Passed Vice Presidents - # 17 – Schuyler Colfax

  

Grave of Schuyler Colfax (1 June 2022)

Served under Ulysses S. Grant

4 March 1869 – 4 March 1873

Preceded by # 16 – Andrew Johnson

Succeeded by # 18 – Henry Wilson

Born – 23 March 1823

Died – 13 January 1885 (age 61)

Buried – City Cemetery, South Bend, IN

Date Visited – 1 June 2022

We’re going to interrupt the cruise up the Rhone River and complete it later. There will be terrific memories of Lyon and my first visit to Paris but I need to change the subject and return to my roots, so to speak. I need another dose of graves and history.

When I introduced the Vice Presidents Grave Hunt, it was not intended to be a real quest…more an endeavor of opportunity. If I were close to a grave on my way to other destinations, why not pause and take a picture?

Entrance Gate to City Cemetery, South Bend, Indiana (1 June 2022)

The two dates (1832 and 1899) note when the cemetery

was founded and when the gates were erected.

That very situation arose when we recently drove to Wisconsin. The first long day on the road had us stop for the night in South Bend, Indiana. Well, what-da-ya-know? South Bend happens to be the final resting place for Ulysses Grant’s first vice president.

Schuyler Colfax served in the House of Representatives for seven terms (1855-69), three of them as Speaker. An opponent of slavery, he led the effort to pass the Thirteenth Amendment that abolished the practice in 1865.

Schuyler Colfax During his Time as Speaker of the House

(Library of Congress. Forms part of Brady-Handy Photograph Collection)

While James K. Polk (President # 11) is the only former Speaker to rise to the Oval Office, Colfax is one of just two Speakers to become vice president. If I ever get to Uvalde, Texas (yes, the same place), I can visit the other Speaker/VP, John Nance Garner, one of FDR’s seconds-in-command.

Grave of Schuyler Colfax (1 June 2022)

On another side of this modest marker is a similar

inscription for his son who died in 1925.

Schuyler Colfax, Jr. was Mayor of South Bend.

His term as vice president was typical for the times. Apart from presiding over the Senate, he was involved with the administration as little as possible. When Colfax thought Grant would not run for a second term, he began to consider a run for the presidency. When the general changed his mind, Colfax found himself in an awkward position…made worse when he was implicated in one of the scandals that marred the administration.

Tablet at the Grave of Schuyler Colfax (1 June 2022)

The Credit Mobilier affair was a mess that the Union Pacific Railroad schemed to bribe and defraud the government of millions when they built the first transcontinental railroad. Some things don’t change. It appears Colfax did take some railroad money and everyone thought it best that he not be on the ticket for Grant’s second term.

His political career over, Colfax spent the rest of his days as a successful businessman and lecturer. He died in Minnesota. After a January appearance in Mankato, he was walking to the rail station in sub-zero weather and succumbed to a heart attack at age 61.

River Cruise Diary – Viviers, France

After the Avignon tour of the Papal palace, we returned to the boat to have lunch as we sailed further upstream. I will post a separate story about what can be seen between the ports of call but on this day, we covered 77 river kilometers and tied up in the ancient community of Viviers.

With less than 4000 residents, it is the smallest town we’ll visit on the cruise. Originally a Roman colony, it appears not to have had much reason to grow over the centuries.

Viviers, France (24 April 2006)

As in Aix, their plane trees also had crew cuts

and we were there too soon to see them leaf out.

The next morning, Monday 24 April, Dominique, our Grand Circle guide, walked us through town. We saw many narrow, ancient streets and alleys as we climbed to the bluff where some important old structures were located.

Unlike most reports in this diary, there isn’t much history or legend or significant people to spice up this post. I’ll leave you with images and captions and let your imagination do the rest as you think back across the centuries of colonization, development, conflict and survival.

Flood Markings, Viviers, France (24 April 2006)

Old European river towns often mark their buildings with flood

records. The Rhone moved a few feet up this building in 1955.

Viviers, France (24 April 2006)

The streets here are narrow…laid out at a time long before motorized transport. The old stone buildings are often attached to each other, but the residents make use of every available space for green growing things.

 

Springtime in Viviers, France (24 April2006)

In the background is the tower of the Cathedral of St. Vincent, a modest church with few of the trappings one finds in many Catholic cathedrals. One reference said it is the oldest cathedral in France that has been in continuous use. Another called it the smallest cathedral in France.

St. Vincent Cathedral Tapestries, Viviers, France (24 April 2006)

Since the mid-1400’s, the Gobelins Family has been making grand tapestries and since the time of Louis XIV, the business has catered to French monarchs. In 1858, St. Vincent’s acquired six Gobelin works that were produced a century earlier. In 2019, long after our visit, the French Ministry of Culture paid to restore and preserve the tapestries.

Viviers Rooftops (24 April 2006)

The cathedral is located on a bluff that overlooks the town…prime ground for defense and control; hence it is where the important buildings are located. From there one can look down on the uniform terracotta rooftops of the town center.

Wisteria at Number 3, Viviers, France (24 April 2006)

I can’t imagine anything behind this wall and door that looks as good as what’s out front.

Plane and Fancy Shadows, Viviers, France (24 April 2006)

The hazy sunlight cast odd shadows from the bare plane trees onto some building fronts. One doesn’t need much imagination to see more in this scene.

Next stop – Tournon.