The biographical encyclopaedia of New Jersey of the nineteenth century, Part 66

Author: Robson, Charles, ed; Galaxy Publishing Company, publisher
Publication date: 1877
Publisher: Philadelphia, Galaxy publishing company
Number of Pages: 924


USA > New Jersey > The biographical encyclopaedia of New Jersey of the nineteenth century > Part 66


Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).


Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111 | Part 112 | Part 113 | Part 114 | Part 115 | Part 116 | Part 117 | Part 118 | Part 119 | Part 120 | Part 121 | Part 122 | Part 123 | Part 124 | Part 125 | Part 126 | Part 127 | Part 128


Engªby TO hackman


Loquan M. Price


RX COFERNOR OF NEM


295


BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPÆDIA.


in the Florida war of 1837-38. He subsequently attained | deprecating the action of the Southern branch of the church the following positions : Juiy 7th, 1838, First Lieutenant in 1853, was firmly opposed to all compromise or fellowship with slaveholders. As a friend and admirer of Horace Mann, he took the warmest interest in his peculiar educa- tional views, and, during Mr. Mann's presidency of An- tioch College, his measures were steadfastly defended and supported by the denominational organs. He died in New York city, January 6th, 1867, aged fifty-one years. of the Topographical Engineers; March 3d, 1853, Captain ; March 3d, 1863, Major in the Engineering Corps ; June, of the same year, Lieutenant-Colonel; March 7th, 1867, Colonel, having previously accepted, August 12th, 1861, a Colonelcy in the 4th Regiment of New Jersey Volunteers. Ile took an active part in the peninsular campaign ; was en- gaged at West Point and Gaines' Mills, where he was cap- tured, June 27th, 1862 ; from August, 1862, to June, 1865, was Chief-Engineer of the Department of the Ohio; and March 13th, 1865, was made Brevet Brigadier-General of the United States Army. He published " Journal of a Military Reconnoissance from Santa Fé to the Navajo Country, in 1849," 8vo., 1852; "Shortest Route to Cali- fornia," 8vo., 1869; " Report on the Union Pacific Rail- road and Branches," Svo., 1865. ITis gallantry in time of action, always characterized by a comprehensive shrewd- ness which enabled him to take advantage of every passing circumstance, and his skill and attainments in the art of engineering, contributed to make him a reliable leader in the field and a valuable assistant in general military opera- tions.


REENWOOD, MILES, Manufacturer, of Ohio, was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, March 19th, 1807. In 1817 he removed to the West with his father, and settled finally near Cincinnati, Ohio. In 1832 he commenced, on the Miami canal, the Eagle Iron Works, which speedily became the most extensive manufactory in the West. In 1846 it was destroyed by fire, but was soon after entirely rebuilt. He was one of the originators of the Ohio Mechanics' Institute, and an active worker in all that related to its interests and development, contributing largely toward defraying the ex- penses attending the erection of their present handsome building. He was also mainly instrumental in introducing steam fire-engines, fully appreciating their importance as safeguards of large and crowded cities.


UMMINGS, REV. MOSES, Minister, Editor of the Christian Messenger and the Palladium, late of New York city, was born at Haverhill, Massa- chusetts, and entered the ministry at eighteen years of age. His initial fields of labor were throughout New Jersey and New York, and in both States he was famed for his ardor, his energy, and his many good works. In 1854 he assumed cditorial charge of the central denominational organs, the Christian Messenger and the Palladium, resigning his position in the spring of 1862. Ife was a determined opponent of slavery, and while


RMSTRONG, REV. WILLIAM JESSUP, D. D., Secretary of- the American Board of Foreign Missions, late of New York, was born at Mend- ham, New Jersey, Octoher 29th, 1796. IIis degree of A. M. he received from the New Jersey Col- lege in 1816, and that of D. D. in 1840. Under the careful guidance of his father, Rev. Dr. A. Armstrong, he acquired his preliminary education, and also, in all prob- ability, the bias which afterward exercised so important an influence on his life and career. After three years of theo- logical study he was sent to Albemarle county, Virginia, as a missionary. Subsequently he officiated for three years as pastor of a church in Trenton, New Jersey. From 1824 to 1834 he filled the pastorate of the First Presbyterian Church in Richmond, Virginia, and in the course of the latter year was appointed Secretary of the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions for Virginia and North Carolina; at the same time he was given the appointment of General Agent of the American Board of Missions for these States. In the following September he was appointed successor to Rev. Dr. Wisner, Secretary of the American Board. In April, 1838, after a residence of two years and a half at Boston, he removed to New York. A memoir of his life, with a collec- tion of his sermons, well-digested and ably-written produc- tions, edited by Rev. IIollis Read, was published in New York in 1853, and in it is given an interesting account of his useful and varied career. He was drowned in the memorable wreck of the steamer "Atlantic," November 27th, 1846.


