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258 15 A Whole-Souled Man O n Friday, August 3, 1877, at 2:00 a.m, William Butler Ogden passed away quietly at his Villa Boscobel home in High Bridge. His death did not come as a surprise to his wife, his brother and sisters, his many friends and admirers, nor even to himself, as his health had been failing for nearly three years. “His physicians informed him his death was at hand—not more than a few hours. The dying man received the last sacrament of the Church, and quietly awaited his end. The last scene was very peaceful, the venerable honored citizen passing away without a struggle,” the Chicago Inter Ocean solemnly observed.1 Ogden’s death certificate listed the official cause of death: “First (Primary), age & paralysis,” and “Second (Immediate), Brights Disease.” Bright’s disease, or kidney failure, was the immediate cause of death.2 The funeral service was held in the Gothic chapel of St. James Episcopal Church on Central Avenue in Fordham, New York.3 According to his obituary in the New York Times, most of the mourners met first at Villa Boscobel and then traveled to Fordham on the 3:30 p.m. train. There, carriages provided by the family met the mourners and delivered them to the church. “The services were characterized by the utmost simplicity,” the New York Times reported, “and a simple cross of roses was the only floral adornment of the coffin.”4 Many prominent men served as pallbearers. There was Andrew H. Green, who handled most of Ogden’s business and personal legal affairs during the latter part of his life. Green, often called the “Father of Greater New York,” was the mastermind behind the five-borough concept that defines New York City today. He also helped create the American Museum of Natural History, Central Park, New York Public Library, and the Washington Bridge, among other prominent institutions and landmarks. Gouverneur Morris Jr., whose father was a Revolutionary War hero and a framer of the U.S. Constitution, was a Bronx neighbor and a railroad pioneer. Park Godwin was a poet and essayist. Oswald Offendorfer was a German Ameri- A Whole-Souled Man 259 can journalist, politician, and philanthropist from New York City. Franklin Edson was an ex-New York congressman and future mayor of New York City. The eulogy was given by the Right Reverend Richard Clarkson, whose praise for Ogden and his accomplishments was soaring: “The master-builder of the City that is the lasting marvel of these days. . . . all these [qualities] made him as great a benefactor as the railroad or the city he brought into existence. . . . a generous, honest, high-toned, true-hearted, whole-souled man.”5 Only about twenty family and friends attended the service, and only immediate family were invited to the graveside service. The obituaries mention no Chicago friends in attendance, which, if true, seems odd. Ogden was interred in nearby Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, in a heavy but plain rosewood casket bearing a silver plate with his name and date of death. The Chicago Tribune also added words of praise for the man who contributed so much to building that city. “He was the contemporary of Webster, Clay, Calhoun , Benton, Douglas, and Lincoln,” the paper noted, and it referred to him as one “of the ablest men the nation has ever produced. . . . William B. Ogden was the peer of the wisest and the best of them.”6 From the dozens of obituaries that ran in newspapers throughout the country , the simplest, yet most accurate assessment of Ogden’s life was published by the Chicago Inter Ocean: To recount his history is in large measure to chronicle the prominent events in the material progress made by the Northwest in the last forty years. During the two score years a wilderness has been converted into a fruitful field, villages have grown to the proportion of cities, and the chief city has taken the form and character of a great metropolis, and it is but simple justice to declare that to the energy, enterprise , and foresight of William B. Ogden, more than to any other single individual, country and city alike owe their rapid advance in wealth and prosperity.7 In an article three days earlier, upon first being notified of his death, the New York Times had this to say: The life of william b. ogden . . . has been closely identified with some of the most important industrial developments of the last...
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