652 



OBITUARIES, AMERICAN. (RITTER ROUCKENDORF.) 



member of various committees engaged in religious 

 and missionary work. 



Bitter, Prederio Louis, musical composer, born in 

 Strasburg, Germany, in 1834; died in Antwerp, Ger- 

 many, July 6, 1891. He was descended from a Span- 

 ish family' named Cabellero; first studied music with 

 Hauser and Hans Scliletterer, then with George 

 Kastner, in Paris, and afterward with masters in Ger- 

 many; and in 1852 became Professor of Music in the 

 Protestant Seminary of Fenestrange, Lorraine. Thence 

 he went to Bordeaux, where he conducted a series of 

 concerts. In 1856 he removed to Cincinnati, where he 

 organized the Cecilia (choral) and Philharmonic (or- 

 chestral) societies, produced works new to this country, 

 and did much to promote the cause of music in the 

 West. He became conductor of the Sacred Harmonic 

 Society and of the Arion Singing Society in New York 

 in 1861, and organized and conducted at Steinway 

 Hall the first purely musical concert held in New 

 York city, in 1867. He was appointed director of 

 music at Vassar College in 1867, and held the office 

 till his death, resigning his offices in New York city 

 and removing to Poughkeepsie in 1874. In 1878 he 

 received the degree of Mus. Doc. from the University 

 of the City of New York. His publications and com- 

 positions include : " A History of Music in the Form 

 of Lectures" (1870-'74) ;. " Music in England " (1883) ; 

 "Music in America" (1883); "Manual of Musical 

 History from the Epoch of Ancient Greece to our 

 Present Time " (1886); "Musical Dictation" (1888) ; 

 " Practical Method for the Instruction of Chorus 

 Classes"; "The Realm of Tones," edited (1883); 

 " The Woman's College Hymnal," compiled with the 

 Eev. J. Eyland Kendrick ; and sacred music com- 

 positions, the 4th Psalm, the '23d and 95th Psalms 

 tor female voices, " O Salutaris," and an " Ave 

 Maria." He also composed the music for more than 

 100 German songs ; many hymns and songs for chil- 

 dren ; and instrumental works, as symphonies, overt- 

 ures, septet for flute, horn, and string quintet, string 

 quartet, and music for the piano and organ. 



Robinson, Lucius, lawyer, born in Windham, Greene 

 County, N. Y., Nov. 4, 1810; died in Elmira, N. Y., 

 March 23, 1891 He was a lineal descendant of John 

 Robinson, the celebrated Puritan clergyman; was 

 educated at Delaware Academy, Delhi, N. Y ; and 

 was admitted to the bar in 1832. He settled in Cats- 

 kill to practice, was district attorney of Greene 

 County in 1 837-'40, when he removed to Elmira and 

 resumed practice. He was appointed a master in 

 chancery in 1843, and served continuously till the abo- 

 lition of that court in 1847. Almost immediately after 

 retiring from this court he received the Democratic 

 nomination for judge of the Superior Court, but was 

 defeated. He was employed chiefly with referee 

 cases till 1855, and then retired to a farm in Chemung 

 County for rest. In 1859 he was elected to the State 

 Assembly as an independent candidate, by a com- 

 bination of Republicans and Democrats, and he was 

 re-elected in the following year. In 1861 he was de- 

 feated as candidate for Speaker, but the same year he 

 was elected Comptroller of the State by the largest 

 majority that had ever been given a candidate for a 

 State office in New York (108,201). In the convention 

 of 1863 he was a candidate for renomination, but the 

 party managers chose another, and when this nominee 

 declined, Mr. Robinson was nominated by the State 

 committee, and was again elected by a majority 

 greater than that of the general ticket. He was a 

 candidate for a third election in 1865, but his con- 

 servative administration and his opposition to refund- 

 ing plans caused his defeat. During the civil war 

 period he had acted with, and been the candidate of, 

 the Republican party, but at its close he returned to 

 the Democratic party, and as its candidate for Comp- 

 troller was again defeated. In 1870 he was defeated 

 for Congress; in. 1875 w^s re-elected Comptroller; 

 and in "1876 he was elected Governor. Tammany 

 Hall opposed his candidacy for re-election in 1879, 

 and he was defeated. During his administration as 

 Governor he was vigilant in regard to public ex- 



penditures, freely used the veto power against special 

 legislation, and recognized and promoted the doctrine 

 of home rule for the large cities. His personal in- 

 tegrity was beyond question. 



