636 



OBITUARIES, AMERICAN". 



a conspicuous part. For service of meritorious 

 character in this fight he was brevetted major. 

 In 1856 he was put in charge of the quarter- 

 master's department in Philadelphia, and in 

 that year was brevetted a lieutenant-colonel. 

 In 1860 he was sent to Utah, but returned to 

 Philadelphia in 1861. In 1863 he was pro- 

 moted to colonel, and made depot quartermas- 

 ter, and in 1865 was given the highly compli- 

 mentary position of brevet brigadier and major- 

 general United States Army, for "faithful and 

 meritorious service during the civil war." 

 General Crosman was retired from the army 

 in 1866, being over sixty -two years of age, but 

 was on duty again in Philadelphia as Chief 

 Quartermaster of the Department of the East. 

 For some years past he had been living in re- 

 tirement. 



DEFREES, JOHN D., born at Sparta, White 

 County, Tenn., November 8, 1811 ; died at 

 Berkeley Springs, West Va., October 19, 1882. 

 In 1818 Mr. Defrees was apprenticed by his 

 father to a printer in Ohio, in connection with 

 which pursuit he studied law. His first vote 

 was given to Henry Clay for President. In 

 1836 he was admitted to the bar by the Su- 

 preme Court of Indiana, having removed to 

 that State a few years previous, and in con- 

 junction with his brother established a weekly 

 newspaper. Mr. Defrees soon evinced political 

 shrewdness, and was sent to the Legislature, 

 where he distinguished himself sufficiently to 

 be several times returned. In 1844 he resigned 

 his seat in the State Senate, and bought "The 

 Indiana State Journal," a weekly paper, pub- 

 lished at Indianapolis. He located at the capi- 

 tal of the State, and made his paper a daily, 

 which he edited for a number of years. After 

 the Whig party declined, and the Republican 

 party was organized, he associated his interest 

 with the new party, and in 1856 became the 

 first Republican State Chairman, which posi- 

 tion he occupied until 1860. Mr. Defrees was 

 intimate with many of the leading politicians 

 of that period, among whom were Clay, Crit- 

 tenden, Webster, and Cor win. He was regarded 

 as a very adroit politician, and was valuable 

 to his party. President Lincoln appointed him 

 to the office of Government Printer, which 

 he filled for many years. 



DENNISON, WILLIAM, born in Cincinnati, 

 O., November 9, 1815 ; died at Columbus, O., 

 June 15, 1882. His father, a well-known and 

 prosperous business-man, took great pride in 

 his son William, and gave him a classical edu- 

 cation. In preparation for college he had the 

 benefit of the best schools in Cincinnati, and 

 in 1831 he entered as freshman the Miami 

 University at Oxford, O. In September, near 

 the close of his twentieth year, he graduated 

 with high honor, returned to Cincinnati, and 

 commenced the study of law in the office of 

 Nathaniel G. Pendleton and Stephen Fales. 

 After completing his legal studies and being 

 admitted to the bar, he began the practice of 

 his profession in his native city. In politics 



Mr. Dennison was an original Whig ; through- 

 out the existence of that party organization he 

 was a firm, consistent, and zealously active 

 member of it. In 1847 he was elected to a 

 term of two years in the Ohio Senate ; he next 

 served as President of the Columbus and Xenia 

 Railroad, until 1859, when he was chosen by 

 the Republican party Governor of the State. 

 He was inaugurated January 9, 1860, and de- 

 livered his first message to the Fifty-fourth 

 General Assembly, January V, 1861. In April 

 of the same year, at his suggestion, the Legis- 

 lature of Ohio voted $3,000,000 to "protect 

 the State from invasion and insurrection," and 

 conferred additional power on the Executive 

 to raise troops, etc. In response to the Presi- 

 dent's call for 11,000 troops, Governor Den- 

 nison offered 30,000 men, and sent agents to 

 Washington to urge their acceptance, and the 

 adoption of a vigorous policy in conducting the 

 war. He took possession of the telegraph lines 

 and railroads in the name of the State, and 

 exercised much authority not conferred by law. 

 He seized money in transitu from Washington 

 to the State Auditor, and turned it over to the 

 Quartermaster-General of the State, to clothe 

 and equip the soldiers. Governor Dennison 

 was a delegate to the Republican National 

 Convention in 1864, and was elected chairman 

 of that body. A great admirer of Mr. Lin- 

 coln, and an ardent anti-slavery advocate, he 

 was made Postmaster-General on the retire- 

 ment of Montgomery Blair from the Cabinet, 

 and he retained the post until President John- 

 son declared his " policy " ; then he resigned at 

 once, and retired into private life at Columbus. 

 He was a candidate for Senator when General 

 Garfield was chosen in 1880. 



DINSMOKE, SAMUEL P., born in Bristol, Me. ; 

 died in New York city, March 22, 1882. Mr. 

 Dinsmore graduated at Bo svdoin College in 1844. 

 After that he studied law in Bangor, and was 

 admitted to the bar in that city. Shortly after- 

 ward he became editor of the Bangor " Mer- 

 cury," and while holding that position had con- 

 siderable influence in local politics. He took 

 an active part in the campaign for Fremont, a 

 candidate for President. Early in life he was 

 a contributor to current literature, as well as 

 during the period of his editorial labors, hav- 

 ing written for " The North American Review," 

 "The Republican Court " of Washington, and 

 other publications. He came to New York to 

 practice law in 1857, then was appointed to a 

 position in the War Department by President 

 Lincoln ; subsequently he held for a short time 

 the post of financial editor of the " Evening 

 Post." Mr. Dinsmore was a journalist over 

 thirty-five years. 



GAEDINEE, SAMUEL BUELL, died January 5, 

 1882, at East Hampton, Long Island, in the 

 sixty-seventh year of his age. He was a great- 

 grandson of the Rev. Samuel Buell, the first 

 clergyman settled on Long Island, and was a 

 lineal descendant of Lion Gardiner, the founder 

 of the famous family, which, for two hundred 



