OBITUARIES, AMERICAN. (LYMAN MCHENEY.) 



653 



United States minister at the Court of St. James, 

 he reluctantly abandoned his preparatory studies, and 

 accompanied the family to London. Soon afterward 

 he entered a private school in Versailles to learn the 

 French language. In October, 1889, a carbuncle de- 

 veloped on' his" shoulder. This was cut out, and an 

 abscess formed which baffled the skill of the best 

 French and English physicians. He was a robust 

 and studious boy, well advanced in Greek, Latin, 

 mathematics, English literature, and French, and a 

 favorite with all who knew him. 



Lyman, Chester Smith, educator, born in Manches- 

 ter, Conn., Jan. 13, 1814 ; died in New Haven, Conn., 

 Jan. 29, 1890. He was graduated at Yale College in 

 1837, taught in Ellington, Conn., two years, then en- 

 tered Union Theological Seminary in New York city, 

 and completed his course in Yale Divinity School 

 in 1842. On Feb. 15, 1843, he was ordained p_astor 

 of the First Congregational Church in New Britain, 

 Conn , but failing health soon compelled him to seek 

 a change of climate, and in October, 1845. he sailed 

 for the Sandwich Islands. During his year's sojourn 

 there he taught four months in the Royal School irt 

 Honolulu, and from personal observations of the vol- 

 cano of Kilauea established some principles of vol- 

 canic action previously unknown. In June, 1847, he 

 sailed for California, where he spent more than two 

 years in surveying the newly discovered gold regions, 

 and in April, 1850, he returned to New Haven. He 

 was appointed Professor of Industrial Mechanics and 

 Physics in Yale Scientific School in July, 1859, and 

 was thus active in organizing that department of the 

 university. In 1871 the branch of mechanics was 

 taken from his professorship, the title of which was 

 changed to Astronomy and Physics* He retained this 

 chair till 1884, when he was relieved of the charge 

 of physics. In October, 1886, a stroke of paralysis 

 obliged him to relinquish his favorite branch of as- 

 tronomy ; and in 1 889 he was made emeritus Professor 

 of Astronomy. 



Lyman, Joseph, lawyer, born in Lyons, Mich., Sept. 

 13, 1840 ; died in Council Bluffs, Iowa, July 9, 1890. 

 He had just entered college when the civil war broke 

 out. Abandoning his studies, he enlisted as a private 

 in the 4th Iowa Cavalry. From Oct. 19, 1862, till 

 Feb. 21, 1865, he was adjutant of the 29th Iowa In- 

 fantry ; in 1864 was aide-de-camp and inspector-gen- 

 eral on the staff of Brig. -Gen. Samuel A. Rice ; from 

 Feb. 21, 1865, till Aug. 10 was major of his regiment; 

 and from Feb. 1, 18G5, till mustered out of^the service 

 he was aide-de-camp and acting assistant adjutant-gen- 

 eral on the staff of Maj.-Gen. Frederick Steele. After 

 the war he studied law and was admitted to the bar, 

 and had since practiced at Council Bluffs. He was 

 deputy collector of internal revenue for the 5th Iowa 

 District from Jan. 1, 1867. till March 1, 1870 ; was 

 circuit judge of the 13th Iowa Judicial District from 

 Jan. 1 till Dec. 31, 1884 ; and was elected to Congress 

 from the 9th Iowa District as a Republican in 1886 

 and 1S88. He served on the committees on war claims, 

 expenditures in the State Department, admission to the 

 floor (select), and on elections. 



Lynne, Thomas A., actor, born in Philadelphia, Pa., 

 in 1806 ; died in Salt Lake City, Utah, March 31, 1890. 

 He was believed to be oldest American actor, and 

 made his first appearance on the stage at the Walnut 

 Street Theatre, Philadelphia, in the part of William 

 Tell, about 1828. After achieving success in his native 

 city, he spent several years in New Orleans and other 

 Southern cities ; was ambuscaded with a party of 

 actors by the Indians in Florida during the Seminole 

 War, and narrowly escaped death ; came to New York 

 and played at the Park Theatre under Simpson's man- 

 agement, and at the old Bowery Theatre with Forrest, 

 Booth, and Insersoll, when Thomas Hamblin was 

 manager; and took the Pioneer Theatrical Company 

 to Detroit, Chicago, and Milwaukee from Buffalo. In 

 1862 he went to Salt Lake City to manage Brigham 

 Young's newly established theatre, and for a time was 

 an acknowledged Mormon ; but afterward he became 

 an aggressive opponent of the Church, and lived to see 



his prediction fulfilled that the Gentiles would carry a 

 popular election. 