Robinson. Moncnre, civil engineer, born in Richmond, 

 Va., in 1802 ; died in Philadelphia, Pa., Nov. 10, 1891. 

 He was educated at W illiam and Mary College, and 

 began his professional work when sixteen years old 

 in connection with a topographical survey of the State 

 from Richmond to the Ohio river. While engaged 

 in this work he made detailed reports on the coal 

 fields of West Virginia, and made an independent ex- 

 pedition into the northwestern part of the State. In 

 ^1821 he critically examined the Erie Canal, and the 

 same year was asked to superintend the extension of 

 the James River Canal to Covington. But he had be- 

 come convinced of the general superiority of railroads 

 over canals, and urged the building of a railroad in- 

 stead, but as his views were not entertained iie de- 

 clined the undertaking. In 1823 he went to Europe ; 

 studied civil engineering and important public works 

 in France, England, Wales, and Holland, and, becom- 

 ing acquainted with George Stephenson, then build- 

 ing the Liverpool and Manchester Railroad, received 

 ample confirmation of his own views on the relative 

 merits of railroads and canals. He returned home in 

 1827, and in the following year began surveys for the 

 Pottsville and Danville Railroad, designed to develop 

 the anthracite coal fields of Pennsylvania. Afterward 

 he made a survey and plans for the Alleghany Port- 

 age Railroad, which, in competition with the plans of 

 other engineers, were finally adopted. His plan in- 

 volved a tunnel one mile long and the transportation 

 of loaded boats from the canal at Hollidaysburg by 

 rail over the Alleghany mountain, and their launch- 

 ing again into the canal basin at Johnstown, to pro- 

 ceed thence to Pittsburg. In 1830 he built a thirteen- 

 mile railroad in Virginia to reach the coal fields, the 

 novelty of which consisted of an inclined plane or 

 gravity road, now a common affair. In the following 

 year lie was engaged in the construction of the Peters- 

 burg and Roanoke and the Richmond and Petersburg 

 railroads, and for the latter he built the long bridge 

 over James river at Richmond. Next he undertook 

 the construction of the Richmond and Fredericksburg 

 and the Winchester and Potomac railroads. In 1834 

 he began the principal work of his life, the building 

 of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad. In this 

 work he was not only successful as an engineer but 

 also as a financier, for on him was placed the duty of 

 securing in England a loan with which to complete 

 the road. Subsequently he invented and built the 

 Gowan and Marx engine, and for the Federal Gov- 

 ernment selected the Wallabout basin as the best 

 site in New York harbor for a great dry-dock. He 

 retired from active field work in 1847, but till the 

 time of his death he was frequently consulted on 

 large engineering works. 



Ronckendorf, William, naval officer, born in Philadel- 

 phia, Pa., Nov. 9, 1812 ; died in New York city, Nov. 

 27, 1891. He was appointed a midshipman in the 

 United States navy, Feb. 17, 1832; was promoted 

 passed midshipman, June 23, 1838 ; lieutenant, June 28, 

 1843 ; commander, June 29, 1861 ; captain, Sept. 27, 

 1866; commodore, Feb. 12, 1874; and was retired 

 Nov. 9, 1874. During his naval career he was on sea 

 service twenty-two years eight months ; on shore 

 or other duty, ten years ten months; and was 

 unemployed twenty-five years four months. In 

 1845 he was bearer of dispatches from the Navy 

 Department to the commander-in-chief of the Pacific- 

 squadron, with which he served through the Mexi- 

 can War; in 1847 was on the" Savannah" at the capt- 

 ure of Monterey, and in 1859 commanded the steamer 

 " M. W. Chapin" in the Paraguay expedition. In 

 the civil war he took part in the fight with the; 

 " Merrimac" as commander of the " San Jacinto" in 

 the attack on Sewell's Point, and in the capture of 

 Norfolk ; was employed in searching for privateers in 

 1863 ; and commanded the " Mouadnock " in the James 

 river operations, and made a cruise in search of the 



