Encyclopedia of Civil War Biography - Wim-Wyt
WIMPLE, Peter C., New York, American Abolition Society (Radical Abolitionist, Vol. 1, No. 1, New York, August 1855)
WINANS, Ross, inventor, born in Vernon, New Jersey, in October, 1790; died in Baltimore, Maryland, 11 April, 1877. He began life as a farmer, and exhibited at an early age great inventive genius. One of his first devices was a plough. Afterward he invented the friction-wheel for cars, and the outside bearing on axles, now almost indispensable to the use of railways. He was also the inventor of the eight-wheeled car system. He was sent to England by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company to study the English systems, and spent a year in making observations that proved of great value to the company. He built the first successful locomotive used on this railroad, and also invented the camel-back locomotive. He established in Baltimore the largest railway machine-shops in the country, and his sons were associated in their management. Mr. Winans was solicited by the Russian government, through the agency of George W. Whistler, to go to Russia and build rolling-stock for the railroad between Moscow and St. Petersburg, but declined to go himself, and sent his two sons. During the Civil War he took an active part in politics, and was chosen to represent Baltimore in the extra session of the Maryland legislature in 1861; but he was arrested and imprisoned in Fort McHenry. He made numerous compilations of gleanings from the works of eminent writers, upon philosophical subjects, and was himself the author of various pamphlets on religious subjects, and of " One Religion, Many Creeds" (Baltimore, 1870). —His son, Thomas De Kay, engineer, born in Vernon, New Jersey, 6 December, 1820; died in Newport, R. I, 11 June, 1878, showed when a child great fondness for mechanical toys, which taste his father encouraged, and apprenticed him in his youth to a machinist. On reaching his majority, he became associated in business with his father, and, with his brother William Lewis, was sent to Russia to arrange the contracts for furnishing and managing the equipment of the railroad between Moscow and St. Petersburg. In 1848, with Andrew M. Eastwick and Joseph Harrison, they concluded a contract with the Russian government for 13,000,000, and subsequently they held other contracts, from which the profits were very large. With his father and brother, he invented a system of steam navigation commonly called the "cigar-ship," and for many years conducted elaborate, expensive, and successful experiments, principally in European waters. After his return to the United States, he devoted his attention to the study of new inventions of the most diverse kinds. He devised a great improvement in the construction of organs, invented a tubular adjustment by which young trout could be more readily fed, and built a chimney 100 feet high to ventilate his residence in Baltimore. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 559.
WINCHESTER, James, planter, Speaker of the Maryland State Senate, abolitionist, member and delegate of the Maryland Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery, and the Relief of Free Negroes, and Others, Unlawfully Held in Bondage, founded 1789. (Basker, 2005, p. 224;)
WINCHESTER, Oliver Fisher, manufacturer, born in Boston. Massachusetts, 30 November, 1810; died in New Haven, Connecticut, 10 December, 1880. After receiving a limited education, he was apprenticed to a carpenter, and in 1830 became a master-builder in Baltimore, Maryland, but left his trade in 1833, entered business in that city, and in the following year established the first men's furnishing-store in Maryland. About 1848 he moved to New Haven, Connecticut, and began the manufacture of shirts, which he was probably the earliest to undertake in this country. The business, in which he was associated with John M. Davies, grew to be one of the largest in the United States. About 1856 he became interested in firearms, and in 1857 he was a large stockholder in the Volcanic Arms Company, which had just been formed to manufacture the repeating rifle of Benjamin T. Henry, one of the earliest magazine arms in this country. The company was unsuccessful, and in 1860 Mr. Winchester bought it out and organized the New Haven Arms Company, of which he became president. In 1865 the company was reorganized as the Winchester Repeating Arms Company, and, selling his interest in the shirt-factory, Mr. Winchester gave the former his entire attention. The Henry Rifle was improved more and more, until its name was changed to the Winchester repeating arm, and in 1872 the company also began to make metallic cartridges, of which its plant can produce half a million a day. The buildings of the company in New Haven cover an area of four acres. They furnished many rifles for the French government during the war with Germany, and for Turkey in the Russo-Turkish War. Mr. Winchester was a Republican presidential elector in 1864, and in 1866 was chosen lieutenant-governor of Connecticut. He took a deep interest in religious and educational affairs, which he aided liberally. Besides large donations to the scientific and theological departments of Yale, he gave to the university property whose value at the time was about $100,000, and will increase to many times that amount, for the foundation of the Yale observatory. Though this was called at first the Winchester observatory, Governor Winchester specially requested that his name should not be used in the title. One of the chief features of the observatory is its heliometer, which is the only one in the country, and at the time of its purchase was the largest in the world. The institution is also known for its horological and thermometric bureaus, by which many hundreds of watches and thermometers are examined yearly, and their peculiarities certified. Governor Winchester was also much interested in horticulture, and his residence and grounds in New Haven were among the finest in the city. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 561.
WINDER, John Henry, soldier, born in Maryland in 1800; died in Branchville, South Carolina, 9 February. 1865. He was graduated at the U. S. Military Academy in 1820, and after various services became captain in the 1st U.S. Artillery on 7 October, 1842. He took part in the war with Mexico, and was at the battles of Contreras and Churubusco, the storming of Chapultepec, and the capture of Mexico, gaining for his gallantry the brevets of major and lieutenant-colonel. On 22 November, 1860, he was promoted major, but he resigned on 27 April, 1861, and entered the Confederate service. He was made brigadier-general and given command of Richmond, where he had charge of Libby Prison and Belle Isle. Subsequently he was sent to command the prison-pen at Andersonville, Georgia, where his cruelties to the prisoners made his name a reproach. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, pp. 561-562.
WINDER, William Henry, 1775-1824, Baltimore, Maryland, lawyer, soldier, general. Founding officer of the Baltimore auxiliary of the American Colonization Society, 1816. (Dictionary of American Biography, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1936, Vol. 10, Pt. 2, p. 382; Staudenraus, P. J. The African Colonization Movement, 1816-1865. New York: Columbia University Press, 1961, p. 39)
WINDOM, William, 1827-1891, lawyer. Republican Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Minnesota. Voted for Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery. Served in U.S. Congress 1859-1869, U.S. Senate, 1870-1877. (Appletons’, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 562; Dictionary of American Biography, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1936, Vol. 10, Pt. 2, p. 383; American National Biography, Oxford University Press, New York, 2002, Vol. 23, p. 631; Congressional Globe)
WINDOM, William, senator, born in Belmont County, Ohio, 10 May, 1827. He received an academic education, studied law at Mount Vernon, Ohio, and was admitted to the bar in 1850. In 1852, he became prosecuting attorney for Knox County, but in 1855 he moved to Minnesota, and soon afterward he was chosen to Congress from that state as a Republican, serving from 1859 till 1869. In that body he served two terms as chairman of the committee on Indian affairs and also was at the head of the special committee to visit the western tribes in 1865, and of that on the conduct of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs in 1867. In 1870, he was appointed to the U. S. Senate to fill the unexpired term of Daniel S. Norton, deceased, and he was subsequently chosen for the term that ended in 1877. He was re-elected for the one that closed in 1883, and resigned, in 1881 to enter the cabinet of President Garfield as Secretary of the Treasury, but retired on the accession of President Arthur in the same year, and was elected by the Minnesota legislature to serve the remainder of his term in the Senate. In that body Mr. Wisdom acted as chairman of the committees on appropriations, foreign affairs, and transportation. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 562.
WINES, Frederick Howard, clergyman, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 9 April, 1838, was graduated at Washington College, Pennsylvania, in 1857, served as tutor there, and afterward studied at Princeton theological seminary, but left because of weakness of the eyes. He was licensed by the presbytery of St. Louis in 1860, and in 1862 was commissioned hospital chaplain in the National Army, ne was on duty at Springfield, Missouri, till 1864, and participated in the battle of Springfield, 8 January, 1863, being mentioned by name in the official report for bravery on the field. He was graduated at Princeton seminary in 1865, and called to the 1st Presbyterian church of Springfield, Illinois, where he remained four years. In 1869 he became secretary of the newly created Board of State Commissioners of Public Charities for the state of Illinois, which post he still holds. Mr. Wines was active in effecting an organization of similar boards throughout the country, under the name of the National Conference of Charities and Correction, of which at Louisville, in 1883, he was the president. In 1879 he conducted the investigations as to the number and condition of the defective, dependent, and delinquent classes in the United States, and his report constitutes a separate volume of the " Tenth Census." In 1886 he established a monthly journal entitled "The International Record of Charities and Correction," which is published in New York and London. He represented Illinois in the International Penitentiary Congress at Stockholm, in 1878. The result of his observations there was embodied in a report to the legislature, and he recommended the construction of the new Hospital for the insane, at Kankakee, Illinois, on the "detached ward" or "village" system, an event which marks an era in the history of the care of the insane in this country. In 1887 Mr. Wines was elected secretary of the National Prison Association, and succeeded to the post that was formerly held by his father. His writings, apart from reports, have been chiefly pamphlets. Among them are "The County Jail System, an Argument for its Abolition," read at the New York Prison Congress (1878); "The Kankakee Hospital, (1882); "Provision for the Insane in the United States," an historical sketch (1885); "Conditional Liberation, or the Paroling of Prisoners," written for the Atlanta Prison Congress (1880); and " American Prisons in the Tenth Census" (1888). Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 563.
WING, Asa, New York, abolitionist leader (Sorin, 1971)
WING, Conway Phelps, 1809-18, Marietta, Ohio, clergyman, anti-slavery activist. (Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, pp. 563-564)
WING, Conway, Phelps, clergyman, born near Marietta, Ohio, 12 February, 1809. He was graduated at Hamilton College in 1828 and at Auburn theological seminary in 1831, and was ordained and installed pastor of the church at Sodus, Wayne County, New York, by the presbytery of Geneva in 1832, remaining there till 1836. He was afterward pastor at Ogden, New York, at Monroe, Michigan, where he is now pastor emeritus, at Huntsville, Alabama, and at Carlisle, Pennsylvania Mr. Wing took an active part in the revivals of 1832-'5, and in the anti-slavery agitation in western New York, and was zealous in his opposition to slavery in Tennessee and Alabama. He received the degree of D. D. from Dickinson College in 1857. He was an adherent to the new-school branch of the Presbyterian church, but an earnest supporter of the reunion in 1869 and 1870, and was a member of the joint committee of reconstruction for the church in the latter year. He has translated from the German “A History of the Christian Church,” by Dr. Charles Hase, with Dr. Charles E. Blumenthal (New York, 1856); and published “History of the Presbyteries of Donegal and Carlisle” (Carlisle, 1876); “History of the First Presbyterian Church of Carlisle” (1877); “History of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania” (1879); and “Historical and Genealogical Register of the Descendants of John Wing, of Sandwich” (New York, 1885; 2d ed., 1888). Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, pp. 563-564.
WINGATE, George Wood, lawyer, born in New York City, 1 July, 1840. He was educated in New York, and at the age of thirteen entered a law office, where he continued until his admission to the bar in 1861. During the Civil War he served with the 22d New York National Guards, which he entered as a private, and was promoted until he became captain. His experience in the field impressed him with the necessity of greater training in marksmanship, and he specially instructed his company in that subject. After the war he wrote frequently on rifle-practice, and his efforts resulted in the formation of the National rifle association in 1871, of which he became secretary. In that capacity he drafted its regulations and aided largely in the establishment and management of the Creedmoor rifle-range. Subsequently he became president of the association, and held that office until 1888. In 1874 he was appointed general inspector of rifle-practice of New York state, with the rank of brigadier-general, but resigned in 1879. In this office he organized and carried into successful operation the system of instruction in rifle-practice that has since been followed by the National guard, as well as by the U. S. Army. He was the first president of the Amateur Rifle-Club in 1872, and captain of the first American rifle-team in 1874, and has been connected with all the International rifle-matches. From the part he took in these matters he has been frequently called "the father of rifle-practice in America." He was president of the National guard association of the United States since 1879, and has been active in his profession. General Wingate is the author of the "Last Campaign of the Twenty-second Regiment" (New York, 1864); a " Manual of Rifle-Practice," of which seven editions have been issued (1872); and "On Horseback through the Yellowstone" (1886). Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 564.
WINLOCK, Joseph, astronomer, born in Shelby County, Kentucky, 6 February, 1826; died in Cambridge, Massachusetts, 11 June, 1875. He was graduated at Shelby College, Kentucky, in 1845, where he was appointed professor of mathematics and astronomy. In 1852-7 he was one of the computers in the office of the "American Ephemeris and Nautical Almanac" in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and then he was appointed professor of mathematics at the U. S. Naval Academy. Annapolis, Maryland, but he soon returned to Cambridge as superintendent of the" Nautical Almanac." In 1859 he relinquished this office to take charge of the mathematical department of the U. S. Naval Academy; but on the removal of that institution to Newport, Rhode Island, at the beginning of the Civil War, he resumed charge of the " Almanac." He was appointed in I860 professor of astronomy in Harvard, and director of the observatory, and subsequently he was professor of geodesy in the Lawrence Scientific and Mining Schools of the university. His first work after taking charge of this observatory was the reduction and publication of the unfinished work of his predecessors, thus completing the volume on sun-spots, the catalogue of zone stars, and of polar and clock stars that has since been published. Meanwhile the instrumental appliances were carefully studied and largely increased, not only by the accumulation of new forms, but by the introduction of improved apparatus of his own device. The meridian circle was procured through his influence at a cost of $12,000. In 1870, when the new instrument was ready for use, it was directed upon the zone of stars between 50° and 55° of north declination, which was the field assigned to the Harvard observatory by the Astronomische Gesellschaft. His other work included a catalogue of new double stars and much labor on stellar photometry. He was further active in the efforts that have resulted in furnishing standard time to Boston. In 1872 he began the preparation of a series of astronomical engravings to represent, the most interesting objects in the heavens as they appeared in the powerful instrument of the observatory. Thirty-five plates were completed at the time of his death, and included representations of the planets, sun-spots, protuberances, and corona; the moon's craters and geography, seven of the most famous clusters and nebulae, the Donati comet of 1858 and Coggia's comet of 1874. He held the office of consulting astronomer of the U. S. Coast Survey, and in 1874 was appointed chairman of the commission that was established by act of Congress for making inquiries into the causes of steam-boiler explosions. Professor Winlock had charge of the party that was sent by the U. S. Coast Survey to Kentucky to observe the total solar eclipse of August, 1869, and conducted the expedition to Spain, under the same auspices, to observe the eclipse in December, 1870. The degree of A. M. was conferred on him by Harvard in 1868, and he was a member of various scientific societies, including the American Academy of Ars and Sciences. In 1863 he was named by act of Congress as one of the corporate members of the National Academy of Sciences. His published works consist chiefly of a set of " Tables of Mercury." of other publications from the office of the "American Ephemeris," and of brief papers in astronomical journals and in the proceedings of scientific societies of which he was a member. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 565.
WINSER, Henry Jacob, journalist, born in the island of Bermuda, 23 November, 1833. His father, Francis J. Winser, was an officer in the British Navy. He attended the Springfield Academy, Bermuda, came to New York in 1851, entered a printing-office as proof-reader, and later became a reporter on the " Times." At the opening of the Civil War he accompanied Colonel Ephraim E. Ellsworth as military secretary, and afterward was war-correspondent of the New York "Times." After the war he served for a period as city and night editor of the New York "Times," and then as day manager of the editorial department. In 1867 he attended the French Exposition at Paris as regular correspondent for the " Times," and made the trip to Cherbourg in the iron-clad "Dunderberg." In May, 1869. Mr. Winser was appointed U. S. consul at Sonneberg, Germany, and during his twelve years' service he made several valuable reports to the state department, including one on forest-culture. In 1882 he was made chief of the bureau of information of the Northern Pacific Railway Company, but on the retirement of Henry Villard he returned to journalism, first as assistant editor of the New York " Commercial Advertiser " and afterward as managing editor of the Newark "Advertiser," with which he is still associated. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, pp. 565-566.
