Chapter XIX: ――biographical Sketches (2)

CRAIK, JAMES, was born in Scotland, where he received his education for the medical service of the British army. He came to the colony of Virginia in early life, and accompanied Washington in his expeditions against the French and Indians, in 1754; and in the following year attended Braddock in his march through the wilderness, and assisted in dressing his wounds. At the commencement of the revolution, by the aid of his early and fast friend, general Washington, he was transferred to the medical department in the continental army, and rose to the first rank and distinction. He continued in the army to the end of the war, and was present at the surrender of Cornwallis, on the memorable 19th of October, 1781. After the cessation of hostilities, he removed to the neighborhood of Mount Vernon, and in 1798 was once more appointed by Washington to his former station in the medical staff. He was present with his illustrious friend in his last moments, and died in 1814, in the 84th year of his age. He was a skilful and successful physician, and Washington mentioned him as ‘my compatriot in arms, my old and intimate friend.’

DALE, RICHARD, an American naval commander, was born in Virginia, in 1756. At twelve years of age he was sent to sea, and in 1776, he entered as a midshipman on board of the American brig of war Lexington. In the following year he was taken prisoner by a British cruiser, and after a twelve-month confinement he escaped from Mill prison, and succeeded in reaching France. Here he joined, in the character of master’s mate, the celebrated Paul Jones, then commanding the American ship Bon Homme Richard. He was soon raised to the rank of first lieutenant, and signalized himself in the sanguinary engagement between the Bon Homme Richard and the English frigate Serapis. In 1794, the United States made him a captain in the navy, and in 1801, he took command of the American squadron, which sailed in that year from Hampton roads to the Mediterranean. From the year 1802, he passed his life in Philadelphia, in the enjoyment of a competent estate, and much esteemed by his fellow-citizens. He died in 1826, leaving the reputation of a brave and intelligent seaman.

DALLAS, ALEXANDER JAMES, was born in the island of Jamaica, in 1759; and was educated at Edinburgh and Westminster. In 1783, he left Jamaica for the United States, and settled in Philadelphia; taking the oath of allegiance to the state of Pennsylvania. In 1785, he was admitted to practise in the supreme court of the state, and in four or five years in the courts of the Union. During this time he prepared his Reports, and was engaged in various literary pursuits, writing much in the periodical journals. He occupied successively the offices of secretary of Pennsylvania, district attorney of the United States, secretary of the treasury, and secretary of war. On the restoration of peace, in 1816, Mr. Dallas resigned his political situation, and resumed the successful practice of his profession. His services as an advocate were called for in almost every part of the union; but in the midst of very flattering expectations he died at Trenton, in 1817.

DAVIE, WILLIAM RICHARDSON, governor of North Carolina, was born in England, in 1756. He was brought to America at the age of six years, and received his education at Princeton, New Jersey, where he was graduated in 1776. After pursuing for a short time the study of the law, he entered the army as a lieutenant in the legion of Pulaski, and distinguished himself by his efficiency and courage as an officer. On the termination of the war, he devoted himself with eminent success to the practice of the law. In 1787, he was chosen a delegate from South Carolina, to represent that state in the convention which framed the constitution of the United States. Unavoidable absence prevented him from affixing his name to that instrument. In 1790, he was elected governor of North Carolina, and in 1799, was appointed one of the commissioners for negotiating a treaty with France. He died at Camden, in 1820. He was a man of a dignified and noble person, courage as a soldier, and ability as a lawyer.

DEANE, SILAS, minister of the United States to the court of France, was born in Connecticut, and educated at Yale college. He was elected member of congress in 1774, and sent two years after as agent to France, but was superseded, in 1777, and returned. Involved in suspicions from which he could not extricate himself, he lost his reputation, and returning to Europe, died in poverty in England, in 1789.

DECATUR, STEPHEN, a distinguished naval officer, was born in Maryland, in 1779, and received his education in Philadelphia. He entered the navy in 1798, and first distinguished himself when in the rank of lieutenant, by the destruction of the American frigate Philadelphia, which had run upon a rock in the harbor of Tripoli, and fallen into the hands of the enemy. For this exploit, the American congress gave him a vote of thanks and a sword, and the president immediately sent him a captaincy. At the bombardment of Tripoli, the next year, he distinguished himself by the capture of two of the enemy’s boats, which were moored along the mouth of the harbor, and immediately under the batteries. When peace was concluded with Tripoli, Decatur returned home in the Congress, and afterward succeeded commodore Barron in the command of the Chesapeake. In the late war between Great Britain and the United States, his chief exploit was the capture of the British frigate Macedonian, commanded by captain Carden. In January, 1815, he attempted to sail from New York, which was then blockaded by four British ships; but the frigate under his command was injured in passing the bar, and was captured by the whole squadron, after a running fight of two or three hours. He was restored to his country after the conclusion of peace. In the summer of the same year, he was sent with a squadron to the Mediterranean, in order to compel the Algerines to desist from their depredations on American commerce. He arrived at Algiers on the twenty-eighth of June, and in less than forty-eight hours terrified the regency into an entire accession to all his terms. Thence he went to Tripoli, where he met with like success. On returning to the United States, he was appointed a member of the board of commissioners for the navy, and held that office till March, 1820, when he was shot in a duel with commodore Barron. He was a man of an active and powerful frame, and possessed a high degree of energy, sagacity, and courage.