NDERSON, JOSEPH, Judge, Statesman and Revolutionary Soldier, late of Washington, Dis- trict of Columbia, was born in New Jersey, No- vember 5th, 1757. In his youth he received a good education, and at the completion of his preparatory studies turned his attention to the theory and practice of law. In 1775 he was appointed an ensign in the New Jersey Line, and fought at Monmouth as a Captain. In 1779 he took an active part in the expedi- tion of Sullivan against the Six Nations, in 1780 was at Valley Forge, and in the following ycar was a participant at the siege of York. After the termination of the contest


296


BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPÆDIA.


with Great Britain, he received the brevet of Major, for gallant and meritorious conduct on the field. He then en- tered upon the practice of his profession in Delaware, and in 1791 was appointed, by Washington, Judge of the terri- tory south of the Ohio river. In this position he remained until the formation of the constitution of Tennessee, in which he assisted in a manner that won him warm commendations from the highest quarters. From 1797 to 1815 he was an influential member of the United States Senate from Ten- nessee, serving upon many important committees, and acting on two occasions as President pro tem. of the Senate. From 1815 to 1836 he was First Comptroller of the United States Treasury. As a statesman and political leader he was re- markably shrewd and far-seeing ; and the various measures promulgated or supported by him at sundry crises in the development of his section, stand as eloquent witnesses to his abilities. He died at Washington, District of Columbia, April 17th, 1837.


OLLOCK, REV. HENRY D., D. D., Clergyman, late of Savannah, Georgia, was born in New Providence, New Jersey, December 14th, 1778, and graduated from the New Jersey College in 1794, where he subsequently acted as tutor from 1797 to 1800. May 7th of the latter year he was licensed to preach, and in the following December became pastor of a church at Elizabethtown, New Jersey. In De- cember, 1803, he was appointed Professor of Divinity at New Jersey College. From 1806 till the time of his death he officiated as Pastor of the Independent Presby- terian Church, at Savannah, Georgia. As a preacher he had a brilliant reputation, and was widely esteemed for his many excellent qualities of mind and heart. He received the degree of D. D. from Harvard University in 1806. In 1822 his sermons were published in four volumes, 8vo., at Savannah, with a memoir by his brother, S. K. Kollock. He died at Savannah, Georgia, December 29th, 1819.


INDSLEY, REV. PHILIP, D. D., Educator, Pro- fessor of Archaeology and Church Polity, and of Languages, late of Nashville, Tennessee, was born in Morristown, New Jersey, December 21st, 1786, and graduated from the New Jersey Col- lege in 1804. April 24th, 1810, he was licensed to preach, and in 1807-8-9 and '12 was tutor at Prince- ton College. In 1813 he became Professor of Languages in that institution, in 1817 was made Vice-President, and in 1823 was chosen President, but declined the proffered honor. In December, 1824, he accepted the thrice-tendered Presidency of the University of Nashville, and "through his efforts, the standard of education was raised to a level with that of the oldest and best-endowed colleges of the


Atlantic States." In October, 1850, he resigned this office, and during the last four years of his life resided at New Albany, Indiana, two years of that time being spent as Pro- fessor of Archæology and Church Polity in the theological seminary there. Such was his reputation that, between 1820 and 1839, he was at different times offered the presi- dency of ten different colleges and institutes of learning. In May, 1834, he was elected Moderator of the General As- sembly of the Presbyterian Church, then in session at Phila- delphia, Pennsylvania. His works, edited by L. 1. Halsey, D. D., a well-known and talented clergyman, were pub- lished in Philadelphia, three volumes, 8vo., and have de- servedly been called a well of desirable knowledge and true learning. The degree of D. D. was conferred on him by Dickinson College in 1828. Hle died at Nashville, Ten- nessee, May 25th, 1855.