WINSLOW, Edward Francis, soldier, born in Augusta, Maine, 28 September, 1837. He was educated at the Augusta high-school, moved in 1858 to Mount Pleasant, Henry County, Iowa, and soon afterward became interested in the construction of railways. He was a captain in the 4th Iowa Cavalry in 1861, and was promoted major, 3 January, 1863, and colonel on the day that Vicksburg fell. He then took part in the campaign against General Joseph E. Johnston, and soon afterward was appointed by General Sherman chief of cavalry, and placed in command of the cavalry forces of the 15th Corps, which posts he held till March. 1864. In February, 1864, he commanded the cavalry of General Sherman's army in the campaign against General Leonidas Polk, and successfully attacked the Confederate cavalry near Jackson. He was in command of a brigade of cavalry in the engagement at Guntown, Mississippi, in 1864, and after the defeat of the National forces covered the retreat. In October, 1864, Colonel Winslow's brigade formed part of General Alfred Pleasonton's force in pursuit of General Sterling Price. He was severely wounded at Big Blue River on 22 October, and was unable to resume his command till November. He was brevetted brigadier-general of volunteers, 12 December, 1864, with his brigade participated in the Expedition against Selma, Montgomery, Columbus, and Macon in the spring of 1865, and on 10 April took Columbus. Georgia, by assault. Soon after retiring to civil life he engaged in the construction of railways. On 1 November, 1879, as vice-president and general manager of the Manhattan Elevated Railway in New York City, he took charge of that property and unified the system of control and management of its lines; but, having been elected president of the St. Louis and San Francisco Railway Company and vice-president of the Atlantic and Pacific Railway Company, he severed his connection with the Manhattan Company, 31 March, 1880. He was also for several years president of the New York, Ontario, and Western Railway Company, and formed an association for the purpose of building the West Shore Railway, which he completed in about three years. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, pp.
WINSLOW, Emily A., abolitionist. Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society (PFASS), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society, (Garrisonian) Anti-Slavery Society. Appointed a delegate to the World Anti-Slavery Convention in London, 1840. Daughter of prominent abolitionist Isaac Winslow. (Dumont, 1961, p. 286; Yellin, 1994, pp. 73, 301-302, 316, 332-333)
WINSLOW, James, banker, born in Connecticut in 1810: died in New York City, 18 July, 1874. After having been employed in the hardware-store of Erastus Corning in Albany, he moved to New York and, after following the hardware business for several years, entered the banking-firm of Winslow, Lanier and Company., which had been established by his brother and his father-in-law, and which rendered important services to the government during the administration of President Lincoln in connection with war loans. He was subsequently identified with the rise of national banks, and was connected as an officer with several. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 568.
WINSLOW, Isaac, Danvers, Massachusetts, abolitionist, Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society, Vice-President, 1836-1840. Father of Emily Winslow, also a prominent abolitionist. Attended World Anti-Slavery Convention in London in 1840.
WINSLOW, John Ancrum, naval officer, born in Wilmington, North Carolina, 19 November, 1811; died in Boston, Massachusetts, 29 September, 1873. He was descended from a brother of Governor Edward Winslow, of Plymouth colony. He entered the U.S. Navy as a midshipman, 1 February, 1827, became a passed midshipman. 10 June, 1833, and was commissioned a lieutenant, 9 February, 1839. During the Mexican War he took part in the expeditions against Tabasco, Tampico, and Tuspan, and was present at the fall of Vera Cruz. For his gallantry in action he was allowed to have command of the schooner " Union," which had been captured at Tampico, and was taken into service and named the " Morris "; but she was poorly equipped, and was lost on a reef off Vera Cruz, 10 December, 1846. He was executive of the sloop "Saratoga" in the Gulf of Mexico in 1848-'9, at the Boston Navy-yard in 1849-'50, and in the frigate " St. Lawrence," of the Pacific Station, in 1851-'5. He was promoted to commander, 14 September, 1855, and joined the Mississippi River Flotilla in 1861, but was not able to remain on duty because of a serious accident which disabled him. He was commissioned captain, 10 July, 1802, and commanded the steamer "Kearsarge" on special service in 1863-'4 in pursuit of the "Alabama." Captain Winslow arrived off Cherbourg, 14 June, 1864, where he found the " Alabama" and blockaded her in the harbor. The "Alabama" made preparations for fight, and Captain Raphael Semmes caused Winslow to he informed of this intention, through the U. S. consul. On Sunday, 19 June, 1864, he was lying three miles off the eastern entrance of the harbor when the "Alabama" came out, escorted by a French iron-clad and the English yacht "Deerhound." Winslow steamed off seven miles from the shore so as to be beyond the neutral ground, and then steamed toward the "Alabama." The armament of the "Kearsarge" was seven guns, and that of the " Alabama" eight guns, including a 100-pound Blakely rifle. The " Kearsarge " was slightly faster, and had 103 men, while the " Alabama" had 149. When Winslow turned to approach, the "Alabama" opened fire from a raking position at a distance of one mile at 10:57 A. M. He kept on at full speed, receiving a second broadside and part of a third, when he sheered off and returned the fire from his starboard battery. Both vessels circled around a common centre, and neared each other to within 000 yards. The sides of the " Alabama " were torn out by the shells, and at noon, after the action had continued for one hour, she headed for the shore to get into neutral waters, then five miles distant. This exposed her port side, and she could only bring two guns to bear. The ship was filling, and Winslow approached so rapidly that Semmes hauled down his flag. Winslow stopped the ship, but continued to fire, uncertain whether the " Alabama" had surrendered or the flag had been shot away. A white flag was then shown, and Winslow ceased firing. The " Alabama " again renewed her firing, and Winslow also opened and fired three or four times, though the white flag was still flying. A boat from the " Alabama" then came alongside to announce the surrender, and was allowed to go back to bring off the "Alabama's" officers and crew, but she did not return. The yacht "Deerhound " then came up, and Winslow asked her to assist in rescuing the officers and crew of the "Alabama." which was then sinking fast. The " Deerhound " picked up thirty-nine persons, including Semmes and fourteen of his officers, after which she went off and sailed to Southampton. Winslow's officers begged him to throw a shell at, the "Deerhound," but he refused. The engagement lasted an hour and twenty minutes. After the last shot was fired the "Alabama" sank out of sight. She had about forty killed, and seventy were made prisoners, so that thirty-nine escaped. Only three men were wounded in the "Kearsarge," one of whom died. Only twenty-eight projectiles struck the " Kearsarge " out of the 370 that were fired by the "Alabama," and none of these did any material damage. One 100-pound shell exploded in the smoke-stack, and one lodged in the stern-post of the "Kearsarge," but did not explode. The "Kearsarge " fired 173 projectiles, and few failed to do some injury. This was the only important sea-fight of the war between two ships. Honors were showered upon Winslow throughout the country for his victory, he received a vote of thanks from Congress, and was promoted to commodore with his commission dated 19 June, 1864. the date of the victory. He commanded the Gulf Squadron in 1860-'7, was a member of the board of examiners in 1868-'9, and commander-in-chief of the Pacific Squadron in 1870-'2. He was promoted to rear-admiral, 2 March. 1870, and after his return from the cruise in the Pacific resided temporarily at San Francisco, after which he moved to Boston, Massachusetts, where he resided until his death. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 569.
WINSLOW, John Flack, manufacturer, born in Bennington, Vermont, 5 November, 1810. He was educated at select schools of Albany, was a clerk in commercial houses in New York from 1827 till 1831, and in the latter year became agent of the New Jersey Iron Company. In 1833 he engaged in the production of pig-iron in Bergen and Sussex Counties, New Jersey, and in 1837 he formed a connection with Erastus Corning, of Albany, which lasted under various firm-names for thirty years. The firm, controlling the Albany and Rensselaer Ironworks, was one of the largest producers of railroad and other iron in the United States. During his visits to Europe, Mr. Winslow purchased the right to manufacture and sell Bessemer steel in this country. The U. S. government contracted with his firm for the construction of the "Monitor," which was begun in October, 1861, at Greenpoint, Long Island, was launched, 30 January, 1862, and delivered to the government, 5 March, 1862. In 1867 Mr. Winslow retired from active business. In 1863-7 he was president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He has been president of the Poughkeepsie and Eastern Railway, and of the company for constructing the Poughkeepsie Bridge over Hudson River. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, pp. 569-570.
WINSLOW, Gordon, clergyman, born in Williston, Vermont, 12 September, 1803; died in Potomac River, 7 June, 1864. He entered the ministry of the Protestant Episcopal church, and was settled successively at Troy and Elmira, New York, Annapolis, Maryland, and Staten Island. He enlisted as chaplain of the 5th New York Regiment, of which his son Cleveland afterward became colonel, and was instrumental with Dr. Henry W. Bellows and others in establishing the Sanitary Commission, holding the post of its inspector for the Army of the Potomac. He was a member of scientific bodies and contributor to their published proceedings, and active in philanthropic work. New York University gave him in 1863 the honorary degree of M. D., both because of his distinguished service in the sanitary commission and his capabilities in caring for the sick and wounded. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 570.
WINSLOW, Cleveland, soldier, born in Medford, Massachusetts, in 1836; died in Alexandria, Virginia, 7 July, 1864, was an officer in the 71st New York Regiment when the Civil War opened. He raised a company, and was with the 5th New York in all its engagements, beginning with Big Bethel, till he received his mortal wound, which terminated his life before his nomination as brigadier-general for gallant conduct and efficient service could be acted upon. He died from a wound that he received at Mechanicsville, while leading his regiment, as its colonel, into battle. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, pp. 570-571.
WINSLOW, Gordon, born in 1839, a captain in the 71st New York Regiment, is now a captain in the regular army. [Brother of Cleveland Winslow above]. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, pp.
WINSLOW, Isaac, Danvers, Massachusetts, abolitionist, Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society, Vice-President, 1836-1840. Father of Emily Winslow, also a prominent abolitionist. Attended World Anti-Slavery Convention in London in 1840.
WINSLOW, Warren, member of Congress, born in Fayetteville, North Carolina, 1 January, 1810: died there, 11 June, 1862. He was graduated at the University of North Carolina in 1827, studied law, was admitted to the bar, and practised at Fayetteville. In 1854 he was appointed by President Pierce a confidential agent to Madrid, and bore despatches regarding "The Black Warrior" difficulty. He was elected to the state senate during his absence, was chosen speaker of that body after his return, and became acting governor of North Carolina in 1854, when Governor David S. Reid was elected to the U. S. Senate. He served in Congress by successive reelections from 3 December, 1855, till 3 March. 1861. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 571.
WINSTON, John Anthony, governor of Alabama, born in Madison County, Alabama, 4 September, 1812; died in Mobile, Alabama. 21 December 1871. He was educated at La Grange College, Alabama, and Nashville University, Tennessee. and became a cotton-planter and commission-merchant. In 1840 and 1842 he was chosen to the lower branch of the legislature, and in 1845 he was elected to the state senate, of which he was president for several years. In 1846 he raised two companies of troops for the Mexican War, and was elected colonel of the first Alabama Volunteers: but on account of some technicality the regiment was not accepted. In 1853 he was chosen governor of Alabama, and. by opposing state aid to railroads and the reissue of state bank-notes as a loan to railroad companies, gained the name of the "veto governor." Bills for both purposes were passed over his vetoes: but the attorney-general gave an opinion that they were unconstitutional, and the governor ordered the state treasurer to pay out no money for such purposes. He was re-elected in 1855. and the legislature of that year approved his course. In 1860 Governor Winston was a candidate for presidential elector on the Douglas ticket. Though he had opposed secession, he entered the Confederate Army in 1861 as colonel of the 8th Alabama Regiment, and commanded a brigade in the Peninsular Campaign. Soon afterward he resigned his commission on account of physical disability, and devoted himself to aiding the poor and destitute. He was a delegate to the State Constitutional Convention of 1866, and was afterward chosen to the U. S. Senate, but was refused a seat. After this he repeatedly declined to be a candidate for governor, and lived in retirement. Governor Winston was tall and thin, and in early years erect and active, but his later life was a long struggle with disease. He had few equals as a debater, being gifted with great powers of satire and possessing much readiness and boldness in controversy, in his power over his friends and his hostility to his enemies he has been compared to Andrew Jackson. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 571-572.
WINTHROP, Robert Charles, statesman, born in Boston, 12 May, 1809, was graduated at, Harvard in 1828, studied law with Daniel Webster, was admitted to the bar in 1831. After a brief professional career he became active in local politics as a Henry Clay Whig. From 1834 till 1840 he was a member of the lower house of the Massachusetts legislature, of which he was chosen speaker in 1838, 1839, and 1840. In the last-named year, he was elected to Congress, where he served ten years with much distinction, maintaining the reputation he had already acquired as a ready debater and accomplished parliamentarian, and adding to it by a series of impressive speeches upon public questions, many of which are still consulted as authorities. The earliest resolution in favor of international arbitration by a commission of civilians was offered by him. In 1847-9 he was Speaker of the House, but he was defeated for a second term by a plurality of two, after a contest that lasted three weeks. In 1850, he was appointed by the governor of Massachusetts to Daniel Webster's seat in the U.S. Senate, when the latter became Secretary of State. His course on the slavery question was often distasteful to men of extreme opinions in both sections of the Union, and in 1851 he was defeated for election to the Senate by a coalition of Democrats and Free-Soilers, after a struggle of six weeks. In the same year, he was Whig candidate for governor of the state, and received a large plurality; but the constitution then required a majority, and the election was thrown into the legislature, where the same coalition defeated him. This occasioned a change in the state constitution, which now requires merely a plurality, but Mr. Winthrop declined to be a candidate again, and successively refused various other candidacies and appointments, preferring gradually to retire from political life and devote himself to literary, historical, and philanthropic occupations. From time to time, however, his voice was still heard in presidential elections, and he gave active and influential support to General Winfield Scott in 1852, to Millard Fillmore in 1856, to John Bell in 1860, and to General McClellan in 1864, when a speech of his at New London was the last, but not the least memorable, of his political addresses. Of the Boston provident association, he was the laborious president for twenty-five years, of the Massachusetts Historical Society for thirty years, of the Alumni of Harvard for eight years, besides serving as chairman of the overseers of the poor of Boston, and in many other posts of dignity and usefulness. He was the chosen counsellor of George Peabody in several of his munificent benefactions, and has been from the outset at the head of the latter's important trust for southern education. It is as the favorite orator of great historical anniversaries that Mr. Winthrop has long been chiefly associated in the popular mind, and he has uniformly received the commendation of the best judges, not merely for the scholarship and finish of these productions, but for the manifestation in them of a fervid eloquence that the weight of years has failed to quench. They may be found scattered through four volumes of "Addresses and Speeches." the first of which was published in 1852 and the last in 1886. Among the most admired of them have been an "Address on laying the Corner-Stone of the National Monument to Washington" in 1848,and one on the completion of that monument in 1885, the latter prepared at the request of Congress; an "Address to the Alumni of Harvard." in 1857: an "Oration on the 250th Anniversary of the Landing of the Pilgrims," in 1870; the " Boston Centennial Oration," 4 July, 1876; an address on unveiling the statue of Colonel Prescott on Bunker Hill, in 1881; and, in the same year, an oration on the hundredth anniversary of the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown, delivered by invitation of Congress. He has been thought equally to excel in shorter and less formal utterances. Several speeches of his on Boston common during the Civil War excited much enthusiasm by their patriotic ring; while his brief tributes to John Quincy Adams, John C. Calhoun, Edward Everett, Daniel Webster, Abraham Lincoln, and many other eminent men with whom he had been associated at different periods, are models of graceful and discriminating eulogy. Besides the collected works already cited, he is the author of the "Life and Letters of John Winthrop" (2 vols., Boston, 1864), and ' Washington, Bowdoin. and Franklin " (1876). A portrait of him, in the capitol at Washington, presented by citizens of Massachusetts, commemorates at once his speakership and his Yorktown oration; while another, in the hall of the Massachusetts Historical Society, is a fit reminder of his services to New England history. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 576.
