yr 
ok Public Instoiction. 
Willem or iam 
CHARLES A. ROBERISOH, A. SI., I, II. 
JUlbang, \r ♦ 
1881). BOARD OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION. 
PROCEEDINGS AT A SPECIAL MEETING HELD APRIL % 1880, 
TO TAKE ACTION IN RELATION 
TO THE DEATH OF 
CHARLES A. ROBERTSON, A. M., M. D. 
Present — Mr. President, Easton, and Messi-s. Draper, Flinn, 
Hoyt, Lipman, Lewi, McCall, Morgan, Morrill, and Templeton. 
Absent—Mr. Lynch. 
The President announced the object of this special meeting as 
follows : 
Gentlemen — This Board is again called upon to mourn the 
loss of one of its most worthy and distinguished members. Dr. 
Charles A. Robertson is dead. 
A few weeks ago, at his request, I had a personal interview 
with him in his sick room. It was on a pleasant, quiet Sabbath 
afternoon. He conversed freely on various topics of material 
interest, and spoke hopefully and cheerfully in regard to the pros- 
pects of his ultimate recovery, and looked forward with evident 
pleasure to the time, as spring advanced, when he would meet 
with us again before the expiration of his term in June. A matter 2 
in which he seemed deeply interested, and on which he spoke 
freely and fully, was the study of industrial drawing in the public 
schools. He was deeply impressed both with its intrinsic value 
and its importance as a branch of study, and looked upon its intro- 
duction into the schools as the beginning of a new era in public 
education. 
As chairman of the Committee on Music and Drawing we are 
greatly indebted to him for the success that has attended the 
prosecution of the latter study. He gave much time and 
thought to the subject, and assisted and encouraged the newly 
appointed teacher in his work. For what he did in this direc. 
tion, for his devotion to this important work, he earned and 
deserves the praise of every friend of our public school system. 
Dr. Robertson was a man of very marked character, was ambi- 
tious to excel in whatever he undertook. In his death, the medical 
profession and the cause of public education suffer an irreparable 
loss. 
Gentlemen, I now ask the pleasure of the Board. 
Mr. Draper moved that a committee of three be appointed to 
draft a suitable expression of the sentiments of the Board upon 
this occasion. 
Carried. t 
The President named Messrs. Draper, £Lewi and McCall as 
such committee. 
A brief recess was then taken, when the committee returned 
aW reported as follows : 
To the Board of Public Instruction : 
The committee appointed to draft a suitable expression of the 
sentiments of the Board in relation to the death of Dr. Charles A. 
Robertson recommend that the following entry be made upon the 
journal: 
Called together in special session because of the announcement 
that Dr. Charles A. Robertson, one of our number, has passed 
from the scenes of earthly labor and usefulness over to the rest 3 
eternal, we adopt the following as an expression of our feelings 
upon this melancholy occasion : 
Charles A. Robertson was a man of high character, of liberal 
education, of free thought and of determined purpose. In him 
nature and culture had cooperated to produce an ideal gentle- 
man. He was a man not only of convictions but of courage. 
He thought for himself, and he boldly and aggressively stood by 
his ideas. His earnest, unyielding positiveness ofttimes led him 
into heated conflicts of opinion, but he never forgot to be a 
gentleman. In all the relations of life he was true and sincere. 
To this Board he brought the brightest and the most varied 
accomplishments, and the highest devotion to the public interests. 
In his death Albany loses a most honored citizen, and our public 
school system mourns a true and valued friend. 
We bow in sad submission to the omnipotent will which doeth 
all things well, and record our purpose to exalt and emulate his 
virtues and profit by his example. 
Your committee recommend that the Faculty of the High 
School, and the Principals of the Grammar Schools, be invited to 
meet with the Board and attend the funeral in a body. 
Respectfully submitted, 
A. S. DRAPER, 
JOSEPH LEWI, 
JOHN A. McCALL, Jr. 
Mr. Templeton moved the adoption of the memorial and the 
recommendation of the committee. 