OLLOCK, SHEPHERD, Revolutionary Officer, Editor, Judge, Late of Philadelphia, Pennsylva- nia, was born in Lewiston, Delaware, in 1750. At the outbreak of the struggle with Great Britain he was commissioned a Lieutenant, and was an active participant at the battles of Trenton, Fort Lee, Short Hills, and other places of minor importance. In 1779 he resigned his position in the army and established a newspaper, the New Jersey Journal, at the village of Chatham. In 1783 he removed his press to the city of New York, and there established the New York Gazetteer. 1Ie afterwards, in 1787, removed to Elizabethtown, New Jersey, and revived the New Jersey Journal, which he edited for more than thirty-one years. The office of Judge of Com- mon Pleas he held for about thirty-five years, and acted as Postmaster at Elizabethtown until 1829. Ile died at Phila- delphia, Pennsylvania, July 28th, 1839.


NOWLTON, MINER, Soldier and Author, late of Burlington, New Jersey, was born in Con- necticut in 1804, and graduated at West Point in 1829. Entering the Ist United States Artillery, he became First Lieutenant July 23d, 1835; April 21st, 1846, was promoted to a Captaincy, and October 26th, 1861, retired from the service. In the years 1830-31-32-33 he was Assistant Professor of Mathe- matics at West Point ; from 1833 to 1837 acted in the ca- pacity of Assistant Teacher of French; and from 1837 to 1844 was Instructor of Artillery and Cavalry. He was one of the compilers of " Instruction for Field Artillery," adopted March 6th, 1845, for the United States army; was Aide-de-camp to Marshal Bugeaud in Algeria in 1845, and in the ensuing year served efficiently on the Rio Grande


297


BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPÆDIA.


during the Mexican war. He was the author of " Notes on Gunpowder, Cannon and Projectiles," published in 1840; and " Instructions and Regulations for Militia and Volun- teers of the United States," in 1861. Also, in 1857, he was President of the Common Council in Burlington, New Jersey. He died at Burlington, New Jersey, December 25th, 1870.


OOKE, EDWIN T., Brevet Brigadier-General of United States Volunteers, Secretary of Legation to Chili, late of Santiago, Chili, was a native of New Jersey, and entered the United States service 0 at the commencement of the war, in 1861, as a Captain in the 2d New York Light Cavalry. By distinguished gallantry he rose to the command of his regi- ment, and ultimately to the post of Chief of Staff in General Kilpatrick's Cavalry Division. In 1863 he was associated with Colonel Dahlgren in command of the force which was sent to enter Richmond from the south, and had his horse killed under him hy the same volley which terminated Dahlgren's life. " Being taken prisoner, he was confined for several months in one of the gloomy underground cells of Libby Prison, where deprivation of proper food, light and warmth, completely shattered a once vigorous and powerful constitution. From Libby Prison he was transferred to other places of detention in various parts of South Carolina and Georgia. Finally, after a terrible experience of eighteen months as a prisoner in rehel hands, he obtained his liberty and returned home, utterly lacking the health and strength with which he had set out to assist in upholding the cause of the Union. Hle then accepted the position of Secretary to the Chilian Legation, hoping that the salu- brious climate of that country might restore his impaired energies. The hope proved delusive, however, and he sank gradually into an incurable decline. After a year of con- stant illness and growing debility, he died at Santiago, August 6th, 1867.


| he presided as Military and Civil Governor of New Mexico, filling that responsible office in an able and creditable man- ner; and November 11th, 1856, was made Lieutenant- Colonel of the 4th United States Artillery.