WINTHROP, Theodore, author, born in New Haven, Connecticut, 22 September, 1828; died near Great Bethel, Virginia, 10 June, 1861, was the son of Francis Bayard Winthrop. His mother was Elizabeth Woolsey, a niece of President Timothy Dwight, and sister of President Theodore Woolsey, for whom Theodore was named. He was graduated at Yale in 1848, with the Clark scholarship, on which he continued there a year, studying mental science, languages, and history. In 1849, he went to recruit his health in Europe, where he remained until January, 1851. There he became acquainted with William H. Aspinwall, whose children he taught for some time, and through him Winthrop entered the employ of the Pacific Mail Steamship Company, to whose offices in Panama he was transferred in 1852. In the following year he visited California and Oregon, and thence he returned overland to New York. In December, 1853, he joined, as a volunteer, the expedition under Lieutenant Isaac G. Strain to survey a canal-route across the Isthmus of Panama, and soon after his return in March. 1854, he began to study law with Charles Tracy. He was admitted to the bar in 1855, and in the following year, during a vacation-trip in Maine, made political speeches there in advocacy of John C. Fremont. After this he spent most of his time in literary pursuits, for which he had always had a fondness. The first of his writings that appeared in print was a description of his friend Frederic E. Church's painting, " The Heart of the Andes." whose progress he had watched at the easel. For several years Winthrop worked carefully on his novels, recasting them after each rejection by a publisher. One, "Cecil Dreeme" was finally accepted, but the opening of the Civil War delayed its appearance. Another, "John Brent," was also accepted on condition that the author should omit the episode of the death of the horse Don Fulano, which he refused to do. At the opening of the Civil War Winthrop enlisted in the 7th New York Regiment, which he accompanied to Washington. Soon afterward he went with General Benjamin F. Butler to Fort Monroe as military secretary, with the rank of major, and with his commanding officer he planned the attack on Little and Great Bethel, in which he took part. During the action at the latter place he sprang upon a log to rally his men, and received a bullet in his heart. Shortly before his departure for the seat of war his tale "Love and Skates" had been accepted for the " Atlantic Monthly" by its editor, James Russell Lowell, who then asked the author to furnish an account of his march to Washington for the magazine. This he did in two articles, which attracted much attention, and made Winthrop so well known that the sudden end of his career soon afterward occasioned wide-spread sorrow. Immediately after his death his novels appeared in quick succession, and were very favorably received. They have held their place in American literature, and it is probable that had Winthrop lived he would have taken high rank as a writer. Professor John Nichol, of Glasgow, says of "Cecil Dreeme ": "With all its defects of irregular construction, this novel is marked by a more distinct vein of original genius than any American work of fiction known to us that has appeared since the author's death." His books include the three novels "Cecil Dreeme" (Boston, October, 1861), "John Brent" (January, 1862), and "Edwin Brothertoft" (July, 1862); and the collections of sketches " The Canoe and the Saddle " (November, 1862), and "Life in the Open Air, and other Papers " (May, 1863). These have passed through many editions, and were reprinted in the " Leisure Hour Series," with the addition of his " Life and Poems," edited by his sister, Laura Winthrop Johnson (New York, 1884). See also a memoir by George William Curtis, prefixed to the earlier editions of "Cecil Dreeme." Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 577.
WINTHROP, William Woolsey, soldier, born in New Haven, Connecticut, 3 August, 1831, was graduated at Yale in 1851, and at the law-school in 1853, and afterward continued his legal studies at Harvard. He was admitted to the Massachusetts bar in 1854, and practised until April, 1861, when he entered the 7th New York Regiment as a private. He was commissioned 1st lieutenant of sharp-shooters, 1 October, 1861, became captain, 22 September, 1862, was made major and judge-advocate, 19 September, 1864, and at the close of the war brevetted colonel for meritorious service. On 25 February, 1867, he was commissioned major in the regular army, and on 5 July, 1884, he became lieutenant-colonel and deputy judge-advocate-general. He is now professor of law in the U. S. Military Academy. Colonel Winthrop is the author of "Digest of Opinions of the Judge-Advocates-General of the Army" (Washington, 1865; enlarged eds., 1866 and 1868; greatly enlarged and annotated, 1880); and "Treatise on Military Law" (2 vols., 1886: condensed into one volume for the use of the cadets at the military academy as "Abridgment of Military Law," 1887). He has also translated the " Military Penal Code of the German Empire " (1873). Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 577.
WINTHROP, Frederick, soldier, born in New York City, 3 August, 1839; died near Five Forks, Virginia, 1 April, 1865, was the son of Thomas C. Winthrop. He was commissioned a captain in the 12th U. S. Infantry, 26 October, 1861, and received the brevet of brigadier-general of volunteers on 1 August, 1864. He was killed at the battle of Five Forks, where he commanded a brigade in the 5th Corps. In 1867 the brevet of major-general of volunteers was conferred on him, among the few brevets that were given after death. It was dated back to 1 April, 1865, the day of the battle in which he fell. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 578.
WISE, Daniel, 1813-1898, clergyman, educator, abolitionist, newspaper editor. Lectured in the cause of abolition of slavery. Appointed editor of Zion’s Herald, he advocated anti-slavery. (Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 579; Dictionary of American Biography, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1936, Vol. 10, Pt. 2, p. 422)
WISE, Daniel, clergyman, born in Portsmouth, England, 10 January, 1813. He was educated at Portsmouth grammar-school, came to the United States in 1833, and, entering the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal church, was pastor of various churches in 1837-'52, and then editor of “Zion's Herald” in Boston till 1856. From that time till 1872 he was editor of the Sunday-school publications of his denomination, and from 1860 till 1872 he was also editor of the tract publications. Since 1872 he has been engaged chiefly in literary work. Wesleyan University gave him the degree of D. D. in 1859. Dr. Wise published and edited in 1838-'44 the first Methodist Sunday-school paper in this country. Among his many works, which are chiefly for youth, are “Life of Lorenzo Dow” (Lowell, Massachusetts, 1840); “History of London” (1841); “Personal Effort” (Boston, 1841); “The Cottage on the Moor” (New York, 1845); “The McGregor Family” (1845); “Lovest Thou Me?” (Boston, 1846); “Guide to the Saviour” (New York, 1847); “Bridal Greetings” (1850); “Life of Ulric Zwingle” (1850); “Aunt Effie” (1852); “My Uncle Toby's Library” (12 vols., Boston, 1853); “Popular Objections to Methodism Considered and Answered” (1856); “The Squire of Walton Hall: a Life of Waterton, the Naturalist” (1874); “The Story of a Wonderful Life: Pen Pictures from the Life of John Wesley” (Cincinnati, 1874); “Vanquished Victors” (Cincinnati, 1876); “Lights and Shadows of Human Life” (New York, 1878); “Heroic Methodists” (1882); “Sketches and Anecdotes of American Methodists” (1883); “Our Missionary Heroes and Heroines” (1884); “Boy Travellers in Arabia” (1885); “Men of Renown” (Cincinnati, 1886); and “Some Remarkable Women” (1887). He has used the pen-names of “Francis Forrester, Esq.,” and “Lawrence Lancewood.” Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 579.
WISE, Henry Alexander, governor of Virginia, born in Drummondtown, Accomack County, Virginia, 3 December, 1806; died in Richmond, Virginia, 12 September, 1876. He was graduated at Washington College, Pennsylvania, in 1825, studied law, was admitted to the bar in Winchester, Virginia, in 1828. Wise settled in that year in Nashville, Tennessee, but in 1830 returned to Accomack. In 1833 he was elected to Congress by the Jackson Party, and after the election fought a duel with his competitor for the office. He was twice re-elected. In Congress he went over to the opposition on the development of Jackson's bank policy, and took strong ground in favor of slavery. In 1837 he was second to William J. Graves, of Kentucky, in his duel with Jonathan Cilley, of Maine, in which the latter was killed. He was a man of undoubted ability, and had great influence in John Tyler's administration, and, says John W. Forney, "Standing between the two great parties in the house, he delighted in his isolation and rioted in the eccentricities of his genius." In 1842 the Senate rejected the nomination of Mr. Wise as minister to France, but he was subsequently appointed minister to Brazil, and resided at Rio Janeiro from May, 1844, till October, 1847. In 1848 and 1852 he supported the Democratic candidates for president. He was elected governor of Virginia in 1855, after a very vigorous canvass, directed especially against the "Know-Nothings," whose progress he did much to check by his vigorous oratory. His success, which overturned the calculations of many political prophets, was due in part to his accusation that the "Know-Nothings" were Abolitionists in disguise. Toward the close of his term occurred the seizure of Harper's Ferry by John Brown, whose execution on 2 December 1859, was one of the last acts of his administration. (See Brown, John.) In February, 1861, he was a member of the state convention, in which, from the committee on Federal relations, he made a report that aimed at compromise and a peaceable adjustment with the seceded states. After the secession of Virginia, he was appointed brigadier-general in the Confederate Army. His force was driven out of Kanawha valley by the National troops under General Jacob D. Cox, and at Gauley Bridge lost a large quantity of arms and stores. Subsequently he commanded at Roanoke Island, North Carolina, where his forces were defeated by General Ambrose E. Burnside's expedition, his son, Obadiah J. Wise, being among the killed. After the war, he resumed the practice of his profession. He published "Seven Decades of the Union: Memoir of John Tyler" (Philadelphia, 1872). —Henry Alexander's son, John Sergeant, politician, born in Rio Janeiro, Brazil, 25 December, 1840, was educated at Virginia Military Institute, and, while a cadet there, took part in the battle of Newmarket, Virginia, where he was wounded, afterward serving on staff duty till the end of the war. He studied law at the University of Virginia, was admitted to the bar in 1867, and has engaged in practice in Richmond. From 1882 till 1883 he was U. S. District Attorney. He was chosen to Congress in 1882 as a Readjuster, served one term, and in 1885 was the Republican candidate for governor of Virginia, but was defeated by Fitzhugh Lee.— Henry Alexander's nephew, George Douglas, congressman, born in Accomack County, Virginia, 4 June, 1831, was educated at Indiana University, studied law at William and Mary, and practised at Richmond. He served in the Confederate Army as a captain, was commonwealth's attorney of Richmond in 1870-'80, and in the latter year was chosen as a Democrat to Congress, where he has since served. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, pp. 579-580.
WISE, Henry Augustus, naval officer, born in Brooklyn, New York, 12 May, 1819; died in Naples, Italy, 2 April, 1809, was a son of George Stuart Wise, of the U. S. Navy. He entered the U.S. Navy, 8 February, 1834, attended the naval school at Philadelphia in 1839-'40, and became a passed midshipman, 10 July, 1840. He served in the depot of charts, and on special duty in 1840-'3, and cruised in the "Plymouth," of the Mediterranean Station, in 1844-'5. He was promoted to master, 31 October, 1840, and lieutenant, 25 February, 1847. During the Mexican War he was attached to the razee "Independence," on the Pacific Station, and participated in the operations in the Gulf of California, at Mazatlan, and La Paz. In 1850-'2 he served in the coast survey, and then he cruised in the frigate "Cumberland," of the Mediterranean Station, in 1852-'4. He was on ordnance duty at Boston and Washington during the following years until 1860. When the Civil War began he was attached to the steam frigate " Niagara" in the first Blockading Squadron off Charleston, S. C., in 1861. He was promoted to commander, 10 July, 1862, and appointed assistant chief of the Bureau of Ordnance and Hydrography, where he served throughout the remainder of the war and until January, 1869, and rendered valuable services. He was promoted to captain, 29 December, 1866, and was abroad on leave when he died. He married a daughter of Edward Everett in 1848. Captain Wise was the author of "Los Gringos, or an Interior View of Mexico and California, with Wanderings in Peru, Chili, and Polynesia" (New York, 1849): "Tales for the Marines" (Boston, 1855); "Scampavias; from Gibel Tarak to Stamboul, by Harry Gringo" (New York, 1857); "The Story of the Gray African Parrot," for children (1859); and "Captain Brand of the 'Centipede' " (London, 1800; New York, 1864). Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 580.
WISNER, Moses, lawyer, born in Aurelius, New York, in 1818: died in Lexington, Kentucky, 5 January, 1863. He was carefully educated, moved to Michigan in 1839, studied law, and was admitted to the bar at Pontine in 1842. He became prosecuting attorney for Lapeer County in 1843, and was governor of Michigan in 1849-61. In 1862 he entered the National Army as colonel of the 22d Michigan Regiment, but died on his way to the seat of war. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 582.
WISSLER, Jacques, engraver, born in Strasburg, Germany, in 1803; died in Camden, New Jersey, 25 November, 1887. He was educated in Paris, France, came to this country in 1849, and was employed in a lithographing firm. Before the Civil War his employer sent him to Richmond, Virginia. and after the firing on Fort Sumter he was detained by the Confederate authorities and assigned to the task of engraving its paper currency and bonds. Mr. Wissler acquired a fortune in this employment, but his loyalty to the U. S. government caused the confiscation of his estate before the close of the war. He then moved to Macon, Mississippi, and finally settled in Camden. New Jersey, where he acquired the reputation of being among the most skilled engravers in this country. He was also successful in portrait-painting in crayons and oils. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 582.
WISTAR, Isaac Jones, soldier, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 14 November, 1827, was educated at Haverford College, Pennsylvania, adopted the profession of law, and practised in Philadelphia. He entered the National Army in 1861, as a captain in a regiment of Pennsylvania volunteers, and served in Maryland and Virginia, his commission as brigadier-general of volunteers, dated 29 November, 1862, being granted for services at Antietam. After the war he resumed practice, and is now president of a canal company and several coal companies in Pennsylvania. [Son of Richard Wistar, merchant 1756-1821]. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 583.
WITHERS, Jones Mitchell, soldier, born in Madison County. Wisconsin, 12 January, 1814. He was graduated at the U. S. Military Academy in 1835, and resigned in the same year, but during the Creek disturbances in 1836 commanded the Alabama volunteers. He subsequently studied law in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, became private secretary to Governor Clement C. Clay, and was admitted to the bar in 1838. He settled in Mobile as a lawyer and commission merchant in 1841. He was in the legislature in 1855, mayor of Mobile in 1856-'61. At the beginning of the Civil War entered the Confederate Army as colonel of the 3d Alabama Infantry. He became brigadier-general in July, 1861, commanding the defences of Mobile, major-general early in 1862, commanded a division at Shiloh and participated in the battle of Stone River, 31 December, 1862. He was subsequently in charge of a department, with headquarters at Montgomery, Alabama. After the war he returned to Mobile, and edited the "Tribune" in that city. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 584.
WITHERS, Robert Enoch, senator, born in Campbell County, Virginia, 18 September, 1821. He was graduated at the medical department of the University of Virginia in 1840, and practised his profession in his native county for fifteen years, afterward moving to Danville, Virginia. Early in 1861 he became colonel of the 18th Virginia Regiment, and with that command he participated in all the battles of the Army of Northern Virginia from Bull Run to Gaines's Mills, where he was severely wounded. Being incapacitated for further field duty, he was then assigned to the charge of the prisons and hospitals in Danville, Virginia, which post he held till the close of the Civil War. He edited the "Lynchburg News" in 1860-'8, and subsequently the" Richmond Enquirer," and was nominated for governor by the Democratic Party in 1868, but withdrew in favor of Gilbert C. Walker, Conservative. He was a presidential elector in 1873, became lieutenant-governor, 1 January, 1874, and on the 13th of the same month was chosen U. S. Senator as a Democrat, succeeding John F. Lewis, Republican, and serving one term. Since 1885 he has been U. S. consul at Hong Kong, China. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 584.