McAlpine, William Jarvis, civil engineer, born in New 

 York City, in 1812 ; died in New Brighton, Staten 

 Island, Feb. 16, 1890. He began -his professional 

 career on the Erie Canal in 18'J7, and was connected 

 with that work till 1846, being for many years one of 

 the chief engineers. In June, 1846, he was appointed 

 chief engineer of the construction of the dry dock.- in 

 Brooklyn Navy Yard. In 1857 he was elected State 

 Engineer of New York, in 1859 was appointed a State 

 railroad commissioner, in 1868 was elected President 

 of the American Society of Civil Engineers, and in 

 1870 he competed successfully for the prize offered by 

 the Austrian Government for the best plans for im- 

 proving the cataracts of the Danube. He built the 

 original water works at Albany and Chicago, was act- 

 ing president and chief engineer of the Erie Railway 

 for two years, was engineer of several large Western 

 railroads, and was one of the consulting engineers in 

 the construction of the new Capitol at Albany. He 

 received the first American honorary membership in 

 the London Society of Civil Engineers. 



McCrary, George Washington, lawyer, born near E vans- 

 ville, Ind., Aug. 29, 1835; died in St. Joseph, Mo., 

 June 23, 1890. When he was a year old the family 

 removed to the part of Wisconsin Territory now in the 

 State of'Iowa. He received a public-school education, 

 studied law, and' was admitted to the bar in 1856. In 

 the following year he was elected to the State Legis- 

 lature ; in 1861 was elected to the State Senate, where 

 he served four years and was chairman of the com- 

 mittees on military affairs and the judiciary ; and in 

 1863 he took Jud<re Miller's place in the law firm of 

 Rankin and Miller, in Keokuk. In 1868 he was 

 elected to Congress from the 1st Iowa district as a 

 Republican, and in 1870, 1872, and 1874 was re-elected. 

 While a member of Congress he served on the com- 

 mittees on naval affairs, revision of laws, elections, 

 railways and canals, and the judiciary ; was author of 

 the law under which the judiciary of the United States 

 was reorganized; proposed the joint committee on 

 counting the electoral vote ; and was active in prepar- 

 ing and passing the Electoral bill. On the inaugura- 

 tion of President Hayes, Mr. McCrary was appointed 

 Secretary of War, and he held the office till 1879, when 

 he was appointed J udge of the 8th Judicial District. In 

 1884 he resigned this office and removed to Kansas 

 City, Mo., to assume the duties of general consulting 

 attorney of the Atchison, Toneka and Santa F4 Rail- 

 road Company. He published "American Law oi 

 Elections" (Chicago, 1875). 



McCreery, Thomas Clay, lawyer, born in Daviess 

 County, Ky., in 1817 ; died in Owensborpugh, Ky., 

 July 10, 1890. He was educated and admitted to the 

 bar in his native county, and besides practicing his 

 profession was for many years engaged in farming. 

 In 1852 he was a Democratic presidential elector, and 

 in 1868 was elected United States Senator to succeed 

 James Guthric, resigned. He served till 1.871, and 

 after an interval of two years was re-elected to suc- 

 ceed Willis B. Machen for the term ending March 3, 

 1879. During his first term he attracted wide atten- 

 tion by introducing and supporting a resolution to^ 

 appoint a committee to inquire into the ownership of 

 Arlington Heights, and to consider the propriety of 

 disinterring the remains of national soldiers buried 

 there and of restoring the property to the family of 

 Gen. Robeit E. Lee. The resolution was forced to a 

 vote by the Republicans, and defeated. In his second 

 term he served on the committees of foreign rela- 

 tions, Indian affairs, and civil service and retrench- 

 ment. He had twice been an unsuccessful candidate 

 for Congress and for Governor of Kentucky. 



McHenry, Henry D., lawyer, born in Hartford. Ky., 

 Feb. 27, 1826 ; died there, Dec. 17, 1890. He was 

 graduated at Transylvania Law School in 1845 ; was 

 a member of the State House of Representatives in 

 1851-' 53, of the State Senate in 1861-' 65, and again 

 of the House of Representatives in 1865-'67 ; was 

 elected to Congress from the 2d Kentucky District as 



