Park and Mariposa Grove. In addition, Conness gave support to Lincoln's war measures. Lincoln once said of Conness that he "is habitually careful not to say what he does not know," and described him on another occasion as "one of our United States Senators, of high standing, whom I cheerfully endorse." Conness was with colleagues senators William M. Stewart of Nevada and Charles Sumner of Massachusetts the night Lincoln died. "Upon hearing of the attack on Secretary of State William H. Seward, the three men ran to Seward's lodgings. There they were turned away by a doctor who was attending to Seward, and they ran to the White House, where they heard the news that Lincoln had been shot. Conness declared that 'this is a conspiracy to murder the entire cabinet' and directed soldiers to go protect Secretary of War Edwin Stanton." Conness had the honor of being a pallbearer at Lincoln's funeral on April 19, 1865. At the beginning of Reconstruction, Conness alienated some of his California constituents by advocating strongly for Chinese immigration and civil rights. At a time of rising anti-Chinese feelings in California, his was an unusual and unpopular view, and he lost support of his party. He strongly believed in justice for all immigrants. After his Senate term, in 1869 Conness relocated to Boston, Massachusetts, a center of Irish-American life. He lived there the remainder of his life, for nearly four decades. He died in an insane asylum in Jamaica Plain, now part of Boston. After his death, he was buried in Cedar Grove Cemetery in Dorchester, Boston. Legacy and honors Conness supported the federal land grants for Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Grove, founding what later became the Yosemite National Park. Mount Conness and Conness Creek in the Sierra Nevada were named in his honor. Conness voted for the amendments to abolish slavery and grant freedmen citizenship. He supported immigration and civil rights for Chinese in California. Last surviving pall bearer of Abraham Lincoln. See also List of United States senators born outside the United States Notes References External links 1821 births 1909 deaths 19th-century Irish people People from County Galway Republican Party United States senators from California People of California in the American Civil War Irish emigrants to the United States (before 1923) California Republicans California Democrats Massachusetts Republicans Deaths in mental institutions 19th-century American politicians