WOOD, Fernando, mayor of New York City, born in Philadelphia. Pennsylvania, 14 June, 1812; died in Washington, D. C., 14 February, 1881. He was of Quaker descent, and went to New York City in 1820, where he early entered business and became a shipping merchant. From the time that he attained his majority he was active in public matters, and attracted notice by his writing and speaking. In 1839 he was chairman of the chief young men's political organization in New York City, and a year later he was elected as a Democrat to Congress, serving from 31 May, 1841, till 3 March, 1843. On the expiration of his term he returned to his business, which occupied his attention until his retirement in 1850. He was then nominated by the Democratic Party for the mayoralty of New York City, but was defeated by a combination of the Whig and Know-Nothing Parties. He was a successful candidate in 1854, at a time when the city government was in a state of demoralization, and he at once devised a municipal system to secure good government. Various reforms were introduced and were received with such satisfaction that he was re-elected by the better element of both parties in 1856. During the winter of 1856-'7 a bill was passed by the state legislature depriving the mayor of all control of the police, and abolishing the municipal force. Acting by advice of the counsel of the corporation and of Charles O'Conor, he refused to recognize the change, and endeavored to maintain the municipal police, for which the authority had been in existence for 200 years. The metropolitan police was organized, and a collision between the two forces occurred, resulting in a serious riot. (See Matsell, George.) Ultimately the municipal police went out of existence, and at the ensuing election Mr. Wood was defeated. He was again elected in 1859, and in January, 1861, when the question of secession was foremost, recommended that New York secede and become a free city. Mr. Wood then returned to Congress and served from 7 December, 1863, till 3 March, 1865. After a year in Europe he was re-elected to Congress and served from 4 March, 1867, till 3 March, 1877.—His brother. Benjamin, journalist, born in Shelbyville, Kentucky, 13 October. 1820, received a common-school education, and early became self-supporting. In the capacity of a supercargo, he went to the West Indies and Central America. Subsequently he engaged in business in New York City, and in 1860 he purchased the "Daily News" and became its editor, he supported Stephen A. Douglas in his canvass for the presidency in 1860, becoming chairman of the committee of editors that met in the Astor house. Mr. Wood was elected to Congress in the same year and served, with re-election, from 4 July, 1861, till 3 March, 1865. Throughout his career in Washington he persistently opposed the continuation of the Civil War, and his conduct in that respect led to the preferring of charges against him in the house, with the result that the matter was referred to a committee for consideration; but no action was taken in the matter. His paper was suppressed for eighteen months during the first years of the war. On 29 April, 1867, he began its publication as an evening journal, at the price of one cent a copy. It was the first daily to be issued at that price after the war, and it attained the largest circulation of any journal in the United States, and the third largest of any daily paper in the world. In March. 1876. he founded the "New Yorker Tages-Nachriehten," a German evening paper, which is still continued, and previously he established the "New York Sunday News." Mr. Wood is the author of " Port Lafayette, or Love and Secession " (New York, 1862). Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 592.
WOOD, Horatio G., Middleboro, Massachusetts, abolitionist, Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society, Vice-President, 1842-1847.
WOOD, Samuel Newitt, 1825-1891, New York, newspaper publisher, lawyer, politician, Society of Friends, Quaker, abolitionist. His home was a station on the Underground Railroad. Active in the anti-slavery Liberty Party. Served as an officer in the Union Army, attaining the rank of Brigadier General in 1864. (Drake, 1950, p. 125; Moon, William Prairie Earth, 199
WOOD, Thomas John, soldier, born in Munfordville. Kentucky, 25 September, 1823. He was graduated at the U. S. Military Academy in 1845, assigned to the Topographical Engineers, and then transferred, at his own request, to the 2d U.S. Dragoons, becoming a 2d lieutenant there on 2 December, 1846. He took part in the war with Mexico, being present at the battles of Palo Alto, Monterey, and Buena Vista, served subsequently in Louisiana and Texas, as aide-de-camp to General William S. Harney in 1848-9, and as adjutant of the 2d U.S. Dragoons till 1854. He was promoted in succession to 1st lieutenant in 1851, and to captain in the 1st U.S. Cavalry in 1855, serving in Kansas during the border troubles and on the Utah Expedition under Albert Sidney Johnston till 1859. He became major, 16 March, and lieutenant-colonel, 9 May, 1861. In October of the same year was commissioned brigadier-general of volunteers and placed in command of a division in the Tennessee and Mississippi Campaigns, taking part in the battle of Shiloh and the siege of Corinth. During the remainder of the year he was engaged in guarding railroads in Alabama and Tennessee, in General Don Carlos Buell's operations in Kentucky, the pursuit of General Braxton Bragg's forces, and in the battle of Stone River, 31 December, 1862, where he was wounded. He commanded a division in the 21st Corps, Army of the Cumberland, during the operations in Tennessee, being present at the. battles of Chickamauga and Mission Ridge, till November, 1863, and was engaged in operations for the relief of Knoxville and the invasion of Georgia, including the principal battles, to the action of Lovejoy's Station in September, 1864, where he was severely wounded, General Wood took an active part in the battles of Franklin and Nashville, where he commanded the 4th Corps, and in the pursuit of the enemy to Tennessee River in December, 1864. He was promoted major-general of volunteers in January, 1865, and commanded various districts and departments in Tennessee, Texas, Arkansas, and Mississippi until he was mustered out of the volunteer service, 1 September, 1866. General Wood received the brevet of 1st lieutenant, U. S. Army, for gallant and meritorious conduct in the battle of Buena Vista, that of brigadier-general for Chickamauga, and major-general for Nashville. He was promoted colonel of the 2d U.S. Cavalry, 12 November, 1861, and retired from service, with the rank of major-general, 9 June, 1868, and that of brigadier-general, 3 March, 1871. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, pp.
WOOD, Thomas Waterman, artist, born in Montpelier, Vermont, 12 November, 1823. He studied portrait-painting with Chester Harding in Boston during 1846-'7, and executed likenesses in Quebec, Washington, and Baltimore until 1858. In that year he went abroad for further study, remaining about two years. After his return he was engaged in portrait-painting in Nashville, Tenn., and Louisville, Kentucky, until 1866. He then moved to New York, where he has since resided. He soon devoted himself almost entirely to genre painting, in which he has chosen familiar subjects in American life. Mr. Wood became vice-president of the National Academy in 1878, and from 1878 till 1887 was president of the Water-Color Society. He was one of the founders, in 1878, of the New York Etching Club, and is a regular contributor to its exhibitions, most of his etchings being after his own paintings. His three paintings, “The Contraband," " Recruit," and " Veteran," exhibited at the Academy of design in 1867, gained him his election as associate the following year, and in 1871 he became an academician. These three pictures now belong to the Metropolitan museum, New York. Among his other works in oil are " Return of the Flag " (1870); "The Yankee Peddler" (1873): "The Village Post-Office " (1874); "His Own Doctor " and " His Own Pipe " (1879); and " Uncle Ned and I" (1882). At the Water-Color Society he has exhibited ' Nominated" and "Elected" (1875); "Arguing the Question" (1877); "Dull Times" (1879): "The Doubtful Coin " and "The Cup that Cheers "(1881); "Seeking Advice" (1882); "His First Business Venture " (1884); " For Thanksgiving-Day " (1885); "The Lost Stitch" (1880); and "When we were Bovs Together " (1888). Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 597.
WOOD, Walter Abbott, inventor, born in Mason, New Hampshire, 23 October, 1815. He is the son of Aaron Wood, who early settled in New York state and was among the first to manufacture the cast-iron ploughs invented by Jethro Wood. The boy had a natural fondness for mechanics, and continued in his father's shops till he was twenty years old. In 1835 he settled in Hoosick Falls, New York, where he entered the works of Parsons and Wilder, and, after acquiring a small capital, began business on his own account. He studied the mechanism of farming-implements and soon introduced the Manny harvesting-machine with Wood's improvements, of which in 1852 he made and sold nearly 200. Mr. Wood continued to improve and invent better forms of mowers and reapers, and in 1853 his sales amounted to 500 machines. These were so well received that he determined to increase his works and manufacture on as large a scale as possible. In 1869 he disposed of 6,000 machines, and in 1884 of 48,300. In all. nearly 600,000 machines have been manufactured and sold by him since he established his business. About thirty patents have been taken out by Mr. Wood, and his works are probably the most extensive of their kind in the world. He conducted his business alone until 1866, when it was organized into a stock company called the Walter A. Wood mowing and reaping company, of which Mr. Wood has since been president. Mr. Wood early recognized the importance of furnishing the markets abroad with his machines, and his foreign sales have steadily increased until it is estimated that ninety per cent, of the machines that are sold abroad are made by him. The value of his inventions has been recognized by the award of first prizes at the World's Fairs in Paris in 1867, in Vienna in 1873, in Philadelphia in 1876, and in Paris in 1878, as well as by medals at local fairs. He has received the order of Francis Joseph from the Austrian government, and is an officer of the Legion of Honor in France. In 1878 he was sent as a Republican to Congress, and he served from 18 March, 1879, till 4 March, 1883. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 597.
WOOD, William Maxwell, surgeon, born in Baltimore, Maryland, 27 May, 1809; died in Owing's Mills, Baltimore County, Maryland, 1 March, 1880. He entered the U.S. Navy as an assistant surgeon, 10 May, 1829, became a passed assistant surgeon, 1 January, 1835, and was commissioned surgeon, 20 February, 1838. He served on the steamer "Poinsett " on the coast of Florida during the Seminole War in 1838-'41, was appointed fleet-surgeon of the Pacific Squadron in 1843, and brought the first intelligence of the opening of the Mexican War from Guadalajara to Mazatlan to Commodore Sloat. This information induced the commodore to go immediately to California, when he captured Monterey and began the operations which resulted in the conquest of the state. He was fleet-surgeon of the East India Squadron in 1856-'8 and present at the capture of the Barrier Forts in Canton River, China. He was fleet-surgeon of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron in the flag-ship" Minnesota" in 1861 -'4, and was present at the capture of the forts at Hatteras inlet, 28 August, 1861, in the engagements with the "Merrimac," 8-9 March, 1862, at the capture of Sewall's Point and Norfolk in May, 1862, in the sounds of North Carolina in 1863, and on blockade and other operations on the coast in 1863-'5. On 1 July, 1869, he was appointed surgeon-general of the navy and chief of the bureau of medicine and surgery, in which he served until 24 October, 1871, though he was retired by operation of law on 27 May, 1871. He was commissioned a medical director, 3 March, 1871, and resided at Owing's Mills, Baltimore County, Maryland, until his death. Dr. Wood was the author of " Wandering Sketches of People and Things in South America, Polynesia California, and Other Places visited during a Cruise in the U. S. ships 'Levant,' 'Portsmouth,' and 'Savannah'" (Philadelphia. 1849); "A Shoulder to the Wheel of Progress" (New York, 1849); "Hints to the People on the Profession of Medicine " (Buffalo, 1852); and " Fankwei, or the ' San Jacinto' in the Seas of India, China, and Japan" (New York. 1859). Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 598.
WOOD, William Willis Wiley, naval engineer, born in Wake County, North Carolina, 30 May, 1818; died near Jutland. St. Mary's County, Maryland, 31 August, 1882. He acquired a knowledge of engineering at the West Point Foundry, New York, entered the U.S. Navy as a chief engineer, 15 March, 1845, and superintended the construction of the boilers and engines of the steam frigate "Merrimac" in 1854-'7 at Cold Spring, New York. During the Civil War he rendered valuable services on special duty connected with the steam-engineering service at the U.S. Navy-yards in New York, Philadelphia, and Boston. He was head of the department of steam engineering at the naval academy in 1866-'7, chief engineer of the New York Navy-yard in 1868-'9, inspector of machinery afloat in 1870-2, chief of the bureau of steam engineering from 1872 till 3 March, 1877, and on special duty at Washington until 30 May, 1880, when he was placed on the retired list, he was one of the pioneers in the U. S. steam navy, and held the relative rank of commodore when he was retired as he had served as engineer-in-chief. He was drowned in a boat capsized by a squall. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, pp. 598-599.
WOODBRIDGE, Frederick Enoch, 1819-1888, lawyer. Vermont State Senator. Republican Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Vermont. Voted for Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery. Served in U.S. Congress December 1863 to March 1869. (Appletons’, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 600; Congressional Globe)
WOODBRIDGE, Frederick Enoch, lawyer, born in Vergennes, Vermont, 29 Aug., 1819; died there, 26 April, 1888, after graduation at the University of Vermont in 1840, studied law under his father, Enoch D. Woodbridge, was admitted to the bar in 1842, and practised in his native town. He was long a member of the legislature, state auditor in 1850-'2, prosecuting attorney in 1854-'8, and many times mayor of his native city. In 1860-'2 he served in the state senate, of which he was president pro tempore in 1861. He was then elected to Congress as a Republican, served from 7 Dec., 1863, till 3 March, 1869, and was a member of the committees on the judiciary and private land-claims, and chairman of that on the pay of officials of Congress. He was a delegate to the Philadelphia loyalists' convention of 1866. Mr. Woodbridge engaged in railroad enterprises, and for several years was vice-president and active manager of the Rutland and Washington Railroad. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI. pp. 600.
WOODBURY, Augustus, author, born in Beverly, Massachusetts, in 1825. He was graduated at Phillips Exeter Academy in 1846, and at the divinity-school of Harvard in 1849, and became pastor of Unitarian churches in Concord, New Hampshire, in 1849, in Lowell, Massachusetts, in 1853. and of Westminster Unitarian church, Providence, R. I., which place he still holds. He was chairman of inspectors of the Rhode Island State Prison in 1866-'77, and in 1875-'9 was a member of the commission for building the state prison. He was chaplain of the 1st Rhode Island Regiment from April till August, 1861. and in 1874-"5 was chaplain-in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic. Since 1883 he has been president of the Providence athenaeum. Harvard gave him the degree of A. M. in 1866. and Brown that of D. D., in 1888. He is the author of "Plain Words to Young Men" (Concord, 1858); "The Preservation of the Republic," an oration (Providence, 1860): "Narrative of the Campaign of the First Rhode Island Regiment in the Spring and Summer of 1861" (1862): "General Ambrose E. Burnside and the Ninth Army Corps" (1867); "The Second Rhode Island Regiment" (1875); "An Historical Sketch of the Prisons and Jails of Rhode Island" (1877); "Memorial of General Ambrose E. Burnside " (1882); and sermons, addresses, and articles in reviews. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, pp. 600-601.
WOODBURY, Daniel Phineas, soldier, born in New London, New Hampshire, 16 December, 1812; died in Key West, Florida, 10 August, 1864. He was educated at private schools and at the U. S. Military Academy, where he was graduated in 1836 and promoted to be 2d lieutenant in the 3d U.S. Artillery. In November of the same year he was transferred to the engineers, but the order was inoperative until July, 1837, when he was made brevet 2d lieutenant of engineers, to date from 1 July, 1836. He was engaged in the construction of the Cumberland Road in Ohio till 1840, being promoted 1st lieutenant, 7 July, 1838, and was then on duty till 1847, repairing fortifications at points on the Atlantic Coast, and as an assistant to the chief of engineers at Washington. Lieutenant Woodbury was superintending engineer in the construction of Fort Kearny and Fort Laramie for the protection of the Oregon route till 1850, and on fortification duty on the North Carolina coast until 1856, becoming captain of engineers, 3 March, 1853. Thereafter, until the Civil War, he was constantly engaged in the duties of his corps on the southern coast, and as an assistant to the chief of engineers. He was promoted major of engineers, 6 August, 1861, assisted in the construction of the defences of Washington, and was with General David Hunter's column at Bull Run. He was made lieutenant-colonel and additional aide-decamp in September, 1861, and brigadier-general of volunteers, 19 March, 1862, and was assigned to command the engineer brigade in the Army of the Potomac, where he rendered great service in the siege of Yorktown and the construction of roads, bridges, and causeways for the advance upon Richmond and the subsequent change of base to James River. In the Rappahannock Campaign of 1862-'3 General Woodbury distinguished himself at Fredericksburg in laying down pontoons under the enemy's lire, and in their prompt removal after the troops had recrossed the river. In March, 1863, he was placed in command of the District of Key West, where he died of yellow fever. He was brevetted to the grade of major-general in the United States Army "for gallant and meritorious services during the rebellion," especially on the peninsula in 1862 and at the battle of Fredericksburg. General Woodbury was the author of works on "Sustaining Walls" (Washington. 1845). and the "Theory of the Arch" (New York, 1858). Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 601.
