THE BENCH AND BAR.

CHARLES THORN CROMWELL.

Mr. Cromwell is a descendant of the famous family whose history was for so many years identified with that of the British Empire. Among his ancestry are enrolled the names of Thomas Cromwell, Earl of Essex, .Secretary of State to Henry VIII., who was beheaded July 28, 1540 ; Sir Henry Cromwell, of Hinthinhrook, surnamed, for his munificence, the Golden Knight ; Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of England, and many others.'

Two nephews of the Lord Protector came to this country ; one settled in South Carolina and the other in Westchester County. It is from the Westchester branch of the family that Charles Thorn Cromwell is descended. His father, John I. Cromwell, who married Elizabeth Thorn, of Glen Cove, L. I., was a wholesale dry-goods merchant in New York City until the war was declared, in 1812, with Great Britain.

At that time he gave up his business, and, raising a company of volunteers, marched with it to the northern frontier, becoming actively engaged there in most of the battles which took place. He was appointed second lieutenant of artillery and was in command of a company at the battle of Plattsburg, where he also acted as quartermaster. His bravery won for him the respect and esteem of his superior officers, and he was brevetted first lieutenant as a reward of merit. Many flattering letters from the generals under whom he served, from time to time, are still in the possession of his son, notable among which is an autograph note from Major-General McComb.