HAMBERLIN, OCTAVIUS P., Lawyer, of Flem- ington, was born in Delaware township, Hunter- don county, New Jersey, in 1832. He is the son of Mr. A. Chamberlin, a farmer of that county, who formerly held the sheriffalty, and other im- portant public trusts. He spent the greater part of his youth on his father's farm, attending the neighboring schools as occasion offered, but on the whole with such good result that he was able in 1855 to enter the University at Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, from which he graduated in 1859. Immediately after graduating he began the study of the law under George A. Allen, at Flemington, New Jersey, and was admitted to the bar in 1864, forthwith beginning a practice which has grown steadily larger and more lucrative to the present time. In 1872 he was appointed by Governor Parker, Prosecutor of the Pleas for Hunterdon county, an office which he still fills. IIe enjoys a reputation, in the profession and out of it, for solid ability and unspotted in- tegrity. Every interest and every trust confided to him is certain to be guarded with unfailing skill and scrupulous fidelity. He is a forcihle and persuasive advocate, as well as a patient and sagacious counsellor and a faithful attorney. In politics he is a Democrat, and warmly attached to the principles and traditions of his party. He belongs, in fact, to that class of stout-hearted and strong-headed lawyers, to which civil freedom in all countries and ages has been so largely indebted.


ASTON, HUGII M., Lawyer, of Somerville, was born at Basking Ridge, Somerset county, New Jer- sey, September 29th, 1819. He is the son of William B. Gaston, a merchant of Basking Ridge, the family, settled in New Jersey for the last cen- tury and a half, being of Huguenot descent. IIe was educated at the Somerville Academy, read law with the Hon. George H. Brown, of Somerville, and was admitted to the bar in 1844, at once opening an office in Somerville, and entering upon the practice of his profession. Ile was soon recognized as a man of sterling ability as well as of unyielding integrity, and consequently of high promise in the - profession, the result being that his practice grew with rapidity until it comprehended more or less directly nearly every important case in the rich and populous region in which he lives, a clientage to which ycars have certainly brought no shrinkage, but rather new growth and more assured steadi- ness. The promise discerned in him at the outset of his


UNROE, JOHN, Brevet Colonel United States Army, late of New Brunswick, New Jersey, was born in Scotland, and graduated from the acad- emy at West Point in 1814. Entering the artil- lery branch of the service, he became Captain March 2d, 1825, and Brevet Major, for gallantry displayed in the campaigns against the hostile Indians of Florida, February 15th, 1838. August 18th, 1846, he was promoted to the rank of Major of the 2d Artillery, having, in July of the same year, served as Chief of Artillery to General Taylor. February 23d, 1847, for efficient service performed at Buena Vista, Mexico, he was brevetted Lieu- tenant-Colonel, and Brevet Colonel after the hattle of Mon- terey, Mexico, in the following May. In 1849 and 1850 professional career he has fully redecmed. He stands to-


38


298


BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA.


.


day among the acknowledged leaders of the bar, not more sought and trusted by clients than admired and respected by associates, one characteristic of his practice having always been a zealous regard for the honor and dignity of the pro fession, sharp practice being in his estimation the equivalent of dishonorable practice, befitting perhaps a sharper, but not a lawyer worthy of the name. His professional standard, like his personal standard, has been high, and the verdict of his fellow-citizens, in and out of the profession, is that he has nobly lived up to both. For a number of years, it may be stated here, he was Prosecutor of the Pleas for Somerset county. In politics he was a Whig as long as the Whig party existed ; but when it passed away he joined the Re- publican party, to which he has ever since adhered with zealous and unflinching fidelity. It of course was not to be expected that the temptations of political life would pass by such a man without assailing him, and it was almost as little to be expected that he would turn away from even the fairest and most honorable of them, but, though he con- sented to be a candidate for the office of Presidential Elec- tor in 1872, he refused to stand for the State Senate, de- clining not the offer of the nomination merely, but the nomination itself, and, having thus resisted the tempter, has since been free from his importunities, agreeably to the as- surance of the Apostle James. He finds in his profession his true sphere of action, and is content, as well he may be, with its honors and emoluments, not to say its labors, which surely are multiplied and various enough. In addition to his ordinary practice, now very extended and important, he is attorney for several of the leading corporations in his sec- tion of the State, including the First National Bank of Somerville and the Easton & Amboy Railroad. He is, however, emphatically a worker, sparing no pains in pre- paring his cases, and no zeal or vigor in presenting them. It would have been strange if such energies, guided by such abilities, had not been crowned with success. In 1862 he formed a partnership with James Beyen, which still subsists, the firm-name being Gaston & Beyen. He was married, in 1849, to Frances M. Prevost.


