Haskin to deliver a fitting tribute to the memory of his friend, which was a masterpiece of pathetic eloquence.

His last speech in Congress was delivered February 23,1861. It was a characteristically bold and clear review of the agitation which led to the great crisis in our history ; expressed his belief that the perilous condition of the country was directly traceable to the conduct of President Buchanan, and contained a scathing denunciation of the treasonable acts of his Cabinet.

During the course of the war a weaker man in his position would have been a Copperhead, but in Mr. Haskin the Union found a strong supporter. In 1863 he was elected supervisor of West Farms, and conducted with success the measures for raising troops and a.ssisting the government in its efforts to subdue rebellion. Prominently identified with all local improvements, his most active efforts were devoted to the establishment of the public school in his district on a sure foundation. In the face of bitter opposition on the part of many of the wealthy men in the vicinity, he succeeded in procuring the erection of

the present school building at Fordham, at a cost of seventy thousand dollars, which must ever remain a monument to his energy and public spirit.

Mr. Haskin married Jane, daughter of Peter Valentine, a representative of one of the oldest families in the county. Their children are Elizabeth, wife of E. V. Welsh ; Emma, wife of Colonel J. Milton Wyatt ; John B., Jr., Adele Douglass, wife of Joseph Murray, Jr.; and Mary.