?troops became proficient in military tactics, and?finally, on the call for troops in July, 1861,?entered active service in the Forty-second Regiment, Indiana Volunteers. Mr. Denby was?appointed lieutenant-colonel of this regiment,?and served with it until October 10, 1862,?when he was appointed colonel of the Eightieth Regiment,?Indiana Volunteers. He was?several times engaged in battle and was twice?struck, though only slightly wounded. In?February, 1863, he was compelled to resign,on surgeon's certificate, and returned to the?practice of the law at Evansville.

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Colonel Denby was always identified with?the Democratic party, and was always an active participant in its campaigns. While never?a candidate for political office,?he was deep in?the councils of the party, and was repeatedly?delegate at large from Indiana to the Democratic National Conventions.

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On the election of President Cleveland,?Colonel Denby was put forward by his friends?as a candidate for a post in the diplomatic?service, and on May 29, 1885, was appointed?Minister to China. His peculiar aptitude for?the profession of diplomacy, his intense application to the duties of his post, his deep reading and habits of careful observation, as well?as the lofty integrity which inspired his whole?career,?soon showed him to be an invaluable?servant of his country in that position. Rarely?has an American minister in any capital obtained so universally the approval of his own?superiors, his?countrymen resident in the?country to which he was accredited, and at?the same time of the authorities of that country. Colonel Denby's stay in China,?covering?three administrations and part of the fourth,?was marked by the unbroken confidence of the?Chinese authorities. To him, more than to?any other foreign representative, they turned?in their problems and difficulties, and by his?advice they were largely guided in their relations with other powers. This exalted regard?he merited by the strict integrity and the disinterestedness of his attitude. At all times?attentive solely to the interests of his government and his fellow citizens, he never for one?instant availed himself of his influence to secure any personal advantage for himself. He?was in China at a time when international?politics was in a disturbed condition, when?mighty governmental forces were at work in?the advancement of grants and concessions,?when immense sums were spent in the promotion of railway and mining schemes, and?when influence or “pull” with the Chinese?government was a marketable commodity.?During this episode of China's recent history,?Colonel Denby pursued unsullied his lofty?course, America's name thus coming untarnished out of a period which left its stain on?the reputation of several nations.

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In no feature of his term of office as minister was Colonel Denby met with more conspicuous success nor warmer appreciation than?in his relations with the American missionaries. He early realized what a large part?of America's interest in China the missionary?interest constituted. One of his earliest duties?was to inform himself concerning their work,?their personal character, their standing in the?communities in which they laboured. To this?duty he, with characteristic zeal, devoted attentive efforts. He travelled much about the?Empire,visiting and inspecting schools,?colleges, hospitals, and chapels. Wherever possible he made personal friends amongst the?missionaries, and, hearing at first hand their?reports of their success, the stories of their?grievances, and being enabled by his official?relations with the authorities, high and low,?of the Empire to familiarize himself with both?sides of all controversies, he was placed in a?position to form an opinion of missions and?their agents which no man could dispute.

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Colonel Denby served as Minister to China?during Mr. Cleveland's first administration,?Mr. Harrison's, and Mr. Cleveland's second?administration, as well as for a year or more?under President McKinley. President McKinley accepted his resignation, as he told a?personal friend, because of the demand for?the post in his own party, not for any reason?that reflected on Colonel Denby.

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Immediately upon his arrival in this country in September, 1898, Colonel Denby was?appointed a member of the commission to inquire into the conduct of the war with Spain.?Even before the adjournment of that commission he was made a member of the first commission to the Philippines, together with Admiral Dewey, General Otis, President Schurman, of Cornell University, and Professor?Worcester,?of Michigan University. To this?work he brought the valuable aid of his wide?knowledge and experience of the East, which?were keenly appreciated by his colleagues on?the commission and by the administration itself.

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After retirement from official life, Colonel?Denby settled down at his old home at Evansville, Indiana, and devoted himself to literary?labours, study, and the pleasures of home life.?He was always very happy in his domestic?relations, and enjoyed throughout life the devotion of a wide circle of friends. Physically?he was a specimen of perfect manhood. He?drew to himself all who knew him by a noble?bearing and generous nature. His physical?proportions and handsome face made him a?marked man in any community. He died suddenly, at the age of seventy-four years, at?Jamestown, New York, to which city he had?gone to deliver a lecture.

THE EDITOR.