DENNIE, JOSEPH, born in Boston, in 1768, displayed an early fondness for polite literature, and entered Harvard college in 1787. In 1790, he left this institution, and commenced the study of the law; but made little progress in the practice of his profession, in consequence of a strong attachment to literary pursuits. In the spring of 1795, he established a weekly paper in Boston, under the title of The Tablet, but it died from want of patronage. Soon after, he went to Walpole to edit the Farmer’s Museum, a journal in which he published a series of papers with the signature of the Lay Preacher. In 1799, he removed to Philadelphia, where he had received an appointment in the office of the secretary of state. He subsequently established the Port Folio, a journal which acquired reputation and patronage. He died in 1812. Mr. Dennie was a man of genius, and a beautiful writer, but wanted the industry and judgment, which might have secured him a competent subsistence and a permanent reputation.

DEXTER, SAMUEL, an eminent lawyer and statesman, was born in Boston, in 1761. He received his education at Harvard college, where he was graduated with honor, in 1781. Engaging in the study of the law, he soon succeeded in obtaining an extensive practice. He enjoyed successively a seat in the state legislature, and in the house of representatives and senate of the United States; and in each of these stations he secured a commanding influence. During the administration of Mr. Adams, he was appointed secretary of war, and of the treasury; but on the accession of Mr. Jefferson to the presidency, he resigned his public employments, and returned to the practice of his profession. For many years he was extensively employed in the courts of Massachusetts, and in the supreme court of the United States, where he was almost without a rival. He died suddenly, at Athens, New York, in 1816. Mr. Dexter was tall, muscular, and well formed. His eloquence was clear, simple and cogent; and his powers were such as would have made him eminent in any age or nation.

DICKINSON, JOHN, a celebrated political writer, was born in Maryland, in 1732, and educated in Delaware. He pursued the study of law, and practised with success in Philadelphia. He was soon elected to the state legislature, and distinguished himself as an early and efficient advocate of colonial rights. In 1765, he was appointed by Pennsylvania a delegate to the first congress, held at New York, and prepared the draft of the bold resolutions of that body. His celebrated Farmer’s Letters to the Inhabitants of the British Colonies were issued in Philadelphia, in 1767; they were reprinted in London, with a preface by Dr. Franklin, and a French translation of them was published at Paris. While in congress, he wrote a large number of the most able and eloquent state papers of the time, and as an orator he had few superiors in that assembly. He conscientiously opposed the declaration of independence, and his opinions upon this subject rendered him for a time unpopular; but they did not permanently affect his reputation and influence. He was afterwards a member of congress, and president of Pennsylvania and Delaware, successively. He died at Wilmington, in 1808. Mr. Dickinson was a man of a strong mind, great knowledge and eloquence, and much elegance of mind and manners.

DORSEY, JOHN SYNG, professor of anatomy in the university of Pennsylvania, was born in Philadelphia in 1783, and received an excellent elementary education at a school of the society of Friends. At the age of fifteen he commenced the study of medicine, and pursued it with unusual ardor and success. In the spring of 1802, he was graduated doctor in physic, having previously defended with ability an inaugural dissertation on the Powers of the Gastric Liquor as a Solvent of the Urinary Calculi. Soon after he received his degree, the yellow fever reappeared in the city, and a hospital was open for the exclusive accommodation of those sick with this disease, to which he was appointed resident physician. At the close of the same season he visited Europe. On his return, in 1804, he immediately entered on the practice of his profession, and soon acquired, by his popular manners, attention and talent, a large share of business. In 1807 he was elected adjunct professor of surgery, and remained in this office till he was raised to the chair of anatomy by the death of the lamented Wistar. He opened the session by one of the finest exhibitions of eloquence ever heard within the walls of the university; but on the evening of the same day, he was attacked by a fever, which in one week closed his existence. He died in 1818. His Elements of Surgery, in two volumes 8vo, is considered the best work on the subject. It is used as a text book in the university of Edinburgh, and was the first American work on medicine reprinted in Europe.

DRAYTON, WILLIAM HENRY, a statesman of the revolution, was born in South Carolina, in 1742. He received his education in England, and on its completion returned to his native state. Taking an early and active part in the defence of colonial rights, he wrote and published a pamphlet under the signature of _Freeman_, in which he submitted a ‘bill of American Rights’ to the continental congress. On the commencement of the revolution he became an efficient leader; in 1775, was chosen president of the provincial congress; and in March of the next year, was elected chief justice of the colony. In 1777, Mr. Drayton was appointed president of South Carolina, and, in 1778, was elected a delegate to the continental congress, where he took a prominent part, and distinguished himself by his activity and eloquence. He continued in congress until September, 1779, when he died suddenly, at Philadelphia. He left a body of valuable materials for history, which his only son, John Drayton, revised and published at Charleston, in 1821, in two volumes 8vo, under the title of Memoirs of the American Revolution.