went abroad, making the tour of Europe, and on his return he entered the office of Professor James R. Wood, with whom he remained three years, a diligent and painstaking student, He matriculated at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, in 1855, and graduated in the fall of 1858 from the above mentioned college. He at once entered upon the practice of his profession at Bergen, New Jersey, where he has ever since resided, and where he has been constantly engaged in the control and exercise of a very extensive and lucrative practice. Dr. Wilkinson has devoted his life exclusively to his professional business, and has had at all times a large and remunerative practice. Ilis labors have been untiring; he has never allowed himself to be restrained by heat or cold, darkness or storms. To this persistency has he owed mainly the success of his life, and he has prospered in the world, and has deserved to do so. In 1860 he married Lizzie Y. Burton, of Staten Island. In 1875, the doctor's health becoming somewhat impaired by the incessant strain of the ceaseless routine of profes- sional life, he visited Europe, and returned in full, vigorous health to his accustomed duties. Few have brought such indomitable zeal and perseverance to the practice of medi- cine, and few have reaped the rewards of their labors so generously as the subject of this sketch.


SBORNE, REV. ETHAN, Presbyterian Minister, Revolutionary Soldier, late of Fairfield, New Jer- sey, was born in Litchfield, Connecticut, August 2Ist, 1758. At the age of seventeen he volun- teered as a soldier in the revolutionary army, served in the campaign of 1776, and was in the retreat through New Jersey. While in his twenty-seventh year he was licensed as a minister, and from December, 1789, to 1844, was settled at the Old Stone Church, Fair- field, New Jersey. He dicd at Fairfield, New Jersey, May Ist, 1858.


INES, REV. ENOCH COBB, D. D. (Middletown, 1853), LL. D. (Washington College, 1859), Edu- cator, Scholar, Author, of New Jersey, was born in Hanover, New Jersey, February 17th, 1806, and was graduated from the Middletown College in 1827. Upon the completion of a preliminary course of studies, he became Principal of an academy at St. Albans, and afterward assistant teacher in a female semi- nary at Alexandria, Virginia, subsequently opening and pre- siding over a school in Washington City. In 1829 he was employed in teaching on board the "Constellation," in which vessel he visited the Mediterranean. In 1833 he took charge of the Edgehill school, Princeton, New Jersey, in 1838 became Professor of Languages in the Central High


ILKINSON, JAMES, M. D., of Bergen, Jersey City, was born, April 27th, 1837, at Accrington, England, and is the son of John and Elizabeth (Hayes) Wilkinson. Brought to the United States in infancy, he was reared and educated by his uncle at New Brighton, Staten Island, New York. His education was received chiefly at private schools, more particularly at the boarding school of Rev. Thomas Towel, at Clifton, Staten Island, and at the cele- brated Classical Institute of Solomon Jenner (so well known to old New Yorkers), in Henry street, New York city. His classical education was finished at the University of the City of New York. On the completion of his literary course he |School, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and in 1844 founded


2


James Wilkinson m. L.


هـ


١


299


BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPÆDIA.


a boarding school at Burlington, New Jersey, where he edition in 1860. IIe was the father of the rebel General continued engaged in professional labors during the ensu- Gardner, who surrendered Port Hudson, July 9th, 1863. He died at Washington, District of Columbia, November Ist, 1869. ing four years. In January, 1849, he was licensed to preach by the Congregational Board of Rhode Island, and has since preached in various places on the eastern coast and elsewhere. In 1853 he was appointed Professor in Washington College, Pennsylvania; and in July, 1859, took charge of a literary institution styled the " City University of St. Louis." He has latterly been engaged in the mission for an organization of an International Prison Congress. He has published, " Two Years and a Half in the Amer- ican Navy," 2 vols., 1832; " Hints on a System of Popular Education," 1837; "How Shall I Govern My School ? " 1838; "Commentaries on the Laws of the Ancient He- brews ; " "A Trip to Boston," 1838; "A Trip to China," 8vo. ; " Monthly Journal of Education ; " " Essay on the Advantages of Studying the Classic Languages; " " Lec- ture on Education as a Source of Wealth ; " " Treatise on Regeneration," 1863; " Essay on Temptation," 1865; and " Promises of God," 1868. He has also contributed fre- quently to the various religious and literary periodicals of the day ; and has written several excellent essays and ad- dresses, which have been published in the current journals, or in pamphlet form.