Mr. McCall spoke as follows : 
Mr. President—While not being favored as some of the 
members of the Board have been, who were honored with an 
association of two years or more with the lamented Dr. Robert- 
son, yet I feel moved to express my regret at his death. 
Among the members of that profession in which he had chosen to 
mark out for himself a reputation his ability was conceded, and 4 
his laudable ambition of being foremost in the ranks of honorable 
men was gratified. A man of culture his tastes naturally led him 
to the desire of promoting the success of the public schools, and 
of providing such an education for our children as is essential to an 
honorable bearing in life, and will lead to the cultivation of that intel- 
ligence which eradicates ignorance and bigotry alike. As I under- 
stood him there was ever uppermost in his mind a desire to add to 
the contentment of his fellow men. Jn no illiberal spirit he differed 
at times with some of my brother members of the Board as to 
certain methods they desired to pursue, and although a majority 
dissented from some innovations he sought to establish, yet the 
ability and integrity he possessed called from those who were 
opposed to him the acknowledgment of an independence in 
thought and action, indicative of a firm belief in the views he 
expressed. It is fitting, therefore, that we, his fellow-members, 
should give utterance to our grief for the life gone out; that we 
should place upon the records of our Board the language that 
properly expresses the deep loss that we have sustained. 
You gentlemen of the Board who were his associates during 
that portion of his membership when he enjoyed his health and 
gave evidence of the abilities he brought to the discharge of his 
trust are more competent to eulogize his faithfulness than I am, 
still, I have learned from your records that he was a valuable and 
efficient member, being always ready to perform the duties assigned 
to him. 
Deeply will his loss be felt among the poor of our city who, 
needing his advice and treatment, found in him the true, courteous, 
charitable physician. t 
In a few days the body of our departed friend is to be taken 
from this the city of his adoption to a resting place beneath the 
shadow of his “Alma Mater.” May the lesson that his death 
teaches be instructive to all of us, for there is on the blight side 
of every life that which recalls the benefit of a well spent career, 
and which creates, by force of its example, good feeling among 5 
the people, Avise counsel in the administration of public affairs, 
and honesty of purpose in all things. 
Well has it been written— 
“ Life is real, life is earnest, 
And the grave is not its goal; 
‘ Dust thou art, to dust returnest,’ 
Was not spoken of the soul.” 
Mr. Morrill then said : 
Mr. President — I feel it a duty as well as a privilege to 
bear testimony, not only to the successful manner in which Dr« 
Charles H. Robertson discharged his duties as a member of this 
Board, but also to his amiable character as a man, and his suc- 
cessful and honorable career as a physician. Although his long 
sickness necessitated his absence from this Board, yet we have 
always felt his presence with us. I had the pleasure of sitting 
with our deceased member for only a few meetings ; but outside of 
this Board I have been intimately acquainted with him for a num- 
ber'of years. Some of my fellow members, who have acted with 
him in the affairs of this Board, can better testify as to his usefulness 
here. Dr. Robertson, as a man, was upright, just and honorable. 
He had received a complete education, and Avas thereby eminently 
fitted for a seat in this Board. As a physician, Dr. Robertson 
stood at the head of his profession ; he Avas beloved and respected 
by all who came in contact with him. In his specialty as an 
occulist and aurist his reputation and fame were wide spread, 
and in his practice he was, not only to his friends but to 
himself, surprisingly successful, and many voices of those once 
afflicted will be heard in long years to come speaking praises 
to his memory. His numerous writings were noted for being 
brilliant in thought, concise in substance, and particularly instruct- 
ive. Dr. Robertson Avas the first specialist of the eye and ear to 
locate in this city, and at first found that building up a practice 
of that character somewhat discouraging ; but by perseverance 
and continued faithful attendance to his duties and studies, he 
Avas enabled to found one of the most lucrative practices in our 6 
city. But we might continue telling of the many virtues of 
our departed co-laborer for an indefinite period, and still not do 
justice to his memory. In the death of Dr. Robertson we have 
lost a true and tried friend, this Board a faithful and honorable 
member, and the citizens of Albany a public benefactor. 