WOODFORD, Stewart Lyndon, lawyer, born in New York City, 3 September, 1835. He studied at Yale and at Columbia, where he was graduated in 1854, and in 1857 began the practice of law in his native city. In I860 he was chosen messenger of the electoral college of his state to convey to Washington its vote in favor of the presidency of Abraham Lincoln. In 1861 he was appointed U. S. assistant district attorney for the Southern District of New York, holding this office about eighteen months. In 1862 he entered the National Army as a volunteer, serving until 1865. during which time he became in succession chief-of-staff to General Quincy A. Gillmore in the Department of the South, and military commandant of Charleston and Savannah, and attained by brevet the rank of brigadier-general of volunteers. From 1866 till 1868 he was lieutenant-governor of New York, having been chosen as a Republican, but he was defeated as candidate for the governorship in 1870. In 1872 he was elected to Congress, and was also chosen as a presidential elector. From 1877 until 1883 he filled the office of U. S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Since that time he has been engaged in the practice of law. He is the author of numerous public addresses, including a eulogy on General George H. Thomas. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, pp. 601-602.
WOODHULL, Maxwell, naval officer, born in New York city, 2 April, 1813; died in Baltimore, Maryland, 19 February, 1863. He was the only son of Richard Miller Woodhull, the founder of Williamsburg (now the eastern district of Brooklyn, New York.). Maxwell Woodhull entered the U.S. Navy as midshipman, 4 June, 1832, and served in the Mediterranean, on the coast of Africa, on the Brazil Station, and in the Gulf of Mexico. During the Paraguay Expedition he was executive officer of the flag-ship " Sabine," and he afterward commanded the brig "Bainbridge." Being attached to the coast survey, he surveyed New York harbor and the obstructions of Hell Gate, reported plans for their removal, and received the thanks of the Chamber of commerce of New York. He was also engaged on surveys on the New England Coast. At the opening of the Civil War he was assigned to special duty under the U.S. Navy department, and promoted to the rank of commander, 1 July, 1861. He organized the supply service for the blockading fleet, commanded the "Connecticut," was afterward transferred to the gun-boat "Cimerone," and led a division of the James River Flotilla during General George B. McClellan's Peninsular Campaign. Later he was attached to Admiral Charles Wilkes's flying squadron, and ordered with the 'Cimerone' to Florida waters to open St. John's and St. Mary's Rivers, which was accomplished, the squadron several times engaging the batteries of the enemy. Early in 1863 he was ordered to the north with his vessel for repairs. He was killed accidentally by the discharge of a gun from which a salute was being fired.—His son, Maxwell Van Zandt, entered the volunteer army in 1862 with the rank of captain, and was promoted to major and subsequently to lieutenant-colonel and assistant adjutant-general of the 15th Army Corps. He was brevetted colonel on the recommendation of General John A. Logan, and brigadier-general of volunteers on that of General Oliver O. Howard. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 602.
WOODRUFF, William S., was killed in battle before Petersburg, 25 June, 1864.
WOODRUFF, George Augustus, soldier, born in Marshall, Michigan, 27 May, 1840; died in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, 4 July, 1863, was graduated at the U. S. Military Academy in 1857, and became 1st lieutenant of artillery in June. 1861. He served in the Virginia Peninsular Campaign from March till July, 1862, participating in the siege of Yorktown and the battles of Fair Oaks, Glendale, and Malvern Hill, commanded a battery at Antietam in the Maryland Campaign, was engaged at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. and during the Pennsylvania Campaign commanded a battery, and was mortally wounded at Gettysburg. In this battle, he was stationed on the right of General Winfield S. Hancock's line. Of his death General Hancock wrote: “Among all the brave men who fell at Gettysburg there are none whoso loss I regret more than his." Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 603.
WOODRUFF, Israel Carle, soldier, born in Trenton, New Jersey, in 1815: died in Tompkinsville, New York, 10 December, 1878. He was graduated at the U. S. Military Academy in 1886, became 1st lieutenant of Topographical Engineers in 1842. and was superintending topographical engineer of the survey of the Creek boundary in 1850-'l. He then engaged in reconnaissance of military roads to the South Pass of the Rocky mountains and to New Mexico, was subsequently engineer and inspector of light-houses on the great lakes, and in 1853 became captain of Topographical Engineers for fourteen years' continuous service. He was assistant to the chief topographical engineer at Washington, D. C, in 1857-63, became major in that branch of the service in August, 1861, and from 1863 until his death was assistant to the chief engineer at Washington. In that capacity, he was engaged in the defence of Washington against the advance of General Jubal A. Early in July, 1864. He became lieutenant-colonel of engineers in August of the same year, and was a member of the board of examination of engineer officers in 1864-'5. On 13 March. 1865, he was brevetted colonel, U. S. Army, "for faithful and meritorious services in the Corps of Engineers," and brigadier-general in the same" for meritorious services during the Civil War." Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 604.
WOODS, William Burnham, soldier, born in Newark, Licking County. Ohio, 3 August, 1824; died in Washington. D. C, 14 May, 1887. His father, Ezekiel S. Woods, was a native of Kentucky, of Scotch-Irish parentage. The son was educated at Western Reserve College and at Yale, where he was graduated in 1845. He afterward studied law in his native place, and practised there, was elected mayor of Newark in 1856 and 1857, and in the latter year was chosen to the Ohio legislature. He was elected Speaker of the House in 1858, and reelected to the legislature in 1859. Soon after the opening of the Civil War he entered the National Army as lieutenant-colonel of the 76th Ohio Volunteers, and from November, 1861, till the close of the war he was continuously at the front, except for a period of three months. He participated in the battles of Shiloh, Chickasaw Bayou, Arkansas Post (where he was slightly wounded), Resaca, Dallas, Atlanta, Jonesboro, Lovejoy Station, and Bentonville. He was also present at the sieges of Vicksburg and Jackson, and commanded a division in General William T. Sherman's march to the sea. He was appointed brevet brigadier-general of volunteers, 12 January, 1865; brevet major-general of volunteers, 13 March, 1865; full brigadier-general, 31 May. 1865; and on 1 February, 1866, was mustered out of the service. Upon leaving, Woods engaged in cotton-planting in Alabama, resuming at the same time the practice of law, and taking an active part in the reconstruction of the state, of which he became chancellor in 1868. In 1869 he was appointed U. S. judge for the 5th circuit, and on 15 December, 1880, was nominated by President Hayes an associate justice of the U. S. Supreme Court, being confirmed on 22 December. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, pp. 605-606.
WOODS, Charles Robert, soldier, born in Newark, Ohio, 19 February, 1827; died there, 20 February, 1885, was graduated at the U. S. Military Academy in 1852, appointed brevet 2d lieutenant of infantry, and served on garrison and frontier duty till 1861. In the attempt to relieve Fort Sumter in April of that year, he commanded the troops on the steamer "Star of the West," He was appointed colonel of the 76th Ohio Volunteers, 18 October, 1861. Woods was at Fort Donelson and Shiloh, and commanded a brigade during the siege of Corinth, and a regiment in the Vicksburg Campaign. He was recommended for promotion for bravery at Arkansas Post, and became a brigadier-general of volunteers, 4 August, 1863, leading a brigade in the 15th Corps at Lookout Mountain and Mission Ridge. In the campaign in Georgia and the Carolinas he commanded a division in the same corps. He was appointed brigadier-general of volunteers, 4 August, 1863, brevetted major-general, 2 November, 1864, made brevet brigadier and major-general in the U. S. Army, 13 March, 1865, and mustered out of the volunteer service, 1 September, 1866. He was transferred to the 27th U.S. Infantry, 27 September, 1866, and during the latter part of the same year was on the plains fighting Indians and guarding railways. Woods became colonel of the 2d U.S. Infantry, 23 March, 1874, and was retired on 15 December of the same year. He was familiarly known in the army as “Susan Wood," a name that had been applied to him when he was a cadet at the military academy. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 606.
WOODWARD, Ashbel, physician, born in Wellington, Connecticut, 20 June, 1804; died in Franklin, Connecticut, 20 November, 1885. He was graduated at the medical department of Bowdoin in 1829, settled in Franklin, Connecticut, and resided there until his death, engaging in the practice of his profession and in genealogical and historical researches. At the beginning of the Civil War he volunteered as surgeon in the 26th Army Corps, sharing in the siege and capture of Port Hudson. Yale gave him the honorary degree of M. D. in 1854. Dr. Woodward was president of the Connecticut Medical society for many years, and a member of the New England historic-genealogical society, to which he contributed about fifty papers. His publications include " Vindication of General Israel Putnam " (Norwich. Connecticut, 1841); " Historical Account of the Connecticut Medical Society" (Hartford, 1859); "Biographical Sketches of the Early Physicians of Norwich" (Norwich, 1859); "Medical Ethics" (Hartford, 1860); "Life," an address (1861): " Memoir of Colonel Thomas Knowlton " (Boston, 1801); "Life of General Nathaniel Lyon " (Hartford, 1862); "Vindication of Army Surgeons" (New Haven. 1863); "Specialism in Medicine" (1866); and "The Two Hundredth Anniversary of the Settlement of Franklin," an address delivered in April, 1868 (1870). See a memoir of him by his son, Henry H. Woodward (Boston, 1880). Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 606.
WOODWARD, Calvin Milton, educator, born in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, 25 August, 1837. He was graduated at Harvard in 1860. and became principal of Brown high-school in Newburyport. Massachusetts During the Civil War he was captain in the 48th Massachusetts Volunteers, taking part in the siege and capture of Port Hudson under General Nathaniel P. Banks. In 1865 he was chosen vice-principal of the Smith Academy of Washington University, St. Louis, and in 1868 he was appointed assistant professor of mathematics in that university, where since 1870 he has held the chair of mathematics and applied mechanics, also since 1870 he has been dean of its polytechnic school. […]. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, pp. 606-607.
WOODWARD, Joseph Janvier, surgeon, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 30 October, 1833; died near that city, 17 August, 1884. He was graduated at the Philadelphia central high-school in 1850, and at the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania in 1853. He practised his profession in Philadelphia, and also gave private instruction in the use of the microscope and in pathological histology, and with Dr. Charles Bishop he conducted a " quiz" class in connection with the course of instruction in the University of Pennsylvania. Subsequently he became demonstrator in operative surgery in that place and clinical surgical assistant, and then took charge of the surgical clinic of the university. At the beginning of the Civil War he entered the U. S. Army as assistant surgeon, serving with the 2d U. S. Artillery in the Army of the Potomac, and then became chief medical officer of the 5th Division in the Department of Northeast Virginia, being present at the first battle of Bull Run. Later he became medical officer of three light batteries in General Philip Kearny's division in the Army of the Potomac. In May, 1862, he was assigned to duty in the Surgeon-General's office in Washington, and charged with the duty of collecting materials for a medical and surgical history of the war and for a military medical museum. At the close of the war he received the brevets of captain, major, and lieutenant-colonel, and on 28 July, 1866, he was commissioned captain and assistant surgeon. Soon after his assignment to Washington, his attention was directed to experiments in photo-micrography, and he improved the old methods and devised new ones for this class of work. His publications in this direction gave a powerful stimulus to the construction of microscopic objectives, and the great improvements that nave been made in these instruments of research are due chiefly to his labors. He was made surgeon with the rank of major on 26 June. 1876. Dr. Woodward was associated in the management of President Garfield's case after he was shot, and the confinement, anxiety, and labor to which he was subjected during the president's long illness proved too great for him and hastened the sickness that terminated his life. In addition to his connection with scientific societies, including his election in 1873 to the National Academy of Sciences, he was president of the American Medical Association and of the Philosophical Society of Washington. He published about 100 single papers, and in book-form "Outlines of the Chief Camp Diseases of the U. S. Armies" (Philadelphia, 1863) and "The Medical and Surgical History of the War of the Rebellion " (2 vols., Washington, 1870-'9). Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 607.
WOODWORTH, John Maynard, physician, born in Big Plats, Chemung County, New York, 15 August, 1837: died in Washington, D. C., 14 March, 1879. He was educated at the University of Chicago, became curator of the museum of the Chicago Academy of Sciences in 1858, and established the Museum of Natural History in the University of Chicago in 1859. He was graduated at the Medical College of Chicago in 1862, entered the National Army as post surgeon of volunteers, and served under General William T. Sherman till 1865, becoming full surgeon in 1863, and subsequently medical inspector of the Army of the Tennessee. In March, 1865, he was brevetted lieutenant-colonel of volunteers for his services during the Civil War. He became professor of anatomy in Chicago Medical College in 1866, surgeon of the Union Soldiers' Home, and sanitary inspector of the city board of health in 1868. In 1871-'9 he was supervising surgeon-general of the Marine Hospital, Washington. D. C. In that service he introduced systematic methods of conducting its affairs, required candidates for medical offices to pass examinations, and substituted inexpensive pavilions for costly insanitary hospitals of iron and stone. He was president of the Alumni association of Chicago Medical College in 1870, one of the twelve organizers of the American Public Health Association in 1872, a member of many state and National professional bodies, and a vice-president of the Society of the Army of the Tennessee. In 1876 he read before the International Medical Congress a paper entitled ' Quarantine with Reference to Cholera and Yellow Fever," and submitted six propositions to that body on the subject, which were adopted. He wrote numerous essays and papers that were published in the "Transactions of the American Medical Association," and is the author of "Primary Surgery of General Sherman's Campaigns " (Chicago, 1806); 'The Mystery of Life," an address (1871); "Regulations of the United States Marine Hospital Service" (Washington. D.C. 1873); "Hospitals and Hospital Construction " (1873); "The Immigration Service of the United States " (1873); "Nomenclature of Diseases" (1874); and "Cholera Epidemic in the United States in 1873" (1875). Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 608.
WOODWORTH, Selim E., naval officer, born in New York City, 27 November, 1815: died in San Francisco, California, 29 January, 1871, when twelve years old set out with a rifle to cross the continent to the Pacific, but was met by friends and sent home after walking 300 miles. In 1834 he sailed as captain's clerk in the ship " Margaret Oakley," in which he was shipwrecked off Madagascar. He lived on the island with the natives, but eventually reached Mauritius, whence he returned home after an absence of four years. He was appointed a midshipman in the U.S. Navy, 16 June. 1838, became a passed midshipman, 20 May, 1844, and, obtaining special leave of absence in 1840, made the journey to the Pacific overland, travelling from St. Louis to Columbia River in sixty days. He then went down the coast to the site of San Francisco, where he reported for duty as a master on board the sloop " Warren." and subsequently served in command of the transport "Anita" until the close of the Mexican War. He resigned from the navy, 11 February, 1850. Woodworth was elected to the first state senate of California. He engaged in mercantile pursuits, but at the opening of the Civil War he volunteered and was commissioned acting lieutenant, 10 September, 1861. He served under Farragut at New Orleans and in Mississippi River, and was promoted two grades to commander, 16 July, 1862, for gallant conduct. He commanded the steamer " Narragansett," which he took out to the Pacific Coast in 1865-'6. and upon his return resigned from the navy, 31 May, 1866. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, pp. 608-609.
