James H. Van Alen

from The New York Times, July 26, 1886:

        OVERBOARD IN MIDOCEAN
       STRANGE DISAPPEARANCE OF
        GEN. J. H. VAN ALEN.
    LOST ON THE VOYAGE FROM LIVER-
     POOL TO NEW-YORK--HIS DEATH
      BELIEVED TO BE ACCIDENTAL.
 Among the passengers of the Cunard steam-
ship Umbria, which sailed from Liverpool for
New-York on July 17, were Gen. J. H. Van Alen,
of New-York, and his brother-in-law, Mr. R. F.
Grinnell. When the General's only son went to
the Cunard pier yesterday to welcome his father,
upon Mr. Grinnell devolved the duty of telling
him that Gen. Van Alen had disappeared from
the steamship in midocean three days before.
Gen. Van Alen had sailed from this country only
about five weeks ago in order to place his grand-
children in a private school, near Southampton,
and was returning, with his brother-in-law, to his
son's home in Newport. Mr. Grinnell was so much
prostrated by the affair that it was with an
effort that he gave such details as he knew. He
was positive that Gen. Van Alen's disappear-
ance was due to an accident, and not to an in-
tention of ending his life.
 Gen. Van Alen, he said to a reporter of
of THE TIMES at the Westminster Hotel last
evening, had for  several weeks been suffering
severely from dysentery, which became much 
worse on shipboard. They had engaged the Cap-
tain's stateroom, and Gen. Van Alen was closely
confined to it from the time the ship sailed until
the day he was lost overboard, never leaving it
except with the assistance of his companion.
Mr. Grinnell kept a memorandum during the
voyage of the changes in Gen. Van Alen's condi-
tion. An entry made at 10 P. M. on Wednesday,
July 21, speaks of the General as being much ex-
cited and unable to sleep. Mr. Grinnell sat up
with him in the hope that he might become more
quiet. The next entry is at 1 A. M. Thursday
morning. The sick man had just awakened
from a short sleep, said he felt better,
and urged Mr. grinnell to take some rest. Mr.
Grinnell kept awake, however, until nearly 3
o'clock on Thursday morning, and then, as Gen.
Van Alen seemed resting quietly, Mr. Grinnell
himself lay down on a sofa opposite and fell into
a light sleep. He awoke an hour later, and look-
ing toward the sofa on which Gen. Van Alen had
been sleeping he was startled to see that he was 
not there.
  Hurriedly rushing on deck he aroused the Cap-
tain and his room steward, and the three searched
the vessel in every part, but the missing
man could not be found. Later in the
day the third officer told the Captain
that about 4 o'clock he had noticed a
cabin passenger on the extreme aft deck, but
had paid no particular attention to him, as it
was a common thing for passengers to be seen
there at all hours. Mr. Grinnell has no doubt
that this passenger was Gen. Van Alen, who for
some purpose had left his cabin without arous-
ing his companion.
 Aside from all other reasons which go to prove
that the death of Gen. Van Alen was accidental
Mr. Grinnell says that in his exhausted state
he could have never have climbed over the
rail so as to have thrown himself over-
board. The weather at the time was very
rough for this season, and a strong head
wind was blowing, causing the vessel to pitch
considerably for one of her size, and his belief is
that the General, leaning over the rail and per-
haps steadying himself with his stick, lost his
balance in a sudden lurch of the vessel and was
unable to save himself.
 Gen. Van Alen was the only son of James T.
Van Alen, who was born in Columbia County,
and was well known as one of the most successful
of the old merchants of New-York. The family
is of the old Dutch or "Knickerbocker" stock,
and on his mother's side Gen. Van Alen was re-
lated to the Trumbulls of Connecticut. The
General was about 70 years old. During the
early part of his manhood he was in business
with his father. When the war broke
out he raised and equipped a regiment,
and joined the Army of the Potomac.
He rose to the rank of a Brigadier-General, and
was Gen. Hooker's Chief of Staff at the battle of
Chancellorsville. His brother-in-law, Mr. Grin-
nell, fought on the Confederate side. The Gen-
eral's wife died some years ago. His son
and only surviving child, James Van Alen, married a
daughter of William Astor, of this city, and lives
at Newport.
 Gen. Van Alen came into prominence in poli-
tics after the Presidential election of 1876, when
President Grant appointed him as one of the
visiting statesmen to Louisiana. He was a Re-
publican. On Jan. 3, 1877, after his return from
New-Orleans, he delivered an address before the
Political Reform Club, in this city, on "The Vote
of Louisiana," which attracted considerable at-
tention.