658 



OBITUARIES, UNITED STATES. 



Cal., aged 74 years. His parents belonged to 

 the French robilitj, and formerly resided in 

 Hayti, wher3 they possessed large landed es- 

 tates, the value of which was fearfully depre- 

 ciated in 1791, causing the family to emigrate 

 to this country and settle in New York city, 

 where the subject of this notice was born. In 

 1807 he entered West Point, and graduated 

 with merit in 1812, being at the time of his 

 death, perhaps, the oldest living graduate of 

 that institution. On graduating, De Kussy was 

 promoted a second lieutenant of engineers, and 

 on the 6th of July following was advanced to a 

 first lieutenancy. In September, 1814, he was 

 brevetted a captain " for gallant conduct at the 

 battle of Plattsburg, New York." More than 

 this, Gen. Macomb, then commanding the army 

 operating on the Canada frontier, promoted 

 him to be his chief engineer, and he partici- 

 pated in that capacity at the age of about 

 twenty-two during the campaign on Lake 

 Champlain. February 9, 1815, he received His 

 full promotion of captain. It was nine years 

 after before he received another advancement, 

 and that was only by brevet, being that of 

 major for ten years' faithful service in the same 

 grade. He was made a full major December 

 22, 1830. His brevet as lieutenant- colonel was 

 won, as his majority had been, by ten years' 

 faithful service. His term of service as superin- 

 tendent of the Military Academy began in 1833 

 and continued for five years. In December, 

 1838, he was made a lieutenant-colonel of en- 

 gineers, and from that time until the break- 

 ing out of the late war he was a member of 

 the Board of Engineers in charge of the con- 

 struction of our coast defences. He was in 

 charge for a long time of the defences of the 

 harbor of New York city, where he became 

 widely known, and was held in high estimation. 

 When the war broke out he was in charge of 

 Fortress Monroe, and the construction of the 

 works on the Rip Eaps in Hampton Roads. 

 While still engaged In this work he was pro- 

 moted colonel March 3, 1860, and ordered to 

 command of the defences of the Pacific coast, 

 which position he held to the time of his death. 

 Ool. De Russy's two sons, Gustavns and John, 

 were graduates of West Point. 



Nov. 25. BARNS, Rev. WILLIAM, a Methodist 

 clergyman, died in Philadelphia, from an apo- 

 plectic attack. He was born near Cookstown, 

 Tyrone County, Ireland, about 1795. His fa- 

 ther was a Presbyterian, his mother a Meth- 

 odist, though nominally connected with the 

 Anglican Church. He had the advantages of 

 excellent schools in his native county, but while 

 still in bis minority emigrated with some of his 

 relatives to the United .States and settled in 

 Baltimore, where he followed for a time the 

 profession of an ornamental painter, in which 

 he was very skilful. At the age of 19 he united 

 with the Light Street M. E. QJiurch in Balti- 

 more. Having become satisfied that it was his 

 duty to preach, he placed himself under the 

 direction of Rev. George Roszel, .then presiding 



elder of the Baltimore District, and in 1817 

 was licensed to preach. The first eight years 

 of his ministry were spent hi the bounds of the 

 Baltimore Conference; at its division he was 

 placed in the Pittsburg Conference, from whence 

 he was soon transferred to the Philadelphia 

 Conference, in the bounds of which he passed 

 the remainder of his ministry, closing it in 

 charge of the M. E. Church at Bristol, Pa. 

 During his long connection with this Conference 

 he filled with great success several of the best 

 appointments in its limits, fourteen years being 

 passed in the service of some of the largest 

 churches La Philadelphia, two years at Wilming- 

 ton, Delaware, two at Dover, Delaware, two at 

 Harrisburg, and two at Easton, Pennsylvania. 

 That he was called twice for periods of two 

 years to several of his Philadelphia charges, 

 shows the estimation in which the people held 

 him. His ministry was very successful, large 

 accessions being made to the churches during 

 his pastorate. He had made respectable attain- 

 ments in the classics, and was very thoroughly 

 versed in theological science. He bore a high 

 reputation as a preacher, both for the eloquence 

 of his delivery and the attractiveness of his 

 style and language. He was attacked with 

 vertigo in the streets of Philadelphia, while 

 visiting that city on business ; the attack soon 

 passed into an apoplectic form, and he died the 

 day following. He left a volume of sermons 

 ready for the press,, as well as several other 

 manuscripts on controversial and other topics, 

 some of them in verse. 



Nov. 26. BINGHAM, Rev. ABEL, for thirty- 

 three-years a Baptist missionary among the 

 Seneca and Ojibwa Indians, died at Grand 

 Rapids, Michigan. He was born at Enfield, 

 N. H., May 9, 1786 ; ordained as a Baptist min- 

 ister at Wheatland, New York, September 3, 

 1838, having been appointed in July previous, 

 as missionary to the Ojibwas. He resigned his 

 connection with the mission in October 1855, 

 and removed to Michigan. He had had a son 

 and daughter also engaged in the missionary 

 work. 



Nov. 28. HARRINGTON, Hon. SAMUEL MAX- 

 WELL, LL. D., Chancellor of the State of Del- 

 aware, died in Philadelphia, in the 63d year of 

 his age. He was a native of Dover, Delaware ; 

 graduated at Washington College, Maryland, in 

 1823, with the first honors of his class, and im- 

 mediately entered upon the studjr of the law. 

 In 1830 he was appointed Secretary of State, 

 to succeed Hon. John M. Clayton. At this 

 time he displayed such legal ability that at tho 

 early age of twenty-eight he was appointed 

 Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of his native 

 State, and held tho position until the change 

 in the State Constitution which abolished his 

 court and merged it into the Superior Court. 

 Of such value to the State were his legal abil- 

 ities deemed that he was induced to accept the 

 position of associate justice on the latter bench. 

 He continued as such for many years, and in 

 1855 was again appointed chief justice, and 