WOOL, John Ellis, soldier, born in Newburg, New York, 20 February, 1784; died in Troy, New York, 10 November, 1869. His father was a soldier of the Revolution. The son was educated at the common schools of his native town, and, after a short experience in mercantile life in Troy, began the study of the law, at which he was engaged when war with England was declared. He entered the military service as an officer of volunteers, raised a company in Troy, was commissioned captain in the 13th U. S. Infantry, 14 April, 1812, and greatly distinguished himself at Queenstown Heights, 13 October, 1812, where he was severely wounded. He was promoted major of the 29th U.S. Infantry, 13 April, 1813, and at Plattsburg on 11 September, 1814, he received the brevet of lieutenant colonel for gallantry. Major Wool was transferred to the 6th U.S. Infantry, 17 May, 1815, and in the subsequent reorganization was made inspector-general of the army, with rank of colonel, 29 April, 1816. The routine of his duty was varied in 1832 by a professional tour abroad, comprising an inspection of the military establishments of Europe for the benefit of the U. S. service. In 1836 he effected the transfer of the Cherokee Indians to the country west of the Mississippi, and on 25 June, 1841, he was appointed brigadier-general in the U. S. Army. He was active at the beginning of the Mexican War in preparing volunteer forces for the field, and in less than six weeks despatched to the seat of war 12,000 men, fully armed and equipped. He was General Zachary Taylor's second in command at Buena Vista, selecting the ground for the action, making the preliminary dispositions, and commanding on the field till the arrival of his superior. For gallant and meritorious conduct in that battle he was brevetted major-general, 23 February, 1847. For his services during the war with Mexico Congress awarded him a vote of thanks and a sword of honor, and a sword was also presented to General Wool by the state of New York. He commanded the Eastern Military Division in 1848-'53, and the Department of the Pacific in 1854-'7, putting an end to Indian disturbances in Washington and Oregon territories in 1856 by a three-months' campaign. He had charge of the Department of the East in 1860, and at the opening of the Civil War saved Fortress Monroe by timely re-enforcements, afterward commanding there at the head of the Department of Virginia. He was promoted major-general, U. S. Army, 16 May, 1862, and had charge successively of the Middle Military Department and the Department of the East till July, 1863. He was retired from active service, 1 August, 1863. General Wool was a rigid disciplinarian, and had no superior in the U. S. service as an organizer of troops. The monument shown in the illustration was raised to his memory in Troy. It is 75 feet high, and bears the following inscription from the pen of William Cullen Bryant: "This stone is erected to Major-General John Ellis Wool, the gallant soldier, the able commander, and the patriotic citizen, distinguished in many battles; and to Sarah Moulton, his excellent and worthy consort." Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 609.
WOOLSEY, Melanchton Brooks, naval officer, born in New York, 11 August, 1817: died in Pensacola, Florida, 2 October, 1874. Woolsey entered the U.S. Navy as a midshipman, 24 September, 1832, attended the naval school at Philadelphia, and became a passed midshipman, 10 July, 1840. He was promoted to master, 22 March, 1847, and to lieutenant, 10 July, 1847, and by action of the retiring board he was placed on the reserved list, 13 September, 1855. In 1861 he was assigned to active duty and attached to the receiving-ship at New York. He commanded the steamer "Ellen," on the South Atlantic Blockade, in 1861-'2, in which he engaged Fort Pemberton at Wapper Creek, South Carolina, in May, 1862, repelled Confederate cavalry at Secessionville, 1 June, 1862, and participated in the attack on James Island, 3 June, 1862. He was commissioned a commander, 10 July, 1862, on the reserved list, and commanded the sloop "Vandalia" in 1862-3, and the steamer "Princess Royal," in the West Gulf Squadron, in 1863-'5. He participated in the engagement and repulse of the Confederates at Donaldsonville, Louisiana, on 28 June, 1863, and was highly commended for this victory. He continued to serve on the blockade until the close of the war, and was placed on the active list and promoted to captain, 25 July, 1866, and to commodore, 20 May, 1871. On 6 March, 1873, he was appointed commandant of the Pensacola Navy-yard. In 1874 Woolsey had orders to go to the north on duty, but he declined to leave his post when a yellow-fever epidemic appeared, and he died there. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 610.
WOOSTER, David, physician, born in Jasper, Steuben County, New York, 10 June, 1825, served as acting assistant surgeon in the U. S. Army during the Mexican War, being stationed in La Puebla. He was graduated at the Cleveland Medical College in 1849, and in that year began the practice of his profession in Adrian, Michigan. In 1850 he crossed the plains to California, practised medicine, and was a miner on Yuba River until 1856, when he moved to San Francisco. In 1861-'3 he served as surgeon in the California Volunteers in Arizona and New Mexico. From 1867 till 1871 he was U. S. special examiner of drugs in San Francisco, and in 1871—'2 he was surgeon in the U. S. Marine Hospital of that city, where he still practices his profession. In 1858 he founded "The Pacific Medical and Surgical Journal" in San Francisco, which he edited four years. Besides numerous contributions to this journal and to other medical periodicals, he has published a brochure on "Diphtheria," the first publication in the United States on this disease (1859); "Diseases of the Heart" (18(17); a pamphlet on " Hip-Joint Disease" (1876); and a "Genealogy of the Woosters in America " (San Francisco, 1885). Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 612.
WORCESTER, Noah, Brighton, Massachusetts. Founded a joint temperance and colonization society of the American Colonization Society. Also and advocate for Free Blacks. (Staudenraus, P. J. The African Colonization Movement, 1816-1865. New York: Columbia University Press, 1961, p. 131)
WORCESTER, Samuel M., Amherst, Massachusetts, professor, Amherst College. Volunteered to be a local agent of the American Colonization Society. Wrote pro-colonization articles for the Boston Recorder. (Staudenraus, P. J. The African Colonization Movement, 1816-1865. New York: Columbia University Press, 1961, p. 132)
WORDEN, John Lorimer, naval officer, born in Westchester County, New York, 12 March, 1818. He entered the U.S. Navy as a midshipman, 12 January, 1835, attended the naval school at Philadelphia in 1840, and became a passed midshipman on 16 July of that year. He was promoted to lieutenant, 30 November, 1840. and served on various vessels and at the Naval Observatory till the Civil War. In April, 1861, he delivered the orders from the Secretary of the Navy by which Fort Pickens was saved for the Union, and upon his attempt to return to the north overland he was arrested and confined as a prisoner of war for seven months. When he was exchanged, he was ordered to superintend the completion of John Ericsson's “Monitor”, and was pointed to take command. He left New York hastily in this vessel, and after experiencing great danger arrived at Hampton Roads. On 8 March, 1862, the iron-clad ram "Merrimac" had come down from Norfolk and had sunk the "Congress" and the "Cumberland." Worden anchored alongside of the "Minnesota," then aground on the shoal, and prepared to defend the fleet when the "Merrimac" reappeared. Early the next morning, 6 March, the ram prepared to attack the "Minnesota," but when she was within a mile of the ship the " Monitor" steamed out. The "Merrimac” fired broadsides upon the " Monitor," but all the shots that struck her turret, glanced off; the "Monitor" fired deliberately about every seven minutes, every shot taking effect. Worden endeavored to get as close as possible, while the "Merrimac " fired as rapidly as the guns could be served. The duel continued for more than two hours, when the " Merrimac" attempted to ram the "Monitor," but Worden avoided the blow by manoeuvring, so that the ram glanced off. Worden had orders not to use heavy charges, as the eleven-inch guns were considered too weak for more than fifteen-pound charges, with which he could not penetrate the "Merrimac's" heavy armor. At 11:80 a. m. a shell exploded on the pilot-house of the " Monitor" while Worden was looking through the slit, and the powder and flame was driven into his eyes, rendering him blind and helpless. (See Greene, Samuel Dana.) Lieutenant Greene, the second in command, continued the action; but the "Merrimac" soon withdrew to Norfolk. It was a drawn battle, but the "Merrimac" was prevented from accomplishing her purpose of destroying the National fleet and eventually securing the independence of the Confederates by capturing Washington, New York, and other cities, as had been expected. Honors were showered upon Worden for this service. Congress gave him a vote of thanks, 11 July, 1862, and again on 3 February, 1863, and recommended him to be advanced one grade for his conduct in this conflict. He was commissioned a commander, 12 July. 1862. In accordance with the second vote of thanks, was promoted to captain, 3 February, 1863. He recovered from the injuries to his eyes, and commanded the monitor "Montauk," in the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron, from January till June, 1863. In order to test the ability of the monitors to withstand heavy gun-fire from forts, Worden was sent to engage Fort McAllister, at Genesee Point, on Ogeechee River, and reported that he was convinced they could do so. In this expedition he destroyed the Confederate privateer "Nashville." which had taken shelter under the guns of Fort McAllister. He participated in the blockade of Charleston, and in the attack on the forts of Charleston by Admiral Dupont's squadron on 7 April. 1863. After receiving his promotion to captain, he was on duty at New York connected with the iron-clads in 1863-'6. He commanded the "Pensacola," in the Pacific Squadron, in 1866-'7, and was on special duty in 1868. He was promoted to commodore, 27 May, 1868, and was superintendent of the Naval Academy in 1870-'4. He was commissioned a rear-admiral, 20 November, 1872, was commander-in-chief of the European Squadron from 3 February, 1875. till 23 December, 1877, and then served as member of the examining board and president of the retiring board until 23 December, 1886. As he had received two votes of thanks from Congress, he was retained by operation of law on the active list until he should have had fifty-five years of service, but he was retired with the highest sea-pay of his grade, at his own request, by special act of Congress, 23 December, 1886. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 614.
WORK, Alanson, Missouri. Convicted of aiding fugitive slaves in Missouri in 1841. He received a 12-year sentence. Father of Henry Clay Work. (Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 614)
WORK, Henry Clay, 1832-1884, Middletown, Connecticut, composer, songwriter, abolitionist. Active in the Underground Railroad. Wrote Union songs, including “Marching Through Georgia.” Son of abolitionist Alanson Work. (Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 614; Dictionary of American Biography, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1936, Vol. 10, Pt. 2, p. 531)
WORK, Henry Clay, song-writer, born in Middletown, Connecticut, 1 October, 1832; died in Hartford, Connecticut, 8 June, 1884. He was the son of Alanson Work, who was sentenced to twelve years’ imprisonment in 1841 in Missouri for assisting fugitive slaves to escape. While young the son moved with his father to Illinois, where he received a common-school education. He returned to Connecticut, was apprenticed to a printer, and employed his leisure in studying harmony. His first success was achieved during the civil war, when he sprang into favor by his war-songs, among which were “Kingdom Coming,” “Marching through Georgia,” and “Babylon is Fallen.” His songs number nearly one hundred, and include “Nicodemus the Slave,” “Lily Dale,” and “My Grandfather's Clock.” He went to Europe in 1865, and on his return invested the fortune that his songs had brought him in a fruit-raising enterprise in Vineland, New Jersey, which was a failure. In 1875 he became connected as composer with Root and Cady, the music-publishers, who had published Work's songs until the plates were destroyed by the Chicago Fire of 1871. Mr. Work was also an inventor, and patented a knitting-machine, a walking doll, and a rotary engine. Appletons’ Cyclopædia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 614.
WORMELEY, Katharine Prescott, author, born in Suffolk, England. 14 July, 1832, took an active interest in the relief of the National soldiers during the Civil War, and published "The U. S. Sanitary Commission" (Boston, 1863). A volume of her letters from the headquarters of the U. S. sanitary commission with the Army of the Potomac during the Peninsular Campaign in 1862 has been published by the Massachusetts commandery of the Loyal legion under the title of " The Other Side of War" (1888). She is best known as the American translator of Honoris de Balzac's novels, of which thirteen volumes have been issued (Boston, 1888-'9). among which the “Magic Skin," " Louis Lambert," and "Seraphita." have introductions by George Frederic Parsons. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 615
WORRELL, Edward, abolitionist. Officer, Delaware Abolition Society, 1827.
WORTH, Daniel, North Carolina, American Abolition Society, Vice-President, 1858-59
WORTH, Jonathan, governor of North Carolina, born in Guilford County, North Carolina, 18 November, 1802; died in Raleigh, North Carolina, 5 September, 1869. He was educated at the common schools and at Greensborough Academy, studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1825. He soon afterward settled at Asheborough, Randolph County, and engaged in practice. He was a member of the North Carolina Legislature in 1829-'34, and during the height of the nullification excitement introduced in 1831 a resolution into the House of Commons of the state denouncing it in the strongest terms. He was also for several terms a member of the state senate, and opposed secession both in the legislature and in appeals to his constituents: hut after his state had seceded he gave his adhesion to the Confederate government. He was a member of the lower house of the legislature from 1862 till the end of the war, and was public treasurer of the state during the same period. When a provisional government was organized in North Carolina by President Johnson, Mr. Worth was reappointed state treasurer, which post he resigned soon afterward, and became a candidate for governor. He was elected and served from 1865 till 1868, when the existing state government was superseded by the one that was organized under the Reconstruction Act of Congress. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 615.
WORTHINGTON, Henry, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, voted for Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery (Congressional Globe)
WRIGHT, Ambrose Ransom, soldier, born in Louisville, Jefferson County, Georgia, 26 April, 1826; died 21 December, 1872. He studied law, was admitted to the bar, and entered politics as a Democrat, but subsequently joined the Know-Nothing Party. He supported the Bell and Everett ticket in 1860, and after its defeat espoused the cause of secession. He was sent by the convention of Georgia as commissioner to Maryland to induce that state to join the movement. He enlisted as a private soldier in the Confederate Army early in 1861, became colonel of the 3d Georgia Regiment of Infantry, 8 May, 1861, colonel of the 38th Georgia Infantry, 15 October, 1861, brigadier-general, 3 June, 1862, and major-general, 26 November, 1864. After the close of the war he was editor of the "Chronicle and Sentinel" newspaper. He was elected in 1872 a representative in Congress as a Democrat, but died before taking his seat. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 619.
WRIGHT, John Vines, lawyer, born in Purdy, McNairy County, Tennessee, 28 June, 1828. Wright received a classical education, studied law, practised in his native town, and was elected to Congress as a Democrat, serving in 1855-'61. He was then chosen colonel of the 13th Tennessee Infantry in the Confederate Army, and participated in the battle of Belmont. Colonel Wright was elected to the first Confederate Congress, and re-elected. He has been judge of the circuit court, special chancellor and judge of the state supreme court, and in 1880, was the nominee of the Democratic Party for governor of Tennessee, advocating the payment of the state debt, but was defeated on account of disaffected Democrats who were opposed to the payment. He was in 1887 chairman of the Northwestern Indian Commission, which concluded treaties with 13 tribes, and he is now (1889) a member of the Sioux Commission. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 620.
WRIGHT, Marcus Joseph, soldier, born in Purdy, McNairy County, Tennessee, 5 June. 1831. Wright received a classical education, in 1857 was appointed assistant purser of the U.S. Navy-yard at Memphis, afterward studied law, and practised in that city. He entered the Confederate Army as lieutenant-colonel of the 154th Tennessee Militia Regiment, 4 April, 1861, and, with four companies of his regiment and a battery of artillery, occupied and fortified Randolph, Tipton County, on Mississippi River. He was military governor of Columbus, Kentucky, from February till March, 1862, and lieutenant-colonel and assistant adjutant-general on General Benjamin F. Cheatham's staff during the Kentucky Campaign from June till September. 1862. He was appointed brigadier-general, 13 December, 1862, and in 1863-'4 was in charge of the district of Atlanta, Georgia, until its evacuation. He subsequently commanded the districts of Macon, Northern Mississippi, and Western Tennessee. He led his regiment in the battles of Belmont and Shiloh. and as brigadier-general he was at Chickamauga. In 1867 he was elected sheriff of Shelby County, Tennessee, and on 1 July, 1878. He was appointed agent of the War Department to collect Confederate records for publication in the "Official Records of the War of the Rebellion," which place he now holds. He has published "Reminiscences of the Early Settlement and Early Settlers of McNairy County, Tennessee" (Washington, 1882), and a "Life of Governor William Blount " (1884). Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 620.
WRIGHT, Elizur Jr., 1804-1885, New York City, reformer, editor, abolitionist leader. Vice president, 1833-1835, and founding member of the American Anti-Slavery Society (AASS), December 1833. Leader, Liberty Party. Editor of the Massachusetts Abolitionist, founded 1839.