ARDNER, COLONEL CHARLES K., United States Army, Editor, late of Washington, District of Columbia, was born in Morris county, New Jersey, in 1787, and May 3d, 1808, became Ensign in the 6th Infantry. He then occupied success- ively the following ranks and positions : Captain, 3d Artillery, July, 1812; Brigadier-Major to General Armstrong, August 4th, 1812; Assistant Adjutant-General, March 18th, 1813; Major, 25th Infantry, June 26th, 1813; Adjutant-General, April 12th, 1814; Brevet Lieutenant- Colonel, for distinguished services, February 5th, 1815; Major, 3d Infantry, and Adjutant-General, Division of the North, resigned March 17th, 1818. Ile was an active par- ticipant in the battles of Chrystler's Fields, Chippewa, and Niagara, and was present at the siege and defence of Fort Erie. In 1822-23 he edited the New York Patriot. September 11th, 1829, he was appointed Senior Assistant Postmaster-General ; from July, 1836, to March, 1841, acted as Auditor of the Treasury ; from March, 1845, to July, 1849, was Postmaster at Washington City; and from the latter date till 1853 served as Surveyor-General of Oregon. He was subsequently employed in the Treasury Department at the capitol until 1867. He was a shrewd and intrepid soldicr; a wise administrator in civil, political, and finan- cial affairs; and an able writer on special topics. His " Compendium of Infantry Tactics" was published origin- ally at New York, in 1819; his " Dictionary of the Army of the United States," also in New York, in 1853; second


MITH, REV. SAMUEL STANHOPE, D. D., conferred by Yale College in 1783, LL. D., con- ferred by the Harvard University in 1810, Scholar, Clergyman, Author, latc of Princeton, New Jersey, was born in Pequea, Lancaster county, Pennsyl- vania, March 16th, 1750, and graduated from the New Jersey College in 1769. His earlier education was acquired in his father's academy, and in his sixteenth ycar he entered Princeton College, where he took his degree of Bachelor of Arts. He then became an assistant in his father's school, and in 1770-73 was engaged as tutor at Princeton, pursuing at the same time the study of theology. He was licensed to preach by the Presbytery of New Castle, being ordained in 1774; and spent some time as a Mission- ary in the western counties of Virginia. For the purpose of securing his educational services there, a seminary was established of which he was made Principal, and which afterward became the Hampden-Sidney College. After being at the head of that institution for a few years, he was appointed, in 1779, Professor of Moral Philosophy at Prince- ton, and was succeeded in Virginia by his brother, John Smith. Upon establishing himself at Princeton, where the ravages of the war had been most severely felt, dispersing the students, reducing the building to a state of dilapidation, and greatly embarrassing the institution financially, he made great exertions and pecuniary sacrifices to restore it to prosperity ; accepted the additional office of Professor of Theology; and in 1786 that of Vice-President of the col- lege. In the previous year he delivered an anniversary address, which was subsequently expanded into a work on the " Causes of the Variety in the Figure and Complexion of the Human Species," Svo., published in 1787. In 1786 he was associated with other clergymen of the Presbyterian Church in preparing the form of presbyterial government which is still in force. In the absence of Dr. Witherspoon as a member of Congress, much of the care of the college devolved upon him, and, after his death in 1794, he was elected his successor. In IS12, however, he resigned that office in consequence of repeated strokes of palsy, and for several years occupied himself in preparing his works for the press. Besides two "Orations," and eight miscella- neous sermons in pamphlet form, and the work above mentioned, he published, "Sermons," 8vo., 1799; " Lec- tures on the Evidences of the Christian Religion," 12mo., 1809; " A Comprehensive View of the Leading and most Important Principles of Natural and Revealed Religion," 8vo., 1816; "On the Love of Praise," 1810; " A Contin- nation of Ramsay's History of the United States, from ISOS to 1817 ; " and " Lectures on Moral and Political Philoso-




Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.