610 



OBITUARIES, AMERICAN. 



conceived the idea of the railway to its top. 

 He had great difficulty in getting a charter for 

 it, owing to the remarkable character of the 

 scheme, and, as he told the writer, was at that 

 time commonly known as u Crazy Marsh." But 

 he carried the enterprise through, and com- 

 pleted the road in 1869. He left a large prop- 

 erty, chiefly the proceeds of his railway. 



Marshall, Orsamus II., an American lawyer, 

 born in Franklin, Conn, Feb. 1, 1813; died in 

 Buffalo, N. Y., July 9, 1884. His father was a 

 physician. The son was graduated at Union 

 College in 1831. He then attended law lect- 

 ures at Yale College, and was admitted to 

 practice in 1834. For forty years he was a 

 well-known member of the Buffalo bar, and 

 for half of that period stood as high in the 

 ranks as any member of the legal profession 

 in western New York. As an historical writer 

 and student, Mr. Marshall contributed many 

 valuable papers to the periodicals and to the 

 Buffalo Historical Society, of which, with Pres- 

 ident Fillmore, he was one of the founders. 

 Many of his publications were the result of 

 original researches among the archives of 

 France, which have given him a distinctly rec- 

 ognized place in that department of literature. 

 His time and energies were freely given to the 

 cause of intellectual culture, charity, and en- 

 terprises affecting the higher interests of the 

 people among whom he lived. He spent the 

 last winter of his life at Nassau, New Provi- 

 dence, and in Florida. 



Morphy, Panl, an American chess-player, born 

 in New Orleans, June 22, 1837 ; died there, July 

 10, 1884. He was a Creole of Spanish descent, 

 and his father was Judge of the Supreme Court 

 of Louisiana. He was taught chess by his 

 father, and at the age of twelve years was one 

 of the best amateur players in New Orleans. 

 His education was obtained at a South Caro- 

 lina college, and his profession was nominally 

 the law ; but he gave himself up to chess, and 

 became the most distinguished player in the 

 world. In 1849 he defeated Herr Lowenthal, 

 the celebrated Hungarian player, two games 

 out of three. He was present at the first 

 American Chess Congress, held in New York, 

 in October, 1857, and went home the acknowl- 

 edged champion chess-player of America. In 

 1858 he visited Europe, and there met and van- 

 quished all opponents. He challenged Howard 

 Staunton in England, who at the time was re- 

 garded as king of chess. The challenge was 

 at first accepted, but Staunton finally declined 

 to play against Morphy. In Paris he beat 

 Horrwitz in five games out of seven, and during 

 his stay in Europe he played some wonderful 

 blindfold games. He also beat other distin- 

 guished chess-players, and his superiority was 

 generally conceded. Subsequently he chal- 

 lenged the world, and agreed to give any play- 

 er a pawn-move; but the challenge was never 

 accepted. Twenty years ago, Morphy sudden- 

 ly abandoned chess-playing, having conceived 

 aa Absolute abhorrence for it. lie steadily re- 



fused to converse on the subject, shunned the 

 society of players, and occupied himself in 

 legal pursuits. 



Packard, ilphens S., an American scholar, born 

 in Chelmsford, Mass., in 1798 ; died on Squirrel 

 Island, Me., July 13, 1884. He was graduated 

 at Bowdoin College in 1816, became a tutor 

 there in 1819, was appointed Professor of Latin 

 and Greek in 1824, and was made vice-presi- 

 dent not long after. His whole life was spent 

 in the service of his alma mater. From 1864 

 he was Professor of Natural and Revealed Re- 

 ligion, and on the retirement of President 

 Chamberlain he became acting president, the 

 duties of which office he was discharging at 

 the time of his death. His labors were con- 

 tinuous for more than sixty years. 



Packard, Lewis R., an American educator, born 

 in Philadelphia, Pa., in 1836 ; died in New 

 Haven, Conn., Oct. 26, 1884. He was gradu- 

 ated at Yale College in 1856, and went to Ger- 

 many, where he pursued an extended course of 

 study, and received the degree of Ph. D. On 

 his return home he studied theology, and in 

 1863 was appointed assistant Greek professor 

 in Yale College. Three years later he was 

 made full professor. His health was never 

 vigorous, and, though undoubtedly a good schol- 

 ar, he did not gain the reputation to which his 

 abilities and learning entitled him. In 1883 he 

 was at Athens, Greece, in charge of the Archae- 

 ological School established there by American 

 colleges. 



Palmer, William Pitt, an American author, 

 born in Stockbridge, Mass., in 1805 ; died in 

 Brooklyn, N. Y., May 2, 1884. He was gradu- 

 ated at Williams College, and took up his resi- 

 dence in New York city. He studied medicine 

 for a time, did some teaching, and contributed 

 frequently to journals and magazines. He 

 wrote also a considerable number of poems. 

 Mr. Palmer entered the service of the Manhat- 

 tan Insurance Company, and in a few years 

 became its president. The company was ruined 

 by the Chicago and Boston fires, and Mr. 

 Palmer then became Vice-President of the Ir- 

 ving Insurance Company. Several of his poems 

 have gained wide reputation, such as the " Ode 

 to Light," and " Orpheus and Eurydice." 



Plielps, ilmira Hart Lincoln, an American edu- 

 cator, born in Berlin, Conn., July 13, 1793 ; 

 died in Baltimore, Md., July 15, 1884. She 

 began teaching school at the age of nineteen, 

 and for more than forty years was engaged in 

 this occupation. In 1817 she married Simeon 

 Lincoln, of Hartford, editor of the "Connecti- 

 cut Mirror." He died in 1823, and eight years 

 afterward Mrs. Lincoln married John Phelp?, 

 an eminent lawyer of Vermont. In 1824 she 

 became associated with her sister, Mrs. Emma 

 Willard, in the Female Seminary at Troy, N. Y. 

 Here she remained until 1831, after which 

 date she occupied herself chiefly in preparing 

 educational works. These were very success- 

 ful and brought her name into prominence as 

 an educator. In 1841, at the invitation of the 