Mr. Flinn made the following remarks : 
Mr. President — A short time ago it was my privilege to 
have an interview with our departed colleague. It would have 
moved one to pity to see in his wan face and attenuated frame 
the evidences of long and severe suffering. You would, however, 
have rejoiced in his manhood ; indeed it was almost inspiring to 
witness the heroic resignation of the sufferer minutely detailing 
every particular connected with his illness, viewing and speaking of 
his pains and privations with such philosophical calmness, that they 
were deprived of much of their poignancy. So patient through 
it all, surely he deserves a crown for his manly endurance. 
I need not endeavor to add to the proposed official expression. 
The resolutions, so neatly worded and so full of tender feeling, 
meet with my concurrence. All will admit that they do not over- 
estimate his intellectual abilities or his educational acquirements. 
He was indeed a distinguished worker in the field of knowledge. 
As a member of this Board, Commissioner Robertson was worthy 
of emulation. His earnestness and enthusiasm for the advance- 
ment of measures in which he was particularly interested was 
highly commendable. 
His death, and those of our friends on every side, should serve 
to admonish us that this life should be but a preparation for death. 
Living with this in view, the dread messenger will not affright or 
surprise us. 
Mr. Morgan then said : 
Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Board — Upon this 
sad occasion I would embrace the opportunity to express my 
appreciation of Dr. Robertson. I had been acquainted with him 7 
for several years, and had seen a considerable of him as commis- 
sioner, as a physician and as a private citizen. There were many 
things about him I always admired, especially his originality of 
thought and action. He never copied any one, but always had an 
opinion of his own, and his actions were the result of his convic- 
tions. He was fearless and independent, and one of the kind of 
men that help to move the world forward. 
As a commissioner he was faithful and valuable, and especially 
on the department of Music and Drawing he has made an imprint 
that will ever be felt. Being chairman of the committee on that 
subject when Drawing was first introduced into our schools, his 
wisdom and patience have had a great influence in making that 
study successful and profitable. 
In the department of medicine he exhibited the same traits of 
character, studious, persevering, courageous and successful, the 
good that he has done to suffering humanity, gratuitously and 
otherwise, will never and can never be known or appreciated, for 
he was not the man to make known his triumphs with a trumpet; 
but there are many people in Albany who owe it to Dr. Robertson 
that they see the light of day. 
He was the agreeable and courteous citizen, kind and accommo- 
dating, always ready to do an office of friendship, and amid the 
varying scenes of life, it was always a pleasure to notice in this 
man the results of good training and early culture. 
Among the Masonic fraternity he stood with the highest in the 
order, and earnestly carried out their principles and good practices. 
We have all lost an associate whose memory will ever remain 
dear in our hearts. 
Mr. Draper spoke as follows : 
Mr. President — I was startled this morning at the announce- 
ment that an associate upon this Board had, in the preceding night, 
paid the great debt of nature, and gone over to the unknown and 
the eternal. The destroying ‘angel has been in our midst and 
taken one of the brightest and best from our circle. To be sure, 8 
the enemy gave long warning of his coming, but our friend had 
for so long a period combatted the monster with success that we 
had come to feel that, for the present at least, the man was the 
master, and that he would, in time, resume the position he had 
been accustomed to till so well in social, professional and public 
life. But with all his will-power he was only a man, and, like all 
the rest of his kind, no match for the great enemy of his race. 