DWIGHT, TIMOTHY, an eminent divine and writer, was born at Northampton, Massachusetts, in 1752. At the age of thirteen he entered Yale college; and after having graduated, took charge of a grammar-school at New Haven, where he taught for two years. In 1771, he became a tutor in Yale college, where he remained for six years. In 1783, he was ordained minister of Greenfield, a parish in the town of Fairfield, in Connecticut; where he soon opened an academy that acquired great reputation. In 1795, Dr. Dwight was elected president of Yale college, and his character and name soon brought a great accession of students. During his presidency, he also filled, the office of the professor of theology. He continued to discharge the duties of his station, both as minister and president of the college, to the age of sixty-five; when, after a long and painful illness, he died, in January, 1817. He was endowed by nature with uncommon talents; and these, enriched by industry and research, and united to amiability and consistency in his private life, entitled Dr. Dwight to rank among the first men of his age. As a preacher, he was distinguished by his originality, simplicity, and dignity; he was well read in the most eminent fathers and theologians, ancient and modern; he was a good biblical critic; and his sermons should be possessed by every student of divinity. He wrote Travels in New England and New York; Greenfield Hill, a poem; The Conquest of Canaan, a poem; a collection of theological lectures; and a pamphlet on The Dangers of the Infidel Philosophy.

EATON, WILLIAM, general in the service of the United States, was born in Woodstock, Connecticut, in 1764, and was graduated at Dartmouth college, in 1790. In 1792, he received a captain’s commission in the army, and served for some time under general Wayne, on the Mississippi, and in Georgia. In 1797, he was appointed consul to the kingdom of Tunis, and continued there engaged in a variety of adventures and negociations, till 1803, when he returned to the United States. In 1804, he was appointed navy agent for the Barbary powers, for the purpose of co-operating with Hamet bashaw in the war against Tripoli; but was disappointed by the conclusion of a premature peace between the American consul and the Tripolitan bashaw. On his return to the United States, he failed in obtaining from the government any compensation for his pecuniary losses, or any employment corresponding with his merit and services. Under the influence of his disappointments, he fell into habits of inebriety, and died in 1811. His life, published by one of his friends in Massachusetts, is full of interesting adventure.

EDWARDS, JONATHAN, was born at Windsor, in the province of Connecticut, in 1703. At the age of twelve years he was admitted into Yale college, and at the age of seventeen received the degree of bachelor of arts. He remained nearly two years longer at Yale, preparing for the ministry; and in 1722, went to New York, and preached there with great distinction. In September, 1723, he was elected a tutor in Yale college, and remained there till 1726, when he resigned his office, in order to become the minister of the people of Northampton, where he was ordained in February, 1727. After more than twenty-three years of service in this place, a rupture took place between him and his congregation, and he was dismissed by an ecclesiastical council, in 1750. In the following year he accepted a call to serve as missionary among the Indians at Stockbridge, Massachusetts. In 1757, he was chosen president of the college at Princeton, New Jersey, and accepted the invitation. In January, 1758, he repaired to Princeton, where he died of the small-pox, in the March following. His chief works are a Treatise on Religious Affections; an Inquiry into the Notion of Freedom of Will, which is considered the best vindication of the doctrine of philosophical necessity; a Treatise on Original Sin; and numerous tracts and sermons. Various narratives of his life, and editions of his works, have been printed both in Great Britain and the United States. The latest is in ten octavo volumes, published in New York, in 1830, and edited by Sereno E. Dwight.

ELLIOTT, STEPHEN, a botanist and man of letters, was born at Beaufort, South Carolina, in 1771, and received his education at Yale college. On his return home, he applied himself to the improvement of his paternal estate, devoting his leisure hours to history and poetry. At the age of twenty-two he was chosen to the legislature of his native state, where he obtained considerable influence, by his knowledge, attention, and power of argument. He was chosen president of the state bank, established in 1812, and continued to discharge the duties of this office with ability to the time of his death. His two volumes of the botany of South Carolina are held in high estimation, and his lectures before several literary and learned societies obtained great applause. His acquisitions in literature and science were extensive, and he left a valuable collection in the several branches of natural history, scientifically arranged. He was the chief editor of the Southern Review, and the author of some of its best articles. He died in 1830. Most of his productions remain in manuscript.

ELLSWORTH, OLIVER, an American judge and statesman, was born at Windsor, Connecticut, in 1745, and was graduated at the college of Nassau Hall, at Princeton, in 1766. Devoting himself to the practice of the law, he soon rose to distinction, by the energy of his mind and his eloquence. From the earliest period of discontent, he joined the cause of the colonies, and in 1777 was elected a member of the continental congress. In this body he remained for three years, and in 1784 he was appointed a judge of the superior court of the state. He was a delegate to the convention for framing the federal constitution, and was a senator in the first congress. In 1796, he was appointed chief justice of the supreme court of the United States, and in 1799 was sent envoy extraordinary to France. The decline of his health induced him to resign his seat on the bench, and he retired to his family residence, at Windsor, where he died in 1807.

