San Francisco County
William George Marcy, one of the eldest and most highly respected residents of Alameda, is a son of William Larned Marcy, one of the most noted statesmen and public officials the Government of the United States ever possessed.
The father of William George, a native of Massachusetts, settled in Troy, New York, in the practice of law. He was born December 12, 1786; graduated in 1808 at Brown University; served as an officer in the war of 1812, capturing at St. Regis, Canada, the first prisoners and the first flag taken on land in the war; became in 1816 the Recorder of Troy, and for a time conducted the Troy Budget, then a leading anti-Federalist organ; became in 1820 Adjutant General of New York, in 1823 Comptroller, and in 1829 Judge of the State Supreme Court; in 1831 he was elected United States Senator, which office he resigned the following year, being elected Governor of the State of New York. To the latter position he was reelected twice, but the fourth time, when he was a candidate, in 1838, he was defeated by William H. Seward. In 1839 President Van Buren appointed him Commissioner to adjust Mexican claims. In 1845 President Polk selected him as Secretary of War, and it was during his term of office that the war with Mexico occurred, in which he exhibited great ability, as well as in the settlement of numerous intricate diplomatic questions. In 1853 President Pierce appointed him Secretary of State, in which capacity he added to his already established reputation as a statesman of a high order. Many of his State papers were masterly productions. On the inauguration of President Buchanan, Mr. Marcy retired from public life. He died at Ballston Spa, New York, July 4, 1857. About the time he was elected Governor of New York, or shortly previous, he was a member of the Albany Regency, an organization of great political influence in both State and national affairs.
He was married twice. For his first wife he wedded, in September, 1812, Miss Dolly Newell, of Southbridge, Massachusetts, by whom he had two sons: Samuel, a captain in the United States navy, who was killed during the war of the Rebellion while in command of the U.S. ship Vincennes; and William George, whose name heads this biographical history. Mrs. Marcy died March 6, 1821. For his second wife, Mr. Marcy married Cornelia Knower, of Albany, and they had one son, Edmond, who died early in life, of consumption; and one daughter, Cornelia, also deceased. The second Mrs. Marcy died February 8, 1889.
Secretary Marcy’s career was a noted one for its brilliancy and world-wide celebrity. His intellectual power and statesmanship were extraordinary, appearing, indeed, as prominent as the corresponding qualities of those great contemporaries, Clay, Webster, Jackson, Van Buren, Calhoun, etc. It is to his courage and decision of purpose that all naturalized citizens owe their protection by this Government against the country of their birth. In the famous Koszta case he demonstrated that a person who has once declared his intention to become a citizen of the United States is entitled to all the protections that the Government can give to any citizen; and he declared that all the power of the Government should be exerted to protect him. This principle has been the ground of action in all subsequent cases, and it is now the recognized rule between the United States and all other nations.
Mr. William G. Marcy, the subject of this biographical outline, was born in Troy, New York, October 18, 1818. After finishing his education he engaged in the banking business in Albany and New York city. At the age of twenty-one years he was made paying teller of the Bank of Commerce in New York, at that time the largest bank in the United States. In 1846 he was commissioned a Captain in the Commissary Department of the United States army, and was appointed to duty with the First Regiment of New York Volunteers (Colonel Stevenson’s regiment), and accompanied it to this State, arriving at San Francisco March 20, 1847. Monterey being the military headquarters, he was stationed there in charge of the Commissary and Quartermaster’s departments until the termination of the Mexican war.
When the first State Convention assembled, at Monterey, he was elected without opposition its Secretary, the duties of which he performed so admirably as to meet the high commendations of its members. He was afterward associated with Washington Bartlett, late Governor of California, and others in the first State printing in California. In 1853 he was appointed Paymaster in the United States navy, which position he filled for seventeen years, seeing service in various parts of the world. One of his cruises was made in the old frigate Cumberland, when she was the flag ship of the African squadron. This vessel, as will be remembered, was sunk during the late civil war by the Confederate iron-clad Merrimac in Hampton Roads, her crew firing a broadside while she was sinking.
Since his retirement from public service Mr. Marcy has been engaged in business in San Francisco until within a few years. He resides in Alameda, where he is personally very highly esteemed. May 2, 1881, he was elected a Trustee of Alameda and served one term. He is a member of the Society of California Pioneers.
He was married, November, 1842, to Miss Catharine Forman Thompson, daughter of De Nise Forman Thompson and Eliza Knott, and granddaughter of Thomas Thompson and Jane Forman, and great-granddaughter of John Forman and Jan De Nise, of Freehold, Monmouth county, New Jersey. Thomas Thompson, his grandfather, served in the Revolutionary war, and was one of the largest landholders in Monmouth county. He and his family were members of the Episcopal Church of Freehold.
Transcribed by Donna L.
Becker
Source: "The Bay of San
Francisco," Vol. 2, pages 123-125, Lewis Publishing Co, 1892.
© 2005 Donna L. Becker.