(Dumond, 1961, pp. 177, 179, 245, 301; Filler, 1960, pp. 61, 63, 74, 132, 135, 156, 193; Goodheart, 1990; Mabee, 1970, pp. 189, 190, 256, 322, 339, 364; Mitchell, 2007, pp. 6-8, 13-14, 16-17, 20, 44, 46, 67, 72; Rodriguez, 2007, pp. 46, 521-522; Abolitionist, Vol. I, No. XII, December, 1833; Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, pp. 621-622; Dictionary of American Biography, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1936, Vol. 10, Pt. 2, p. 548; American Reformers: An H.W. Wilson Biographical Dictionary, New York, 1985; American National Biography, Oxford University Press, New York, 2002, Vol. 24, p. 11)
WRIGHT, Elizur, reformer, born in South Canaan, Connecticut, 12 February, 1804; died in Medford, Massachusetts, 21 November, 1885. His father, Elizur (1762-1845), was graduated at Yale in 1781, and became known for his mathematical learning and devotion to the Presbyterian faith. In 1810 the family moved to Tallmadge, Ohio, and the son worked on the farm and attended an academy that was conducted by his father. His home was often the refuge for fugitive slaves, and he early acquired anti-slavery opinions. He was graduated at Yale in 1826, and taught in Groton, Massachusetts In 1829-'33 he was professor of mathematics and natural philosophy in Western Reserve College, Hudson, Ohio. Mr. Wright attended the convention in Philadelphia in December, 1833, that formed the American Anti-Slavery Society, of which he was chosen secretary, and, moving to New York, he took part in editing the “Emancipator.” He conducted the paper called “Human Rights” in 1834-'5, and the “Quarterly Anti-Slavery Magazine” in 1835-'8, and through his continued opposition to slavery incurred the enmity of its advocates. His house was once besieged by a mob, and an attempt was made to kidnap him and convey him to North Carolina. He moved to Boston in 1839, and became editor of the “Massachusetts Abolitionist.” For several years he was connected with the press, and in 1846 he established the “Chronotype,” a daily newspaper which he conducted until it was merged in the “Commonwealth” (1850), of which he was for a time the editor. Mr. Wright was twice indicted and tried for libel, in consequence of his severe strictures on the liquor interests while publishing the “Chronotype,” and again in 1851 for aiding the rescue in Boston of Shadrach, a runaway slave. Between 1853 and 1858, besides editing the “Railroad Times,” he gave his attention to invention and mechanics, constructing a spike-making machine, a water-faucet, and an improvement in pipe-coupling. He patented the last two, and manufactured them for a short time. In 1853 he published “Life Insurance Valuation Tables” (2d ed., revised and enlarged, 1871), and in 1858 he secured an act of the Massachusetts legislature to organize an insurance commission, on a basis that required the annual valuation of the policy liabilities of all life-insurance companies in the state. He was appointed insurance commissioner of Massachusetts under this act, which office he held until 1866. He obtained the passage of the Massachusetts Non-forfeiture Act of 1861, and also its substitute in 1880, which was embodied with some change in the insurance codification bill of 1887. He devised a new formula for finding the values of policies of various terms, now known as the “accumulation formula,” and, in order to facilitate his work, invented and afterward patented (1869) the arithmeter, a mechanical contrivance for multiplication and division, based on the logarithmic principle. Afterward he became consulting actuary for life-insurance companies. He was a delegate to the convention of 1840, which formed the Liberty Party and nominated James G. Birney for the presidency, and edited “The Free American” in 1841. He was a promoter of the convention at Philadelphia on 4 July, 1876, which organized the National Liberal League to support state secularization, and was the second president of the league, being twice re-elected. He was a member of the Forestry Association, was instrumental in obtaining the Massachusetts Forestry Act of 1882, and labored for a permanent forest preserve. He wrote an introduction to Whittier's “Ballads, and other Poems” (London, 1844); and published a translation in verse of La Fontaine's “Fables” (2 vols., Boston, 1841; 2d ed., New York, 1859); “Savings Bank Life Insurance, with Illustrative Tables” (1872); “The Politics and Mysteries of Life Insurance” (1873); and “Myron Holley, and what he did for Liberty and True Religion,” a contribution to anti-slavery records (1882). Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI. pp. 621-622.
WRIGHT, Frances “Fanny”, 1795-1852, Dundee, Scotland, Utica, New York, reformer, author, orator, abolitionist. First woman in America to actively oppose slavery. Founded Neshoba Plantation to train free Blacks to be self-sufficient. Manager, American Anti-Slavery Society (AASS), 1843-1845. (Eckardt, 1984; Filler, 1960, pp. 26, 68, 113; Pease, 1965, pp. 38-43; Perkins, 1939; Rodriguez, 2007, pp. 30, 110, 396-397, 522-523; Wright, 1972; Yellin, 1994, pp. 10n, 223-224; Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 622; Dictionary of American Biography, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1936, Vol. 10, Pt. 2, p. 549; American Reformers: An H.W. Wilson Biographical Dictionary, New York, 1985; American National Biography, Oxford University Press, New York, 2002, Vol. 24, p. 14)
WRIGHT, Fanny, reformer, born in Dundee, Scotland, 6 September, 1795; died in Cincinnati, Ohio, 14 December, 1852. Her father was an intimate friend of Adam Smith, Dr. William Cullen, and other scientific and literary men. She became an orphan at an early age, was brought up as a ward in chancery by a maternal aunt, and early adopted the philosophy of the French materialists. She travelled in this country in 1818-'20, and was introduced by Joseph Rodman Drake in the first of the “Croaker” papers. On her return to England she published her “Views of Society and Manners in America” (London, 1821; Paris, 1822). On the invitation of Lafayette she went to Paris, and in 1825 she returned to this country. She purchased 2,400 acres in Tennessee, at Neshoba (now Memphis), and established there a colony of emancipated slaves, whose social condition she sought to elevate. Neshoba, which was held in trust for her by General Lafayette, was restored by him when he discovered that her plans could not be carried out without conflicting with the laws of the state. The Negroes in the colony were afterward sent to Hayti. In 1833-'6 she appeared as a public lecturer in the eastern states, where her attacks upon slavery and other social institutions attracted large audiences and led to the establishment of “Fanny Wright societies,” but her freedom of speech caused great opposition and the hostility of the press and the church. Fitz-Greene Halleck said her chief theme was “just knowledge,” which she pronounced “joost nolidge.” She then became associated with Robert Dale Owen in New Harmony, Indiana, edited there “The Gazette,” and lectured in behalf of his colony, but with little success. In 1838 she visited France, and married there M. D'Arusmont, whose system of philosophy resembled her own, but she was soon separated from him, resumed her own name, and resided with her daughter in Cincinnati, Ohio, until her death. Her last years were spent in retirement. She was benevolent, unselfish, eccentric, and fearless. She published in London in 1817 “Altdorf,” a tragedy, founded on the tradition of William Tell and unsuccessfully played at the Park theatre; “A few Days in Athens, being a Translation of a Greek Manuscript discovered in Herculaneum” (London, 1822); and a “Course of Popular Lectures on Free Inquiry, Religion, Morals, Opinions, etc., delivered in the United States” (New York, 1829; 6th ed., 1836). See “Biography, Notes, and Political Letters of Fanny Wright D'Arusmont,” published by John Windt (London, 1844), and “Memoir of Fanny Wright, the Pioneer Woman in the Cause of Women's Rights,” by Amos Gilbert (Cincinnati, 1855). Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI. pp. 622. VI. pp. 621-622.
WRIGHT, George, soldier, born in Vermont in 1803: died at sea, 30 July, 1865. He was educated at common schools and at the U. S. Military Academy, where he was graduated and promoted 2d lieutenant in the 3d U. S. Infantry, 1 July, 1822. He served at Fort Howard, Wisconsin, and Jefferson Barracks, Missouri, until 1828, was promoted 1st lieutenant, 23 September, 1827, and remained in garrison at Fort Leavenworth till 1831, when he became adjutant of his regiment. On 30 October, 1836, he was promoted captain, and in 1838 he was transferred to the 8th U.S. Infantry upon the organization of that regiment, serving during the Canada border troubles and at Sackett's Harbor. N. Y., till 1840. He took part in the Florida War against the Seminoles, remaining in that country with the 8th U.S. Infantry until 1844, and receiving the brevet of major " for meritorious conduct in zeal, energy, and perseverance." Major Wright took an active part in the war with Mexico, in the principal engagements from Vera Cruz to Molino del Rey, where he commanded the storming party and was wounded. For his services in Mexico he was brevetted to the grade of colonel. In 1848 he became major, in 1855 lieutenant-colonel of the 4th U.S. Infantry, and on 3 March, 1855, colonel of the 9th U.S. Infantry, having served during that period in California and Washington Territory. He was in command of the northern district of the Department of the Pacific till 1857. During this time conducted operations against the Indians, especially at the Cascades in 1856 and in Oregon. In 1858 he commanded an expedition against the Spokanes, with whom he had several combats. At the opening of the Civil War he commanded the Department of Oregon, from which he was transferred to command the Department of the Pacific with the rank of brigadier-general of volunteers, 28 September, 1861. He served there until 1864, and was brevetted brigadier-general, U. S. Army, 19 December, 1864, "for long, faithful, and meritorious services." General Wright was drowned, 30 July, 1865, on the wreck of the "Brother Jonathan " while on his way to assume command of the Department of the Columbia. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, pp. 622-623.
WRIGHT, Hendrick Bradley, lawyer, born in Plymouth, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, 24 April, 1808; died in Wilkesbarre, Pennsylvania, 2 September, 1881. He was educated at Dickinson College, studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1831. and began practice in Wilkesbarre. He was appointed district attorney for Luzerne County in 1834, and was elected to the legislature in 1841-'3, serving in the latter year as speaker. He was a member of all the National Democratic Conventions between 1840 and 1860, and was the presiding officer in the one that nominated James K. Polk for president. He was elected to Congress as a Democrat, and served from 5 December, 1853, till 3 March, 1855. He was elected again to fill the vacancy caused by the death of George W. Scranton, serving from 4 July, 1861, till 3 March. 1863, and again from 1877 till 1881. He published "A Practical Treatise on Labor" (New York, 1871), and "Historical Sketches of Plymouth, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania" (Philadelphia, 1873). Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 623.
WRIGHT, Henry Clarke, 1797-1870, Boston, Massachusetts, reformer, orator, author, abolitionist leader. Executive Committee, American Anti-Slavery Society (AASS),
1859-1864. (Filler, 1960, pp. 55, 109, 115, 120, 129, 131, 133, 138, 263; Mabee, 1970, pp. 42, 43, 46, 47, 67-69, 71-75, 77, 80, 82, 94, 140, 195-197, 293, 296, 324, 329, 336, 345, 346, 359, 361, 367, 371; Rodriguez, 2007, p. 399; Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 623; Dictionary of American Biography, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1936; American Reformers: An H.W. Wilson Biographical Dictionary, New York, 1985; American National Biography, Oxford University Press, New York, 2002, Vol. 24, p. 28)
WRIGHT, Henry Clarke, reformer, born in Sharon, Litchfield County, Connecticut, 29 August, 1797; died in Pawtucket, R.I., 16 August, 1870. For many years he was a noted lecturer on anti-slavery topics, and was an advocate of peace, socialism, and spiritualism, on all of which subjects his convictions were vehement, and were delivered with eloquence. At one time he was conspicuous among the band of anti-slavery orators that assembled annually in New York at the anniversary of the American Anti-Slavery Society, and by its earnestness enlisted the sympathy of the people. He was the author of “Man-Killing by Individuals and Nations Wrong” (Boston, 1841); “A Kiss for a Blow” (London, 1843; new ed., 1866); “Defensive War proved to be a Denial of Christianity” (1846); “Human Life Illustrated” (Boston, 1849); “Marriage and Parentage” (1854); and “The Living Present and the Dead Past” (1865). Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI. pp. 623.
WRIGHT, Horatio Governeur, soldier, born in Clinton, Connecticut, 6 March, 1820. He was graduated second in his class at the U. S. Military Academy in 1841, served in the Engineer Corps, and in 1842-'4 as assistant professor, first of French and then of engineering, at West Point, and was promoted 1st lieutenant in 1848. After superintending the building of forts and improvements in Florida he became captain in 1855, and till the Civil War was assistant to the chief engineer at Washington, also serving on several special ordnance boards. He declined a major's commission in the 13th U.S. Infantry on 14 May, 1861, but, after constructing several of the defences of Washington, taking part in the battle of Bull Run as chief engineer of Heintzelman's division, and organizing the Port Royal Expedition in the same capacity, he accepted that rank in the Engineer Corps in August, and on 14 September became brigadier-general of volunteers. He took part in the capture of Hilton Head, South Carolina, in November. Wright led the land forces in the Florida Expedition, February-June, 1862. On 18 July, 1862, became major-general of volunteers. He commanded the Department of the Ohio till 26 March, 1863, the District of Louisville, Kentucky, till April, and then led a division of the Army of the Potomac in the Pennsylvania and Rapidan Campaigns, receiving the brevet of lieutenant-colonel for the capture of Rappahannock Station, where he temporarily commanded the 6th Corps. After the death of General John Sedgwick, 9 May, 1864, he succeeded to the command of that corps, and on 12 May was brevetted colonel for gallantry at Spottsylvania. While at Petersburg he was ordered to the defence of Washington during General Jubal A. Early's invasion of Maryland, in the midsummer of 1864. Great anxiety was felt lest succor from the troops in front of Petersburg should not arrive in time to save the capital, but as Early's advance arrived in the suburbs of Washington on the north, Wright's troops were landing at the wharves on the south. With some regiments of the 10th Corps just arrived from the Gulf and a few other hastily gathered troops, General Wright was ready to meet any assault. Early was soon forced to withdraw in the face of a strong reconnaissance which General Wright pushed out. "I have sent from here," wrote General Grant to President Lincoln from the Petersburg lines, "a whole corps, commanded by an excellent officer.” And to a prominent official of the war department he said: "Boldness is all that is needed to drive the enemy out of Maryland, and Wright is the man to assume that." General Wright rallied the troops under his command, re-formed the line, and did much to retrieve the fortunes of the early surprise at Cedar Creek, 19 October, 1864. His 6th Corps first broke the strong lines at Petersburg on Sunday morning, 2 April, 1865. In his official report of that battle General Grant said: "General Wright penetrated the line with his whole corps, sweeping everything before him, and to his left toward Hatcher's Run, capturing many guns and several thousand prisoners." He was brevetted brigadier-general, U. S. Army, 13 March, 1865, for gallantry in the battle of Cold Harbor, and major-general for the capture of Petersburg, Virginia. On 14 June, 1865 he received the thanks of the Connecticut Legislature. He was made lieutenant-colonel, 23 November, 1865, and then served on various engineering boards, becoming colonel, 4 March, 1879, and chief-of-engineers with the rank of brigadier-general, 30 June, 1879. On 22 March, 1884, he was retired from active service. General Wright is coauthor of a “ Report on the Fabrication of Iron for Defences" (Washington, 1871). Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, pp. 623-624.
WRIGHT, Crafts James, soldier, born in Troy, New York, 13 July, 1808; died in Chicago, Illinois, 23 July, 1883. Wright was graduated at the U. S. Military Academy in 1828, but resigned on 8 November, 1828, studied law, was admitted to the bar of Ohio, and practised with his father. In 1840 he became assistant editor of the Cincinnati "Gazette," and from 1847 till 1854 he was president of the " Gazette " company, after which he again practised law. He aided in organizing the first telegraph company in the west and became one of its directors. At the beginning of the Civil War he entered the National Army as colonel of the 8th Missouri Infantry, but afterward he raised and disciplined the 13th Missouri. He served in the Tennessee Campaign of 1862, and for his services received the thanks of the governor of Missouri. In March, 1862, he was in command of Clarksville. He was afterward ordered to Pittsburg Landing, where he was senior colonel, and given command of a brigade. He was also engaged in the Mississippi Campaign and in the siege of Corinth, where he remained ill for many weeks until he resigned his commission on 16 September, 1862. For his services at Shiloh, President Lincoln nominated him for the post of brigadier-general, but he resigned before he could be confirmed by the Senate. Subsequently he engaged in farming in Glendale, Ohio. Afterward he lived in Chicago, where in 1876 he was made steward of the marine hospital.—His wife, Margaret, was active during the war in visiting hospitals and battlefields, and was identified with many benevolent works. She was at one time the only woman on the boat that carried disabled soldiers to the north, and acted as nurse to them under the direction of the senior surgeon. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 625.