FRANKLIN, BENJAMIN, a philosopher and statesman, the son of a soap-boiler and tallow-chandler, was born in 1706, at Boston, in America. He was apprenticed as a printer, to his brother, at Boston. It was while he was with his brother, that he began to try his powers of literary composition. Street ballads, and articles in a newspaper, were his first efforts. Dissatisfied with the manner in which he was treated by his relative, he, at the age of seventeen, privately quitted him, and went to Philadelphia, where he obtained employment. Deluded by a promise of patronage from the governor, Sir William Keith, he visited England to procure the necessary materials for establishing a printing office in Philadelphia; but, on his arrival at London, he found that he had been deceived, and he was obliged to work as a journeyman for eighteen months. While he was in the British metropolis, he wrote a Dissertation on Liberty and Necessity, Pleasure and Pain. In 1726, he returned to Philadelphia; not long after which he entered into business, as a printer and stationer, and, in 1728, established a newspaper. His prudence soon placed him among the most prosperous of the citizens, and the influence which prosperity naturally gave was enhanced by his activity and talent. Chiefly by his exertions, a public library, a fire-preventing company, an insurance company, and a voluntary association for defence, were established at Philadelphia. In 1732, he began Poor Richard’s Almanac. His first public employment was that of clerk to the general assembly of Pennsylvania; his next, that of postmaster; and he was subsequently chosen as a representative. Philosophy, also, now attracted his attention, and he began those inquiries into the nature of electricity, the results of which have ranked him high among men of science. In 1753, he was appointed deputy postmaster-general of British America; and from 1757 to 1762, he resided in London, as agent for Pennsylvania, and other colonies. The last of these offices was intrusted to him again, in 1761, and he held it till the breaking out of the contest, in 1775. After his return to America, he took an active part in the cause of liberty, and, in 1778, he was dispatched by the congress as ambassador to France. The treaty of alliance with the French government, and the treaties of peace, in 1782 and 1783, as well as treaties with Sweden and Prussia, were signed by him. On his reaching Philadelphia, in September, 1785, his arrival was hailed by applauding thousands of his countrymen, who conducted him in triumph to his residence. He died April 17, 1790. His Memoirs, written by himself, but left unfinished, and his Philosophical, Political, and Miscellaneous Works, have been published by his grandson, in six volumes, octavo.

FULTON, ROBERT, an American engineer and projector, was born in 1765, at Little Britain, in Pennsylvania. Abandoning the trade of a jeweller, he studied for some years under West, with the intention of being a painter; but, having become acquainted with a fellow countryman, named Rumsey, who was skilled in mechanics, he became fond of that science, and ultimately adopted the profession of a civil engineer. Before he left England, he published, in 1796, a treatise on Inland Navigation, in which he proposed to supersede locks by inclined planes. In 1800, he introduced, with much profit to himself, the panorama into the French capital. For some years he was engaged in experiments to perfect a machine called a torpedo, intended to destroy ships of war by explosion. After his return to America, he gave to the world an account of several inventions, among which are a machine for sawing and polishing marble, another for rope making, and a boat to be navigated under water. He obtained a patent for his inventions in navigation by steam, in 1809, and another for some improvements, in 1811. In 1814, he contrived an armed steam ship for the defence of the harbor of New York, and a submarine vessel large enough to carry one hundred men; the plans of which being approved by government, he was authorized to construct them at the public expense. But before completing either of those works, he died suddenly, in 1815. Though not the inventor of it, he was the first who successfully employed the steam engine in navigation.

GATES, HORATIO, was born in England, in 1728, and entering the British service in early life, rose by his merits to the rank of major. In 1755, he was with Braddock when that unfortunate commander was defeated, and received in that battle a severe wound, which for some time debarred him from active service. On the conclusion of peace, he settled in Virginia, where he resided till the commencement of the revolution, in 1775. He was then appointed adjutant-general by congress, with the rank of brigadier, and in 1776, received the command of the army in Canada. General Schuyler succeeded him for a few months, in 1777, but he resumed his situation in August, and soon revived the hopes of his country, by the capture of the army under Burgoyne. In 1780, he was appointed to the chief command of the southern districts, but he was afterwards superseded by general Greene, and his conduct was subjected to the investigation of a special court. He was restored to his command in 1782. On the termination of war he resided on his farm in Virginia, till 1790, when he removed to New York, where he lived much esteemed and respected, till his decease in 1806.

GERRY, ELBRIDGE, one of the signers of the declaration of independence, and vice-president of the United States, was born at Marblehead, Massachusetts, in 1744, and received his education at Harvard college. He was graduated at this institution in 1762, and afterwards engaging in mercantile pursuits, amassed a considerable fortune. He took an early part in the controversy between the colonies and Great Britain, and in 1772, was elected a representative from his native town, to the legislature of Massachusetts. In 1776, he was elected a delegate to the continental congress, where for several years he exhibited the utmost zeal and fidelity, in the discharge of numerous and severe official labors. In 1784, Mr. Gerry was re-elected a member of congress, and in 1787, was chosen a delegate to the convention, which assembled at Philadelphia, to revise the articles of confederation. In 1789, he was again elected to congress, and remained in that body for four years, when he retired into private life, till the year 1797, when he was appointed to accompany general Pinckney and Mr. Marshall on a special mission to France. In October, 1798, Mr. Gerry returned home, and having been elected governor of his native state, and in 1812 vice-president of the United States, he died suddenly at Washington, in November, 1814.

