OBITUARIES, AMERICAN. 



601 



ners, all under English colors, and with the 

 "Oneida" played a gallant part in the naval 

 battle in Mobile Bay on Aug. 5, 1864, at the 

 cost of his left arm. As rear-admiral he com- 

 manded the Nortli Atlantic station from June, 

 1874, till February, 187(5, and during that pe- 

 riod co-operated with Gens. Emory and Sheri- 

 dan at New Orleans, and protected American 

 interests on the Isthmus when they were men- 

 aced by the revolution in Panama. He was 

 governor of the naval asylum and station at 

 Philadelphia, Pa., from March 1, 1876, till 

 Oct. 26, 1879, when he was retired. 



Newberry, John Stonghton, an American law- 

 yer, born in Waterville, Oneida County, N. Y., 

 Nov. 18, 1826; died in Detroit, Mich., Jan. 2, 

 1887. He was a descendant of Thomas New- 

 berry, who, early in the seventeenth century, 

 emigrated from England and settled at Dor- 

 chester, Mass. In his early boyhood he re- 

 moved with his parents to Detroit, and thence 

 to Romeo, Mich., where he prepared for col- 

 lege and was graduated at Michigan University 

 in 1845, being valedictorian. For two years 

 afterward he followed the profession of civil 

 engineer, assisting in the laying out and con- 

 struction of the Michigan Central Railroad 

 west of Kalamazoo. He subsequently studied 

 law, and entered upon the practice of this 

 profession in 1853 in Detroit. That city being 

 one of the most important of the ports of the 

 Great Lakes, he soon found himself engaged in 

 a large practice in admiralty and maritime law 

 in the United States courts, and eventually he 

 made a specialty of admiralty practice. He 

 compiled " Reports of Admiralty Cases in the 

 Several District Courts of the United States" 

 (1859), which was the first compilation of ad- 

 miralty cnses pertaining to the commerce of 

 the inland lakes. In 1864 Mr. Newberry, in 

 company with James McMillan, of Detroit, who 

 was subsequently associated with him in all 

 business enterprises, organized the Michigan 

 Car Company, which began the manufacture 

 of freight-oars. They gradually enlarged their 

 business, until they became the most extensive 

 car-builders in the country, controlling also 

 large car-manufactories in St. Louis, M<>., and 

 London, Ont. They also embarked in various 

 other manufacturing, mining:, railroad, and 

 steamboat enterprises, Mr. Newberry holding 

 the office of president, vice-president, or direct- 

 or in more than a score of incorporated com- 

 panies, which gave employment to 5,000 men, 

 and materially aided in the development of 

 various portions of the State of Michigan. 

 Among the more important of these were the 

 Detroit, Mackinaw, and Marquette Railroad 

 Company (now the Duluth, South Shore, and 

 Atlantic Railroad Company), the Detroit, Bay 

 City, and Alpena Railroad Company, the De- 

 troit and Cleveland Steam Navigation Com- 

 pany, and the Detroit Transportation Com- 

 pany. His attention to these vast business 

 interests led Mr. Newberry gradually out of 

 the practice of law, and resulted in his accu- 



mulating a vast fortune, a portion of which he 

 has given for various charitable and philan- 

 thropic purposes. One of the last public acts 

 of his life was to join with his partner Mr. 

 McMillan in each giving $100,000 for the 

 building of a large hospital in Detroit. His 

 bequests to charitable institutions, missionary 

 societies, and fur religious and philanthropic 

 purposes amount to about $600,000 more. Jn 

 politics he was a Republican. He was ap- 

 pointed by President Lincoln Provost-Marshal 

 for Michigan in 1862, and served for two years, 

 during which time he had charge of two drafts 

 and the forwarding of conscripts and enlisted 

 soldiers to the field. In 1878 he received the 

 Republican nomination for Congress in the 

 First District of Michigan, and was elected by 

 a plurality of 1,300 over Gen. A. S. Williams, 

 Democrat, who had already served two terms. 

 After serving his term of two years in Con- 

 gress he refused a renomination in order to 

 give his attention to his business enterprises. 

 He was an active member of the Presbyterian 

 Church, and during all his life contributed 

 largely toward the maintenance of church, 

 missionary, and charitable enterprises. 



Nicholson, James William Angnstns, an Ameri- 

 can naval officer, born in Dedham, Mass., 

 March 10, 1821 ; died in New York city, Oct. 

 28, 1887. He entered the United States Navy 

 from New York as midshipman, Feb. 10, 1838, 

 was promoted to passed-midshipman in 1844, 

 lieutenant in 1852, commander in 1862, cap- 

 tain in 1866, commodore in 1873, and rear-ad- 

 miral in 1881, and retired in 1883. He served 

 on the " Vandalia " in the Japanese expedition 

 of Com. Perry in 1853-'55, was engaged in 

 suppressing the slave-trade on the coast of Af- 

 rica in 1857-'60, volunteered to accompany 

 the "Pocahontas" for the relief of Fort Sum- 

 ter, and arrived off* Charleston within a few 

 moments of the surrender, April 13, 1861. He 

 took part in the actions with the Confederate 

 fleet, November 5, 6. and the battle of Port 

 Royal, Nov. 7, 1861, the capture of Jackson- 

 ville, Fernandina, and St. Augustine, Fla., the 

 engagement with Confederate infantry in St. 

 John's river, and that with the flotilla in Sa- 

 vannah river in February, 1862, and rendered 

 highly meritorious service in the battle of Mo- 

 bile Bay and the capture of the Confederate 

 ram "Tennessee," Aug. 5. 1864. He was 

 commandant of the Brooklyn Navy-yard in 

 1876-'80. In October, 1881,'he was placed in 

 command of the European station, and in 

 June, 1882, arrived at Alexandria, Egypt. Re- 

 ceiving an official notification from Admiral 

 Seymour, commanding the British naval forces, 

 on July 10, that hostilities might occur within 

 twenty- four hours, he gathered the archives of 

 the United States Consulate in that city, re- 

 ceived all American citizens who desired pro- 

 tection, and moved his squadron to the lower 

 harbor, pending the expected attack upon the 

 city. After the cessation of the bombardment 

 he re-established the consulate, and, landing 