WRIGHT, John Stephen, manufacturer, born at Sheffield, Massachusetts, 16 July, 1815; died in Chicago, Illinois, 26 September, 1874. On 29 October, 1832, he arrived in Chicago with his father, and they at once established a store. In 1837 he built at his own expense, for $507.93, the first public-school building in Chicago. In 1840 he established the " Prairie Farmer," which is still in existence. In 1845 he wrote for the New York "Commercial Advertiser" numerous articles setting forth the advantages and prospective greatness of Chicago and the northwest. In 1852 he began the manufacture of Atkins's self-raking reaper and mower. He was one of the active promoters of the Illinois Central Railroad, and sent thousands of circulars at his own expense from Chicago to the Gulf, calling attention of the people to the prospective benefits of such a road through the state. He published a valuable statistical work entitled " Chicago: Past, Present, and Future " (Chicago, 1870). Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 625.
WRIGHT, Joseph Albert, governor of Indiana, born in Washington, Pennsylvania, 17 April, 1810; died in Berlin, Germany, 11 Mar, 1867. He moved to Bloomington, Indiana, with his parents, and entered the State university, where, to procure his education, he acted as janitor. He studied law. was admitted to the bar in 1829, began practice in Rockville, Indiana, and was a member of both houses of the legislature. Being elected to Congress as a Democrat, he served from 4 December, 1843, until 3 March, 1845. From 1849 till 1857 he served as governor of Indiana. In the last-named year he was appointed minister to Prussia, holding this position until 1861. From 3 March, 1862, till 22 January, 1863, he served in the U. S. Senate to fill the unexpired term of Senator Jesse D. Bright, who had been expelled. He was appointed U. S. commissioner to the Hamburg exhibition in 1863, and was then a second time minister to Prussia, serving from 1865 until his death. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 625.
WRIGHT, Joseph Jefferson Burr, soldier, born in Wilkesbarre, Pennsylvania, 27 April, 1800; died in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, 14 May, 1878. He was educated at Washington College, Pennsylvania, and received his medical degree at Jefferson Medical College in 1836. He entered the U. S. Army as a volunteer, became assistant surgeon on 25 October, 1833, and major and surgeon on 26 March, 1844. and served in the war with Mexico, participating in the principal battles, and being in charge of the general hospitals at Matamoras and Vera Cruz. At the close of the war he transferred the sick and wounded to New Orleans, and, after being at the U. S. Military Academy, served in Texas and on the frontier until 1861. He was then intrusted with organizing general hospitals in the west and arranging medical affairs on an efficient basis for field service. As medical director on the staff of General George B. McClellan he was present at Rich Mountain and Carrick's Ford, West Virginia, and on the transfer of that officer to the east he declined the post of medical director of the Army of the Potomac, and was appointed medical director of the Department of the Missouri on the staff of General Henry W. Halleck. with headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri. Owing to his advancing years, he did not participate actively in the war after 1862. He was brevetted brigadier-general, U. S. Army, on 13 March, 1865, and retired from service on 31 December, 1876. Dr. Wright was among the first to use and recommend the sulphate of quinine, administered in large doses during the remission in the treatment of malarial remittent fevers. This method of treatment is now admitted to be of great value. He contributed to medical literature, and published articles in the " Southern Medical Reports." Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, pp. 625-626.
WRIGHT, Luther, Woburn, Massachusetts, Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society, Vice-President, 1837-38
WRIGHT, Martha Coffin, 1806-1875, Boston, Massachusetts, feminist, abolitionist, sister to women’s rights leader Lucretia Coffin Mott. (Penney, 2004)
WRIGHT, Paulina, abolitionist, Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society (PFASS), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Yellin, 1994, p. 73)
WRIGHT, Peter, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, abolitionist, American Anti-Slavery Society, Manager, 1837-1840.
WRIGHT, Rebecca McPherson, spy, born near Winchester, Virginia, 81 January, 1888. She was a Quaker, and her father, Amos Wright, died in a Confederate prison early in the Civil War. Her family was one of the few of Union sentiment that remained in Winchester, Virginia, during that period. On 10 September, 1864, she received a note from General Philip H. Sheridan, which was conveyed to her wrapped in a small wad of tin-foil, and carried in the mouth of a Negro messenger. It read thus: "Can you inform me of the position of Early's forces, the number of divisions in his army, and the strength of all or any of them, and his probable or reported intentions? Have any more troops arrived from Richmond, or are any more coming, or reported to be coining?" Having been told of the position of the Confederate Army by a wounded Confederate officer, who visited her two evenings previously, she sent a reply to General Sheridan, describing the number of troops and their situation, and upon her information he directed the attack on Winchester. After the battle she was thanked in person by General Sheridan, who always spoke of her as his "little Quaker girl," and in 1867 sent her a gold watch as a memento. In 1871 she married William C. Bonsal, and she has held a clerkship in the United States Treasury Department at Washington since 1868. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, pp. 626.
WRIGHT, Richard S., Schenectady, New York, abolitionist, American Anti-Slavery Society, Manager, 1834-1840.
WRIGHT, Rufus, artist, born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1832. He was a pupil at the National Academy, and studied also for a time under George A. Baker. His professional life has been spent in New York, Washington, and Brooklyn. In 1860 he was made a member of the Brooklyn Academy of Design. His portraits include those of Roger B. Taney, Edwin M. Stanton, and William H. Seward. About, 1875 he turned his attention also to the painting of composition pictures, and has produced, among other works, "The Morning Bouquet " and "The Inventor and the Banker " (1870); "Thank you, Sir!" (1877); "Concerned for his Sole " (1878); and "Feeding the Birds" (1880). Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, pp. 626-627.
WRIGHT, Silas, 1795-1847, statesman, Congressman, U.S. Senator, soldier, favored restriction and abolition of slavery. Congressman from December 1827 through March 1829, U.S. Senator from 1833 to December 1844, Governor of New York State, 1844-1847. Opposed expansion of slavery into the new territories acquired from Mexico. (Filler, 1960, p. 90; Garraty, 1949, pp. 165-166, 406-407; Mitchell, 2007, p. 34; Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 627; Dictionary of American Biography, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1936, Vol. 10, Pt. 2, p. 565)
WRIGHT, Silas, born in Amherst, Massachusetts, 24 May, 1795; died in Canton, St. Lawrence County, New York, 27 August, 1847. His early life was spent on his father's farm in Weybridge, Vermont, and after graduation at Middlebury College in 1815 he studied law, was admitted to the bar, and began practice in Canton. In 1820 he was appointed surrogate of St. Lawrence County, and in 1823-'7 he was a member of the state senate, where he opposed the political advancement of De Witt Clinton, regarding it as dangerous to the Democratic Party, of which he was a firm adherent throughout his life. In 1827 he made a report to the Senate developing the financial policy with which he was identified throughout his life, and which he subsequently enforced as a political measure, while he was governor of New York. In 1827 he was made brigadier-general of the state militia. He served in Congress from 3 December, 1827, till 3 March, 1829, and there voted for the protective tariff of 1828, and for the appointment of a committee to inquire into the expediency of abolishing slavery and the slave-trade in the District of Columbia. In 1829 he was appointed comptroller of New York, which office he held until 1833, when he was chosen to the U. S. Senate in place of William L. Marcy. In that body he served on the committee on finance, supported the force bill and Henry Clay's compromise bill of 1833, introduced the first sub-treasury bill, which became a law, defended President Jackson's removal of the deposits from the U. S. Bank, and delivered a speech opposing Daniel Webster's motion to recharter that institution. He also voted against receiving a petition for the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia, and in favor of excluding from the mails all “printed matter calculated to excite the prejudices of the southern states in regard to the question of slavery.” Mr. Wright opposed the distribution among the states of the surplus Federal revenues, supported the independent treasury scheme of Van Buren, maintained in reference to the abolition of slavery the right of petition and the sovereignty of Congress over the territories in 1838, and voted for the tariff of 1842 and for the annexation of Texas. His term extended from 11 January, 1833, till 1 December, 1844, when he resigned to become governor of New York, which post he held until 1847, during which period he opposed the calling of a convention to revise the state constitution, vetoed a bill to appropriate money for canal improvements, and took decided ground against the anti-rent rioters, declaring Delaware County in a state of insurrection and calling out a military force. He was defeated as candidate for re-election in 1846. When in April, 1847, the application of the Wilmot Proviso to the territories that had been obtained from Mexico was under discussion, Mr. Wright emphatically declared that the arms and the money of the Union ought never to be used for the acquisition of territory for the purpose of planting slavery. In May, 1847, he wrote a letter expressing himself in favor of using the money of the Federal government to improve the harbors of the northern lakes. He refused several offers of cabinet offices and foreign missions. After his term as governor he retired to his farm in Canton, which he cultivated with his own hands. His mind was logical and powerful, and he was considered a clear and practical statesman. Horatio Seymour said: “Mr. Wright was a great man, an honest man; if he committed errors, they were induced by his devotion to his party. He was not selfish; to him his party was everything—himself nothing.” There is a good portrait of him by James Whitehouse in the New York City-hall. See “Eulogy on Silas Wright,” by Henry D. Gilpin (Philadelphia, 1847); his “Life and Times,” by Jabez D. Hammond (Syracuse, 1848); and his “Life,” by John S. Jenkins (Utica, 1852). Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI. pp. 627.
WRIGHT, Theodore Sedgwick, 1797-1847, African American, New York, clergyman, abolitionist leader, orator. American Missionary Association (AMA). Manager, 1834-1840, and Member of the Executive Committee, 1834-1840, of the American Anti-Slavery Society (AASS). Executive Committee of the American and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society, 1843-1847. He was born a freedman in 1797. He was aided by abolition leader and philanthropist Arthur Tappan and the New York Manumission Society (NYMS), and benefactors from the Princeton Theological Seminary. He graduated in 1829, being the first African American to graduate from there. He was active in New York City with the Underground Railroad and the New York Committee of Vigilance, which aided fugitive slaves.
(Dumond, 1961, p. 330; Mabee, 1970, pp. 29, 51, 58, 59, 61, 62, 91, 105-106, 115, 129, 130, 150, 188, 226, 276, 285; Rodriguez, 2007, pp. 47, 166, 305-306; Sorin, 1971, pp. 81-85, 90-92, 97; American National Biography, Oxford University Press, New York, 2002, Vol. 24, p. 62; Gates, Henry Louis, Jr., & Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, eds. African American National Biography. Oxford University Press, 2013, Vol. 12, p. 320)
WRIGHT, William, senator, born in Clarkstown, Rockland County, New York, in 1794; died in Newark, New Jersey, 1 November, 1800. He was a volunteer for the defence of Stonington, Connecticut, in the war of 1812. The death of his father, Dr. William Wright, compelled him to abandon the hope of a collegiate education, and he learned the trade of a saddler, and followed this business in Bridgeport, Connecticut, for seven years. After acquiring a fortune, he moved to Newark, New Jersey, in 1821, and was mayor of that town in 1840-'3. Being elected to Congress as a Henry Clay Whig, he served from 4 December, 1843, till 3 March, 1847. and in the latter year was a defeated candidate for governor of New Jersey. He was twice elected to the U. S. Senate as a Democrat, and served from 4 March, 1853, till 4 March, 1859, and from 7 December, 1863, till his death. He was chairman of the committee on manufactures and of that on the contingent expenses of the Senate, and served also on the committees on public lands and Revolutionary claims. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, pp. 627-628.
WRIGHT, William, journalist, born in Ireland in 1824: died in Paterson, New Jersey, 13 March, 1866. He came to this country about 1841 and settled near Paterson, New Jersey, where he engaged in teaching. In 1854 he founded in that town "The Press," a Republican journal. He took an active part in the canvass for the presidency in 1856, advocating the election of John C. Fremont, and chiefly through his exertions Paterson for the first time in its history gave a majority against the Democratic Party. In 1858 he was interested in a paper called the "Republican," afterward merged into the " Daily Guardian." In 1860 Mr. Wright moved to New York, where he was connected with the "Evening Post" and the "Commercial Advertiser" and contributed to other journals; but in 1864 he returned to Paterson and engaged in journalism there. Shortly before his death he established the "Monthly Review." He published "The Oil Regions of Pennsylvania, showing where Petroleum is Found, how it is obtained, and at what Cost, with Hints for Whom it may Concern" (New York. 1865). Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 628.
WRIGHT, William Bull, poet, born in Orange County, New York, 21, September, 1840: died in Atlanta, Georgia, 29 March, 1880. After graduation at Princeton in 1859 he taught in Buffalo until 1862, when he entered the 5th New York Artillery as a private. While his regiment was stationed at Fort McHenry, Maryland, he was prostrated by typhoid fever, but after his recovery he rejoined his regiment, and participated in Sheridan's campaign in the Shenandoah valley. He served until the end of the war, part of the time as judge-advocate, and was mustered out as lieutenant with the brevet of major. He was graduated at the New York College of physicians and surgeons, practised medicine in Orange County until 1871, and was professor of ancient languages in the normal school at Buffalo, New York, from that year until 1878, when he resigned, owing to impaired health. He was the author of " Highland Rambles, a Poem" (Boston, 1868), and "The Brook, and other Poems" (New York, 1873). Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 628.
WYETH, John Allan, surgeon, born in Missionary Station, Marshall County, Alabama, 20 May, 1845. He was educated at Lagrange Military Academy, Alabama. Wyeth served as a private in the 4th Alabama Cavalry during the Civil War. After his graduation at the medical department of the University of Louisville in 1869 he settled in Guntersville, Alabama, but in 1872 he moved to New York City, and was graduated at Bellevue hospital Medical College in 1873. Dr. Wyeth practised us a physician and surgeon until 1882, and since that time has devoted himself to surgery […]. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 630.
WYMAN, Robert Harris, naval officer, born in Portsmouth, N. II., 12 July, 1822; died in Washington, D. C., 2 December, 1882. Wyman entered the U.S. Navy as a midshipman, 11 March, 1837, attended the naval school at Philadelphia in 1842-'3. and became a passed midshipman, 29 June, 1843. He was acting master in the frigate "Brandy wine" in 1843-'6. During the Mexican War served in the Gulf Squadron, with which he participated in the siege and capture of Vera Cruz, and the expeditions that captured Tuspan and Tampico, with many prizes, in 1847. He served at the Naval Observatory at Washington in 1848-'50, was promoted to lieutenant, 16 July, 1850, and was again attached to the observatory in 1853-'4. When the Civil War began he commanded the steamer "Yankee" from July till October, 1861, the steamer "Pawnee" in the South Atlantic Squadron at the capture of Port Royal in 1861. He then commanded the Potomac Flotilla, by which he kept the river open and silenced the Confederate batteries on the banks. He was promoted to commander, 16 July, 1862, had the steamer "Wachusett'" on the Potomac in 1862-'3, and the " Santiago de Cuba " on the blockade in 1863-'4. He was commissioned captain, 25 July, 1866, and in October, 1869, appointed Chief Hydrographer of the U.S. Navy at Washington, where he remained eight years and acquired an enviable reputation for the excellence of his hydrographic work. He was promoted to commodore, 19 July, 1872. and to rear-admiral, 26 April, 1878, was commander-in-chief of the North Atlantic Fleet in 1879-'82. In May, 1882, he was appointed a member of the light-house board, of which he became chairman, 5 June, 1882. He was stricken with apoplexy at his desk in the treasury department, and died the same night. [Son of Thomas White Wyman, U.S, Navy officer]. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 633.
WYTHE, Joseph Henry, physician, born in Manchester, England, 19 March, 1822. He moved to this country in 1835, was licensed to preach in the Methodist Episcopal church in 1842, but decided to study medicine. He was graduated at the Pennsylvania Medical College in 1853. He began to practice in Port Carbon, Pennsylvania, where he was for three years surgeon to the Beaver Meadow Collieries. In 1862-'3 he served as surgeon of U. S. volunteers, organizing Camp Parole Hospital, Alexandria, Virginia. After the war he moved to the west, and in 1865-9, was president of Willamette University, Oregon, organizing the medical department of that institution, and, having again united with the conference, preached in the Methodist Episcopal church. He subsequently settled in San Francisco, California, and became professor of microscopy and histology in the Medical College of the Pacific. He has published many professional papers, and is the author of "The Microscopist" (Philadelphia, 1850); "Curiosities of the Microscope" (1852); “Physician's Pocket Dose-and Prescription-Book" (1852); "Agreement of Science and Revelation" (1883); " Easy Lessons in Vegetable Biology " (New York, 1883);"and "The Science of Life" (1884). Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, p. 634.