GIRARD, STEPHEN, a celebrated banker, was born in France, about the year 1746. At the age of twelve years, in the capacity of cabin boy, he left France for the West Indies, where he resided some time, and whence he made many voyages to the United States. About 1775, he arrived in this country, and for a while kept a small shop in New Jersey. In 1780, he removed to Philadelphia, and by gradual but sure acquisition accumulated a large fortune. He became distinguished for his active philanthropic exertions during the ravages of the yellow fever in that city in 1793. In 1811, when congress refused to recharter the old bank of the United States, Mr. Girard purchased the banking house of that institution, and became a banker. The capital which he first invested in his bank, was one million eight hundred thousand dollars, and he subsequently augmented it to five millions. During our late war with Great Britain, the government found difficulty in raising the necessary funds, and public credit had sunk so low, that seven per cent. stock was offered at thirty per cent. discount. Of this stock Mr. Girard took five millions. At the time of his death, in 1832, he was estimated to be worth from twelve to fifteen millions of dollars, and he was the most wealthy man in the new world. He was buried with public honors. By his will, he distributed his immense riches in the most judicious and liberal manner, among several charitable institutions, and for the purposes of public improvements. One bequest was of two millions, for the erection of a permanent college in Penn Township, for the accommodation of at least three hundred poor white male orphans, above the age of six years. In regulation of this bequest, it is enjoined, that ‘no ecclesiastic, missionary, or minister, of any sect whatever, shall ever hold or exercise any station or duty whatever, in said college; nor shall any such person ever be admitted for any purpose, or as a visiter, within the premises appropriated to the purposes of the said college.’

GODMAN, JOHN D., an eminent naturalist and physician, was born at Annapolis, in Maryland, and having lost his parents at an early age, was bound apprentice to a printer. He afterwards entered the navy as a sailor boy, and at the age of fifteen commenced the study of medicine. On completing his studies, he settled in Philadelphia as a physician and private teacher of anatomy, and for some time was an assistant editor of the Medical Journal. It was at this period that he published his Natural History of American Quadrupeds, in three volumes, 8vo. Having been elected to the professorship of anatomy in Rutgers’ Medical college, he removed to New York, where he soon acquired extensive practice as a surgeon. Ill health, however, obliged him to relinquish his pursuits, and he returned in 1829 to Philadelphia, where he died in 1830, in the thirty-second year of his age. He possessed much and varied information in his profession, in natural history, and in general literature. Besides the work above referred to, he is the author of Rambles of a Naturalist, and several articles on natural history in the Encyclopædia Americana.

GODFREY, THOMAS, the real inventor of the quadrant commonly called _Hadley’s_, was born in Philadelphia, and pursued the trade of a glazier. He was a great student of mathematics, and acquired by himself a tolerable knowledge of Latin, in order to be able to read mathematical works in that language. In 1730, he communicated the improvement he had made in Davis’s quadrant to Mr. Logan, secretary of the commonwealth; and in the following year a full description of a similar instrument was read before the Royal society of London, by Mr. Hadley. It was decided that both claimants were entitled to the honor of the invention, and the society presented Godfrey with household furniture to the value of £200. He was intemperate in his habits, and died in 1749.

GODFREY, THOMAS, son of the preceding, and a poet of some merit, was born in Philadelphia, in the year 1736. He was at first apprenticed to a watchmaker, but disliking the drudgery of this occupation, he obtained a lieutenant’s commission in the Pennsylvania forces, which were raised in 1758 for the expedition against fort Du Quesne. Subsequently he established himself as a factor in North Carolina, where he died in 1763. His chief works are The Court of Fancy, a poem; and The Prince of Parthia, which was the first American tragedy.

GREENE, NATHANIEL, major-general in the army of the United States, was born in Warwick, Rhode Island, in 1742. Though enjoying very few advantages of education, he displayed an early fondness for knowledge, and devoted his leisure time assiduously to study. In 1770, he was elected a member of the state legislature, and in 1774, enrolled himself as a private in a company called the Kentish Guards. From this situation he was elevated to the head of three regiments, with the title of major-general. In 1776, he accepted from congress a commission of brigadier-general, and soon after, at the battles of Trenton and Princeton, distinguished himself by his skill and bravery. In 1778, he was appointed quarter-master general, and in that office rendered efficient service to the country by his unwearied zeal and great talents for business. He presided at the court-martial which tried major Andre, in 1780, and was appointed to succeed Arnold in the command at West Point; but he held this post only a few days. In December of the same year, he assumed the command of the southern army, and in this situation displayed a prudence, intrepidity and firmness which raise him to an elevated rank among our revolutionary generals. In September, 1781, he obtained the famous victory at Eutaw Springs, for which he received from congress a British standard and a gold medal, as a testimony of their value of his conduct and services. On the termination of hostilities, he returned to Rhode Island, and, in 1785, removed with his family to Georgia, where he died suddenly, in June of the following year. He was a man of high energy, courage and ability, and possessed the entire confidence of Washington.

