MEMOIR OF JOHN LOVETT.

Mr. Lovett was a descendant of an English family which immigrated as early as 1640, and settled in a beautiful location in Connecticut, upon the Quinnebaug river, which disembogues into the Thames at New London. It originally formed a part of the town of Norwich, but when Lisbon was set off from that town, it was included in the latter. The property still remains in the possession of the descendants of the original owners, its ancient burial place filled with monuments whose inscriptions are so worn by time and the elements that the traditions of the place alone tell who are the occupants. Among them is seen the grave of a "Cadet of the house of Lovat," who after a clandestine marriage with a granddaughter of the Lord Sands who figures in Shakspeare's play of Henry VIII, fled to this country, where they found a resting place and a grave amongst those of their fellow Puritans. The wildest and most exciting engagements between the Pequot and Mohegan tribes and the early settlers, took place in this vicinity. These may have fostered the military spirit for which this little settlement was afterwards noted. On the breaking out of the Revolutionary war, the Rev. Andrew Lee gave notice from his pulpit, that early on the following morning a meeting was requested of every male member of his congregation, to pray for the success of their brethren in arms, and to organize a body of volunteers from that parish. They enrolled themselves almost to a man, under Captain Lovett; the pastor also went with them, and every female assisted in fitting them out. It was in the midst of this and other similar scenes that Mr. Lovett received his first impressions. Distinguished for precocity of mind, extraordinary memory, and the great progress he made in his studies, he was placed at Lebanon, then the most noted school in that region, to prepare himself to enter Yale College. In the latter institution he attracted the attention of President Stiles by his uncommon attainments in the classics, as well as by his poetical efforts. At the weekly exercises in oratory, he uniformly recited compositions of his own, which being often humorous, received the applause of grave professors as well as the more youthful auditory. He was graduated in 1782 with distinction, and soon after came to Albany, whither he had been invited with

the encouragement that an academical institution would be opened, at the head of which he would be placed. He brought the highest recommendations from President Stiles, not only for attainments in knowledge, but also for excellence and purity of character, which gave him the confidence of the strangers among whom he was to cast his lot for life. Disappointed in the result of the efforts that were made for the establishment of a seminary of learning here, he commenced the study of the law in the office of Richard Sill, then one of the eminent lawyers of Albany, where he had the advantage of making the acquaintance of Gen. Schuyler, Gen. Hamilton, Abraham Van Vechten, Col. Troup, and Col. Burr, who was then at the zenith of his reputation. Here he also became acquainted with Col. Duer, the father of the two distinguished lawyers which have since borne his name. By his representations he was induced, soon after being admitted to practice, to proceed to Fort Miller, where the Colonel had made a very large purchase of land, and begun his settlement in a new country, where the surrounding woods reached the outskirts of his buildings, by erecting a mansion one hundred and forty-four feet long! The Lady Katy, as the courtesy of that day termed the eldest daughter of Lord Stirling, was residing there with her two little sons and their tutor, Mr. Lovett as general agent, and a land steward, who was to sell the land if any one wished to purchase the wolves howling in chorus around the very purlieus of the Italian piazzas. Here Mr. Lovett and his faithful negro man Juba, commenced professional life - the latter much the most successful of the two, for his gun could supply the daily wants of the family without making drafts upon his master's father. To this peculiarly romantic residence, Mr. Lovett took his youthful wife from Connecticut, a daughter of Gen. McClellan, and remained there several years, gaining the confidence and esteem of the people to such a degree as to lay the foundation of a very large and profitable business in his profession, after his removal to Lansingburgh. The story of the feudal grandeur which was commenced at Fort Miller is soon told. Col. Duer never went up there; Lady Katy and her two little sons returned to New York, and the only advantage resulting from this magnificent scheme was the habit of public speaking which the young Duers acquired, by being placed upon the dinner table by their mother, every day, after the cloth was removed, and there taught to speak unabashed by the company that might be present. The establishment went to ruin, was torn down, and the material sold for a trifle; and thus ended this as well as other similar and equally vain attempts to build up seigniories in this state like those of Canada.

From Fort Miller Mr. Lovett removed to Lansingburgh, which, strange to say, attracted more attention half a century ago, than it has since. Here he enjoyed many years of peace, prosperity and happiness. In 1800 he was elected a member of Assembly from