He has gone the way that the millions have trodden before him 
and that the millions will tread after him. The keen eye is lustre- 
less, the quickened pulse is motionless. He is gone forever, and 
we stand powerless in the presence of the majesty of nature’s 
universal and inevitable law. My estimate of the character 
of our friend is very generally expressed in the memorandum 
for entry upon the journal which has been submitted by the com- 
mittee for your consideration. But there are one or two other 
observations, of a personal rather than a public nature, which I 
am glad to have the opportunity of making. My association 
with Dr. Robertson upon this Board was not of very long dura- 
tion. It was but a few months after my accession to your num- 
ber before his failing health rendered it impossible for him to dis- 
charge the duties of hisposition. The time was sufficiently long, 
however, for me to be thoroughly impressed with the many good 
qualities of his mind and heart. I have always felt under obliga- 
tions to him for the kindness and cordiality which he uniformly 
manifested towards me, and I place my humble flower upon his 
casket to-night with a heavy feeling at my heart which only comes 
from a sense of personal loss. 
Dr. Robertson was a positive man, and, like all positive men, 
he came into conflict with other positive men. He knew no such 
word as “ policy ” or “ expediency.” He thought out his course, 
and then pursued it, and no argument but one which appealed to 
his judgment could operate upon him to change it. Perhaps it 
is not going too far to say that our friend courted opposition and 
loved a contest. Nearly all positive men do. It is altogether 
likely that he made mistakes. That fact can in no wise lower our 9 
estimate of a man exhibiting his character and qualities. He was 
a man of unquestioned integrity, and he was aggressive, and these 
far more than compensate for any mistakes which he may have 
made. It is far better to go ahead at the expense of making 
mistakes than not to go ahead at all. Iiis frank, bold, sincere 
nature will a thousand times outweigh any unpleasantnesses which 
were the indirect and temporary products of these characteristics 
of the man. Even death itself has no right to ask that we shall 
be untrue in measuring the character of the departed; at the 
most it can only exact generosity. We are to estimate his 
character at what it was, not at what it should.have been. The 
Egyptians were accustomed to hold an inquest not upon the body, 
but upon the character of the deceased. A public prosecutor 
called witnesses before an established tribunal, and investigated 
the reputation which the dead had left behind him. If his acts 
had been just and honorable, his remains were borne with tender- 
ness and honors to consecrated ground ; if he had been false and 
faithless, the body was carried with contempt and ridicule beyond 
the city’s walls, and buried with the opprobrium which would 
have been in better taste to have come earlier. But if the same 
practice were in vogue now, the proceedings would in no wise be 
changed. The verdict of the most exacting tribunal would be 
“his was a life full of honor and usefulness, deserving of the 
highest commendation of his fellows;” and loving hands would 
then, as they will now, bear our friend, amid weeping kindred 
and mourning friends and public honors, to the most lovely spot 
in the most honored city of the dead. 
Mr. President, the occasion is full of suggestion, but I must 
not detain you, and will not but for a single further observation. 
Time sets all things even. In the presence of death we stand 
upon a common level. As Mr. Webster put it, “ one may live 
•is a conqueror, a king or a magistrate, but he must die as a man.” 
In life we are partisans and strugglers ; in the presence of death 
we are but men. Let the fact temper our partisanship and soften 
our differences, remembering that of the millions who are to fol- 10 
low our friend in the common pathway which all the race are 
treading, we shall be early among the number. And let us, in the 
language of our great American poet, who has but just gone 
before, 
“ So live, that when the summons comes to join 
The innumerable caravan that'moves 
To that mysterious realm, where each shall take 
His chamber in the silent halls of death, 
We go not like the quarry slave at night 
Scourged to his dungeon ; but sustained and soothed 
By an unfaltering trust approach the grave 
Like one that wraps the drapery of his couch 
About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams.” 
On motion of Commissioner Templeton, Professor John E. 
Bradley, of the High School, was invited to speak. 