HAMILTON, ALEXANDER, was born in the island of Nevis, in 1757. At the age of sixteen, he accompanied his mother to New York, and was placed at Columbia college, where he soon gave proof of extraordinary talent, by the publication of some political essays, of such strength and sagacity that they were generally attributed to Mr. Jay. At the age of nineteen he entered the American army, and in 1777, was appointed aid-de-camp of Washington, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel. In this capacity he served during the remainder of the war, and at the siege of Yorktown led in person the detachment that carried by assault one of the enemy’s outworks. After the war he commenced the study of the law, entered into its practice in New York, and soon rose to distinction. In 1782, he was chosen a member of congress from the state of New York; in 1787, a member of the convention which formed the constitution of the United States, and in 1787 and 1788, wrote, in connection with Mr. Jay and Mr. Madison, the essays published under the title of The Federalist. In 1789, he was placed by Washington at the head of the treasury department, and while in this situation rendered the most efficient service to the country, by the establishment of an admirable system of finance, which raised public credit from the lowest depression to an unprecedented height. In 1795, he retired from office, in order to secure by his professional labors a more ample provision for his numerous family. In 1798, his public services were again required, to take the second command in the army that was raised on account of the apprehended invasion of the French. On the disbanding of the army, he resumed the practice of the law in New York, and continued to acquire new success and reputation. In 1804, he fell in a duel with colonel Burr, vice-president of the United States, and died universally lamented and beloved. Besides his share in the Federalist, general Hamilton was the author of numerous congressional reports, the essays of Pacificus, and the essays of Phocion. A collection of his works in three vols. 8vo, was issued at New York some time after his death. He was a man of transcendent abilities and unsullied integrity; and no one labored more efficiently in the organization of the present federal government.

HANCOCK, JOHN, a patriot and statesman, was born in Quincy, Massachusetts, in 1737, and under the patronage of a wealthy uncle received a liberal education, and was graduated at Harvard college, in 1754. On leaving college, he entered the counting-house of his uncle, by whose sudden death, in 1764, he succeeded to great riches and the management of an extensive business. In 1766, he was chosen a member of the assembly and soon distinguished himself by his zeal in the cause of the colonies. In 1774, he was elected president of the provincial congress of Massachusetts, and in the following year, president of the continental congress, in which capacity he was the first to affix his signature to the declaration of independence. In this station he continued till October, 1777, when ill health induced him to resign. In 1780, he was elected governor of Massachusetts, and held that office for four successive years, and again from 1787 till his death in 1793. Governor Hancock was hospitable and munificent, a man of excellent talents for business, and a true lover of his country.

HARPER, ROBERT GOODLOE, was a native of Virginia, but when very young removed with his parents to North Carolina. His parents were poor, and in early life he passed through a number of vicissitudes. At the age of twenty he found himself in Charleston, S. C., with but a dollar or two in his pocket, and with the intention of studying the profession of the law. Having obtained introduction to a lawyer, he prepared himself under his instruction for the bar, and, in about a twelvemonth, undertook the management of causes on his own account. He then removed from Charleston to an interior district, where he first distinguished himself, politically, by the publication of a series of newspaper essays on a proposed change in the constitution of the state. He was immediately elected to the state legislature, and soon afterwards to congress, where he was an efficient member of the federal party, a powerful advocate of the policy of Washington, and the personal friend of the most distinguished federal statesmen of the day. Many years afterwards, he collected in an octavo volume a number of his circulars and addresses to his constituents, and several of his speeches in congress. In 1797, he published a pamphlet, entitled Observations on the Dispute between the United States and France, which passed through numerous editions, and acquired great celebrity both at home and in Europe. The speeches which he delivered in managing the impeachment of Blount, and the defence of judge Chase, are admirable specimens of argument and eloquence. On the downfall of the federal party, Mr. Harper resumed the practice of the law in Baltimore, where he married the daughter of the distinguished Charles Carroll. He attended almost every session of the supreme court, from the time of its removal to Washington to that of his death, and was always heard with respect and attention by the court and juries. The federal party having regained the ascendant in Maryland, Mr. Harper was immediately elected a senator in congress; but the demands of his profession soon obliged him to resign his seat. In the years 1819–20, he visited Europe with a portion of his family, and was absent about two years. He died suddenly in Baltimore, in 1825. He was an active leader in the federal party, an able and learned lawyer, well versed in general literature, and political economy, and lived with elegant hospitality.

HEATH, WILLIAM, an officer in the army of the revolution, was born in Roxbury, in 1737, and was bred a farmer. He was particularly attentive to the study of military tactics, and in 1775 he was commissioned as a brigadier-general by the provincial congress. In 1776, he was promoted to the rank of major-general in the continental army, and in the campaign of that year commanded a division near the enemy’s lines, at Kingsbridge and Morrisania. During the year 1777, and till November, 1778, he was the commanding officer of the eastern department, and his headquarters were at Boston. In 1779, he returned to the main army, and was invested with the chief command of the troops on the east side of the Hudson. After the close of the war, he served in several public offices, till the time of his death, in 1814.

HENRY, PATRICK, was born in Virginia, in 1736, and after receiving a common school education, and spending some time in trade and agriculture, commenced the practice of the law, after only six weeks of preparatory study. After several years of poverty, with the incumbrance of a family, he first rose to distinction in managing the popular side in the controversy between the legislature and the clergy, touching the stipend which was claimed by the latter. In 1765, he was elected a member of the house of burgesses, with express reference to an opposition to the British stamp act. In this assembly he obtained the honor of being the first to commence the opposition to the measures of the British government, which terminated in the revolution. He was one of the delegates sent by Virginia to the first general congress of the colonies, in 1774, and in that body distinguished himself by his boldness and eloquence. In 1776, he was appointed the first governor of the commonwealth, and to this office was repeatedly re-elected. In 1786, he was appointed by the legislature one of the deputies to the convention held at Philadelphia, for the purpose of revising the federal constitution. In 1788, he was a member of the convention, which met in Virginia to consider the constitution of the United States, and exerted himself strenuously against its adoption. In 1794, he retired from the bar, and died in 1799. Without extensive information upon legal or political topics, he was a natural orator of the highest order, possessing great powers of imagination, sarcasm and humor, united with great force and energy of manner, and a deep knowledge of human nature.

