OBITUARIES, AMERICAN. 



633 



moved to Illinois in 1821, when he was admit- 

 ted to the bar. He became Assistant Secretary 

 of State, and was State Attorney from 1822 to 

 1827, when he was appointed United States 

 Attorney for Illinois. In 1829 he published 

 the first volume of Supreme Court reports in 

 that State. He served in the Black Hawk war 

 as a lieutenant-colonel of volunteers. In 1835 

 he was elected a Circuit Judge, and in 1841 to 

 the Supreme Court. From 1843 to 1849 he 

 was a Senator of the United States. He was 

 a Regent of the Smithsonian Institution and 

 served as chairman of the Senate Committee 

 on Public Lands, in which capacity he made 

 a report in favor of a transcontinental rail- 

 road to the Pacific. In 1850 he was Speaker 

 of the Illinois House of Representatives, and 

 was one of the originators of the Illinois Cen- 

 tral Railroad. He again became a Circuit 

 Judge in 1855, and was made chief of the 

 Court. In 1857 he was elected a Justice of 

 the Supreme Court, in which position he con- 

 tinued to the time of his death, being part of 

 this time Chief Justice. His judicial labors 

 extended through thirty-one years. 



BRISBANE, Dr. WILLIAM H., died at Arena, 

 Wis., April 5th, aged 75 years. He was born 

 in South Carolina, and in 1835 came north 

 with thirty of his slaves, manumitted them, 

 and saw them well settled in life. After locat- 

 ing at Cincinnati, he became the associate of 

 prominent abolitionists, arid was a constant 

 worker in their cause. In 1855 he removed to 

 Wisconsin; in 1857 was Chief Clerk of the 

 Senate ; afterward became pastor of the Bap- 

 tist Church in Madison, Wis. ; and early in the 

 war was Tax Commissioner of South Carolina. 

 In June, 1874, he took an active part in the 

 reunion of the old Abolition Guards in Chicago. 



BROOKS, ELIJAH P., died in Elmira, N. Y., 

 May 19th. He was born in Edrniston, Otsego 

 County, N. Y., in 1819, and studied law with 

 the Hon. James Dunn, whose partner he be- 

 came. He served four years as County Judge 

 and Surrogate of Chemung County, in 1865 

 was appointed a Canal Appraiser, and in 1867 

 became a member of the Constitutional Con- 

 vention. 



BROWN, HENRY ARMITT, died in Philadel- 

 phia, Pa., August 21st. He was born in 1846, 

 graduated at Yale College, studied law, and 

 was admitted to the bar in Philadelphia, where 

 he practiced for a few years. He left the law 

 finally to enter politics, and during the contest 

 of Colonel McClure for State Senator he made 

 many speeches in his behalf. He was elected 

 a member of the Executive Committee of the 

 Municipal Reform Association, and with that 

 Association endeavored to check extravagance 

 in office. During the Presidential campaign 

 of 1876 Mr. Brown went from State to State, 

 making many eloquent addresses. He made 

 several trips to Europe, wrote a series of let- 

 ters which attracted considerable attention, 

 and was one of the two Pennsylvanians who 

 were selected as members of the Cobden Club 



of London. . As an orator he had few supe- 

 riors. 



BROWN, J. G. L., died at Philadelphia, Pa., 

 May 12th, aged 53 years. For many years he 

 was business manager of the " Press " news- 

 paper under Colonel Forney. 



BUCHANAN, ROBERT C., Brevet Major-General 

 United States Army, died in Washington, D. C., 

 November 29th. He was born in Maryland, 

 graduated at West Point in 1830, and served 

 us lieutenant in the Black Hawk and Seminole 

 wars. He was promoted to the rank of cap- 

 tain in 1838, took part in the principal battles 

 of the Mexican war in May, 1846, was made 

 brevet major for his services at Palo Alto and 

 Resaca de la Palma ; and in September, 1847, 

 was made brevet lieutenent-colonel for meri- 

 torious conduct in the battle of Molino del Rey. 

 He entered the civil war as lieutenant-colonel 

 of the Fourth Infantry, and was stationed in 

 the defenses of Washington from November, 



1861, to March, 1862. He had command of his 

 regiment in the Army of the Potomac during 

 the peninsular campaign, and was afterward 

 in command of a brigade of infantry. He was 

 engaged in the siege of Yorktown, and in the 

 battles of Gaines's Mills, Glendale, and Malvern 

 Hill, and was made brevet colonel in June, 



1862. He took part in the battles of Manassas 

 and Antietam, and was engaged in the Mary- 

 land and Rappahannock campaigns. In No- 

 vember, 1862, he was appointed brigadier- 

 general of volunteers, and placed in command 

 of Fort Delaware. In February, 1864, he was 

 promoted to the rank of colonel of the First 

 Infantry, which regiment he commanded at 

 New Orleans from December, 1864, to August, 

 1865. In March, 1865,' he was made brevet 

 brigadier-general of the United States Army 

 for gallant conduct at Malvern Hill, and brevet 

 major-general for services at Manassas and 

 Fredericksburg ; and in the same year he was 

 placed on the retired list. 



BUCKMINSTER, WILLIAM J., died at Maiden, 

 Mass., March 2d. He was born in Maine in 

 1813, and was a son of the founder of the 

 "Massachusetts Ploughman," and for twenty- 

 one years one of its editors and publishers. 

 He graduated at Harvard College in 1835. 



BURLEIGH, CHARLES 0., died at Florence, 

 Mass., June 14th. He was born at Plainfield, 

 Conn., November 10, 1810, was admitted to 

 the bar of Wind ham County, Conn., but soon 

 became interested in the antislavery move- 

 ment. With his brother he edited an aboli- 

 tion newspaper called " The Unionist," which 

 was published by Miss Crandall, who was in- 

 dicted for keeping a colored school in Connecti- 

 cut. In 1838 he was one of the speakers in 

 Pennsylvania Hall in Philadelphia when that 

 building was burned by the mob. He aided 

 in protecting Mr. Garrison from the mob in 

 Boston. He was an early advocate of women's 

 rights and of religious liberalism, and of late 

 years spoke frequently in behalf of temperance. 

 For fifteen years he was "resident speaker" 