He said that he had come to the meeting out of respect to the 
memory of the deceased, and to listen to the remarks of members of 
the Board. He had no thought of speaking, and had no words 
which were worthy to be offered on this occasion without premedi- 
tation. And yet, unexpected as was the invitation, he could not but 
acknowledge its fitness, as well as its courtesy, for Dr. Robertson 
had stood for nearly three years in a most intimate official relation 
to the High School, and, as the representative of that institution, 
he could not refuse to add a hearty word of tribute to the eulogies 
which had been spoken. While he fully concurred in the dis- 
criminating and high encomiums which had been uttered, there 
was one element of Dr. Robertson’s character which had not been 
dwelt upon by either of the previous speakers, and which was 
especially note-worthy and admirable. It is a high merit to gain 
and display wide and varied knowledge, to attain professional 
skill and eminence ; it is a higher merit, and far more admira- 
ble, to love and pursue culture for its own sake. To his mind, 
the most beautiful and commendable trait in the character of 
many distinguished men has been their devotion to some branch 
of culture or investigation, from which, in the nature of the case, 
they could expect no pecuniary return or advantage. It is one 11 
thing to desire knowlede for the uses to which it can be put ; it 
is quite a different, and far nobler, thing to desire it for its one 
sake. In some men of wealth and eminence, this appreciation of 
superior attainments is displayed in a liberal patronage of art or 
learning:. In other and rarer instances, it is seen in the amateur 
pursuit of some branch of culture, in such odd moments as can 
be spared from the engrossing cares and duties of a busy life. 
And so I love to think of Rufus Choate, as he gladly turned from 
the excitement and the strife of the court room to his quiet study, 
and his favorite.classics ; and of A. T. Stewart as reading Spinoza 
in his carriage, and always carrying about with him a pocket edi- 
tion of some French or German author. It is a note-worthy and 
admirable feature in these men, and others like, them, that they 
were able to cut loose from the occupations which seemed to 
absorb them, and seek, with the purest pleasure, the companion- 
ship of the kings and queens of thought. I am sure of the accu- 
racy of my statement, when I assert that Dr. Robertson possessed 
this rare and most desirable quality to a considerable degree. A 
year or two ago I found myself, very unexpectedly, a fellow pass- 
enger with him on a return voyage from Europe. He sought 
our companionship at once, and was with 11s a large part of every 
day of the passage. I was struck with his conversation, which 
was not only brilliant, but almost constantly related to topics of art 
and literature. He read to us many passages of rare interest and 
merit, and evidently enjoyed them most intensely. He told us 
that it had been one of his greatest pleasures, for many years, to 
read such extracts to circles of his friends, or larger audiences. 
Such an appreciation of literature is one of the finest traits of 
character, and, much as I admired his professional skill and attain- 
ments, and the energy and enterprise which led him to pursue his 
professional studies to so rare a degree of perfection, still more do 
1 admire the pure love of literature and art as manifested in these 
leisure hours. I11 the death of Dr. Robertson not only has Albany 
lost one of her most eminent physicians, but the cause of higher 
education and independent culture, in this community, has also 
lost one of its most intelligent and appreciative supporters. 12 
Mr. Lewi then said : 
Mr. President — Probably no finer scholar ever sat in this 
room ; probably no better read man ever participated in the de- 
liberations of this body, than the late Dr. Charles A. Robertson. 
He combined with his natural ability a thorough academic and 
professional education, and, whenever the opportunity presented 
itself, his talents shone resplendent. Raised to high honors and 
prominent positions as a professional and scientific man long before 
he was connected with this body, he still took especial pride in 
being a member of this Board, and also took pride in the per- 
formance of the duties devolved upon him. Even in his last ill- 
ness he manifested his love for the schools by diligently watching 
the proceedings of the Board, and a devotion to his duties by 
offering his cooperation to the different committees. By his affa- 
bility, courtesy and benevolence he made hosts of friends in all 
ranks of society, who mourn with us the loss of a good and worthy 
man, and cherish with us his memory. 
The report was then adopted by a rising vote of all the mem- 
bers of the Board present. 
Mr. Lewi moved that the Board now adjourn to meet on Sun- 
day, April 4th, at 3.30 o’clock p. m., and attend the funeral of 
Dr. Robertson. 
Adopted. 
Adjourned. 
CHARLES W. COLE, 
Secretary.