HOBART, JOHN HENRY, was born in Philadelphia, on the fourteenth of September, 1775. He was educated at the college in Princeton, New Jersey, and was noted in early life for his industry and proficiency in his studies. On leaving this institution he was engaged a short time in mercantile pursuits, was subsequently a tutor at Nassau Hall, and after two years service in this capacity, he determined upon the study of theology. In 1798, he was admitted into orders, and was first settled in the two churches at Perkiomen, near Philadelphia, but soon after accepted a call to Christ church, New Brunswick. In about a year he removed from this place to become an assistant minister of the largest spiritual cure in the country, comprising three associated congregations in the city of New York. In 1811, he was elected assistant bishop, and in 1816, became diocesan of New York, and in performing the severe duties of the office, his labors were indefatigable. From 1818 to 1823, he was employed in editing the American edition of Mant and D’Ogly’s Bible, with notes. In September, 1823, the state of his health required a visit to Europe, where he remained about two years. He died in 1830. He was incessantly active in performing his religious offices, and made several valuable compilations for the use of the church.

HOLLEY, HORACE, a celebrated pulpit orator, was born in Connecticut, in 1781, and was graduated at Yale college, in 1799. On leaving this institution he began the study of the law, which he soon relinquished for divinity, and in 1805, was ordained to the pastoral charge of Greenfield Hill, Conn. In 1809, he was installed over the society in Hollis street, Boston, where he remained for ten years, when he accepted an invitation to become president of Transylvania university, in Kentucky. In this situation he continued till 1827, when he died on his passage from New Orleans to New York. His sermons were generally extemporaneous, and were distinguished for power and eloquence.

HOLYOKE, EDWARD AUGUSTUS, was born in 1728, in the county of Essex, Massachusetts, and was graduated at Harvard college, in 1746. He pursued the study of medicine, and in 1749 began to practice his profession in Salem. He was the first president of the Medical society of Massachusetts, and was always considered a learned physician and skilful surgeon. He lived to be over one hundred years of age, and died in 1829. He published various scientific disquisitions.

HOPKINSON, FRANCIS, an excellent writer, and signer of the declaration of independence, was born in Philadelphia, in 1737. He was graduated at the college in his native town, and pursued the profession of the law. In 1766, he visited England, where he resided more than two years, and on his return, married and settled in the state of New Jersey. He entered with much zeal into the public measures of the patriotic party, and in 1776, was elected a delegate to congress. In 1779, he was appointed judge of the admiralty court of Pennsylvania, and for ten years continued to discharge with fidelity the duties of this office. In 1790, he passed to the bench of the district court, and died suddenly in the midst of his usefulness, in 1791. Mr. Hopkinson possessed talents of a quick and versatile character, excelling in music and poetry, and having some knowledge of painting. In humorous poetry and satire he was quite successful, and his well-known ballad of the Battle of the Kegs obtained great popularity. A collection of his miscellaneous works, in three volumes 8vo. was published in 1792.

HOPKINS, SAMUEL, a divine, and founder of the sect called Hopkinsians, was born in Connecticut, in 1721, and educated at Yale college. In 1743, he was settled at a place now called Great Barrington, in Massachusetts, and continued there till 1769, when he removed to Newport, Rhode Island. He died in 1803. He published numerous sermons, a Treatise on the Millennium, and a sketch of his own life. His theological learning was extensive, and he was a profound metaphysician.

HOPKINS, STEPHEN, a signer of the declaration of independence, was born in Providence, in 1707, and after receiving a school education, turned his attention to agriculture. In 1751, he was appointed chief justice of the superior court of Rhode Island, and in 1756, was elected governor of that state. In 1774, he was chosen a delegate to the general congress at Philadelphia, and was re-elected to that body in 1775 and 1776. In 1776, he was a delegate to congress for the last time, though for several subsequent years he was a member of the general assembly of his native state. He died in 1785. Although his early education was very limited, Mr. Hopkins acquired by his own efforts extensive information. He wrote a pamphlet on the rights of the colonies, was a member of the American Philosophical society, and for many years chancellor of the college of Rhode Island.

HOWARD, JOHN EAGER, an officer of the army of the American revolution, was born in Baltimore, in 1752. After serving in the rank of captain, in 1779, he was appointed lieutenant-colonel, and distinguished himself by his valor and activity during the war. At the battle of Cowpens, colonel Howard, at one time, had in his hands the swords of seven officers, who had surrendered to him personally. He was also present at the battles of Germantown, White Plains, Monmouth, Camden, and Hobkicks hill. On the disbanding of the army, he retired to his patrimonial estates, near Baltimore, and was subsequently governor of Maryland, and member of the senate of the United States. He died in 1827. General Greene said of him, that as a patriot and soldier, he deserved a statue of gold no less than Roman and Grecian heroes.

