The Holland Society of New York - Yearbook (New York, NY)

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255 and paid their last tribute to his memory after gli? Ilirfsging had been called to order by William , as president, 11 y the sorrowful task in hand? dywillibiiri e 51? ilmgig of the able manner in which Judge Vai Alsiiiie hc-aid gicsshla-iii llgis responsible public positions. jpg, c was made chairma f th and spoke as follows: 'I n O e meeting It seems to me that in the death of Thomas J. Van Alstyne the strongest personality of the Albany County Bar Association has been removed.. My acquaintance with him dates back to the time when, after I began the prac- tice of law, I became located in an adjoining oflice where I had excellent opportunities to study his remarkable per- sonality, and up to the hour of his death our relations were always close and sometimes intimate. Strong mentally, strong morally and strong physically, there was no hypoc- risy in his nature and as time rolled on and I grew to understand him better I liked him more. A peculiarity in his nature which no doubt many of you have observed when we were assembled here on such sad occasions as these, was the tenderness with which he spoke in memory of those with whom he had had many conflictsin life. Of late years he has not been active in the practice of law, but his excellent record as a lawyer and judge are well known to all of us. He was warm in his friendships and would go far to serve them, as those who knew him best can testify. I-Ie was one of the few remaining practitioners who were here when I began my legal labors and it 1S Wlth an infinite feeling of sadness that I pay this impromptu tribute to his memory. The meeting then adopted the following TGSO' lutions: 1 We, as members of the Albany county bar, haw assembled to mourn the loss of one of our number- he announcement of the profound sorrow we have heard t U 5 . death of Thomas J. Van Alstyne and it is iittlrigf ligldall 'lie should pause amid the absorbing cares of da11Y 1 e 'O P Y a tribute of respect to his memory. 1 I as For more than half a century Jlldg? Van A Styfie W . . ll a prominent and respected citizen of this flltiflae 1312112556955 ' f 'ther actively engage in , p. . . tP?C?lf1ESg21ZTds1'elI1 the administration of Jllstlce m hls

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254 of Justice. In 1898 and 1899 he Was lVIayO1' of Albany. He was elected to membership in the Holland Society March IO, 1898, and at the an- nual meeting in IQOI Was made Vice-President for Albany County, which oflice he held at the time of his death. He was also a prominent Free Mason, having been Master of Mt. Vernon Lodge, No. 3, F. 8a A. M., in 1858, and a member of the Albany Institute, Fort Orange Club, Philip Livingston Chapter, Sons of the Revolution, a life member of the Y. M. C. A., and prominent in the Emanuel Baptist Church. Judge Van Alstyne had been three times married. .His first Wife was Sarah, daughter.of R. Clappg his second Wife was N. Louisa, daughter of Samuel S. Peck, his third Wife, Laura Louisa, daughter of William Wurdemann. He leaves two sons, Thomas Butler Van Alstyne, a California fruit-grower, and William T. Van Alstyne, sixteen years of age, a son by his last Wife, who also survived him. The mayor of Albany ordered that Hags on the public buildings be placed at half-mast and the city hall bell tolled the years of his life. The mayor and heads of various departments attended the funeral, after adopting the following resolu- tions: In the death of Thomas Jefferson Van Alstyne the city of Albany loses a worthy Christian citizen. His life was .a busy. one, fraught with many public and philanthropic activities. In public office, as county judge, representa- tive in Congress and mayor, he discharged his obligations to the body politic in a painstaking and conscientious manner. We, the mayor and heads of municipal departments, meet to aclcnowledge the worth of Thomas jefferson Van Alstyneis citizenship, and do hereby resolve to attend his funeral in a body. , T . A 1 'It is further resolved that this memorial be spread upon the record of the meetings of heads of departments. .The members of the Albany County Bar Asso- Gwfwn 2'SSG111b1Gd in the Supreme Court room

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256 ' d' ' 1 acit . But eminence in his profession did not Ju Ima Cap yf his honorable ambition. He represented fill the measure o I - his home constituency in the legislative halls of the nation and, as the crowning event of his political career, rendered efficient service to his fellow-citizens as their chief magis- trate. O , t d faithful in the discharge 'of every trust, Hones an g t public or private, attentive and conscientious in the per- formance of every duty, official or self-imposed, his integ- rity Was manifest at all times and places and on every occasion. . . . In private life a man of domestic habits, literary tiastes and scholarly attainments, a student of books and a over of nature, in his conversation and public utterances he was frank and candid, adopting the honest and forcible manner of stating plain truths rather than the methods of polite insincerity. He was a good citizen and neighbor, an affec- tionate husband and parent and a true friend. Although possessed of a vigorous constitution, which seemed to afford an assurance of many years of a useful and happy life yet to come, he nevertheless faced death with a spirit of calm submission. He has crossed the turbulent river at the end of life's journey and passed beyond human vision into 'the undiscovered country from Whose bourn no traveler returns' Resolved, That in the death of Thomas J. Van Alstyne the bar of Albany county has been bereaved of one of its honored and most distinguished members, that a minute of this resolution be presented to the Supreme Court for inscription on its records, and that a copy thereof be trans- mitted to the family of our deceased associate. 0 The Sons of the Revolution adopted the follow- ing preamble and resolution: Philip Livingston Chapter, S. R. Thomas jefferson Van Alstyne, a resident of this city for upwards offlfty-five years, a member and former officer of the Philip Livingston Chapter of the 'Sons of the Revolu- tion, died at his home on Monday, the 26th inst. ' - Judge Yan Alstyne .had filled public stations with credit to himself and to the advantage of the public, and he had fully met the demands even greater and more try- 1118, 111 the 6XCrI1plification of good citizenship. He was a man of broad and liberal learning, and was 3,11 his life 3 student. He was ailover- of books, and the refinement Which came from their use was manifested in his conversa- tion and in his public addresses. He took honest and just