HUMPHREYS, DAVID, minister of the United States to the court of Spain, was born in Connecticut, in 1753, and received his education at Yale college. Soon after the commencement of the revolutionary war, he entered the army, and was successively an aid to Parsons, Putnam, Greene, and Washington. He left the army with the rank of colonel. In 1784, he was appointed secretary of legation to Paris, and was subsequently ambassador to the court of Lisbon, and in 1797, minister plenipotentiary to the court of Madrid. While in the military service, he published a poem addressed to the American armies, and after the war, another on the happiness and glory of America. In 1789, he published a life of general Putnam, and while in Europe, a number of miscellaneous poems. He died in 1818.

HUTCHINSON, THOMAS, a governor of the colony of Massachusetts, was born in Boston, in 1711, and was graduated at Harvard college. He was for a while occupied with commercial pursuits, but soon engaged in the study of law and politics, and was sent agent to Great Britain. On his return he was elected a representative, and after a few years was chosen speaker of the house, and in 1752, judge of probate. After being a member of the council, lieutenant governor and chief justice, in 1771, he received his commission as governor of Massachusetts. In 1774, he was removed from his office, and was succeeded by general Gage. He then repaired to England, fell into disgrace, and died in retirement, in 1780. He is the author of a valuable History of Massachusetts, some occasional essays, and a pamphlet on colonial claims. It is said that no man contributed more effectually to bring about the separation between the colonies and Great Britain than Hutchinson.

JAY, JOHN, was born in the city of New York, in 1745. He was graduated at Columbia college, in 1764, and in 1768, was admitted to the bar. He soon rose to eminence as a lawyer, and began to take an active part in politics. In 1774, he was elected a delegate to the first congress. In May, 1776, he was recalled from congress by the provincial convention, to aid in forming the government for the province, and to this it is owing that his name does not appear among the signers of the declaration of independence. Upon the organization of the state government, in 1777, Mr. Jay was appointed chief justice, and held this office till 1779. In November, 1778, he was again chosen a delegate to the continental congress, and three days after taking his seat was elected president of that venerable body. In September, 1779, he was appointed minister plenipotentiary to the court of Spain, and he arrived at Cadiz in January of the following year. Having resigned his commission as minister in 1783, in 1784 he returned to the United States, and was placed at the head of the department for foreign affairs. In this post he remained till the adoption of the present constitution, when he was appointed chief justice of the United States. In 1794, he was sent as envoy extraordinary to Great Britain, and before his return in 1795, he had been elected governor of his native state. In 1798, he was re-elected to this office, and in 1801, went into voluntary retirement. The remainder of his life was passed in the faithful discharge of the charitable duties, and he was publicly known only by the occasional appearance of his name, or the employment of his pen, in the service of philanthropy and piety. He died in 1829. Beside a variety of state papers and political essays, Mr. Jay was the author of the 2d, 3d, 4th, 5th, and 64th numbers of the Federalist.

JEFFERSON, THOMAS, was born in Albemarle county, Virginia, in 1743, and was entered a student in the college of William and Mary. On leaving this seminary, he applied himself to the study of the law, under the tuition of the celebrated George Wythe, and was called to the bar in 1766. He soon occupied a high stand in his profession, and at the early age of twenty-five entered the house of burgesses of his native state. In 1774, he published a Summary View of the Rights of British America, a bold but respectful pamphlet addressed to the king. In 1775, he was elected a member of the continental congress, and in the following year drew up the declaration of independence. Between 1777 and 1779, he was employed, together with George Wythe and Edmund Pendleton, on a commission for revising the laws of Virginia. In 1779, he was elected governor of Virginia, and continued in office until June, 1781. In the latter year he composed his celebrated Notes on Virginia, and in 1787, published it under his own signature. In November, 1783, he again took his seat in the continental congress, and in May following was appointed minister plenipotentiary, to act abroad with Adams and Franklin in the negotiation of commercial treaties. In 1785, he was appointed to succeed Dr. Franklin as minister to the court of Versailles, and performed the duties of this office till 1789, when he returned to his native country, and was placed by president Washington at the head of the department of state. In 1797, he became vice-president, and in 1801, president of the United States. At the expiration of eight years he again retired to private life, and took up his residence at Monticello. He still continued anxious to promote the interest of science and literature, and devoted the attention of several years to the establishment of a university in Virginia. He died on the fourth of July, 1826, the fiftieth anniversary of the declaration of independence. In stature, Mr. Jefferson was six feet two inches high. His person was erect and well formed, though spare. In his manners he was simple and unaffected, simple in his habits, and incessantly occupied with the pursuits of business or study. Four volumes of his Correspondence have been published since his decease.

JONES, JOHN PAUL, a native of Scotland, was born, in 1747, at Selkirk, and settled in America when young. He distinguished himself by his bravery in the American service, during the contest with the mother country, particularly in a desperate action with the Serapis frigate, which he captured. He died in Paris, in 1792, and was buried at the expense of the national convention. Jones was not only a man of signal courage, but also of great talent, and keen sagacity, wrote poetry, and in France aspired to be a man of fashion. His memorials and correspondence are quite voluminous.