OBITUARIES, AMERICAN. (BABNUM BEDELL.) 



588 



18<55-'66 was a State Senator, and presiding officer in 

 .11 i>7(>-'71 was u member of the 

 il; and in 1*72 u delegate to tho 

 '.ran National Convention. At UK- time of his 

 death he was Attorney-Genera) of New Hampshire. 

 Barnum, Henry A., military officer, l>rn in Jamcs- 

 V ST., Scut L'4, 1S33; died in New York city, 

 Jan. -2V, 181*2. lie removed to Syracuse in boyhood, 

 la common-school education, taught, studiea 

 law. an. I \\asadmittcd to the bar, but never practiced. 

 At tin- beginning of the civil war he enlisted as a 

 private in the. liith New York Volunteers, was choMa 

 captain of Company I, and went to tin- front with his 

 regiment. which was the first body of troops under tire 

 in the righting preliminary to the first battle of Bull 

 Kim. IK 1 wa> promoted major Oct. 25, 1861, served 

 on the stall' of Gen. James 'S. Wadsworth. and re- 

 'oincd his regiment in time to take part in McClel- 

 an's IVn'msula campaign. He was engaged in the 



sit -ire of Yorktown, and in the battles of Hanover 

 Courthouse, Gaines's Mills, Savage Station, White 

 I >ak Swamp, and Malvern Hill, and in the latter bat- 

 tle, July 1, IM;-_'. he was shot through the body with 

 a musket ball, from the etlects of which lie never 

 recovered. Contrary to many reports of this inci- 

 dent, he was not abandoned on the field as dead, but 

 was conveyed by a special detail of his own men to 

 the Malvern House and put under care of surgeons. 

 After the National forces had withdrawn to Harri- 

 son's Landing, and while a sufferer at the Malvern 

 HOU.-.C. lie, with many others of the wounded under 

 treatment there, was captured by the Confederates 

 and taken to Libby Prison, where lie was confined 

 till July 18 following, when he was exchanged. He 

 was then granted leave till December, and while at 

 home recruited the 149th New York Volunteers, and 

 on Sept. 18, 1862, this regiment was mustered into the 

 service with him as its colonel. lie accompanied his 

 new command to Fairfax Station, Va,, but a few 

 months afterward he was forced by his wounds into 

 teni|xirary retirement. He was enabled to rejoin his 

 regiment at Edward's Ferry, Md., and to lead it on 

 the bloody field of Gettysburg, being obliged by his 

 wounds to ride his horse woman fashion. He ren- 

 dered distinguished service during the Gettysburg 

 fights, was obliged to retire again for surgical treat- 

 ment in the following month, and in November re- 

 turned command of his regiment. While leading a 

 charge in the battle on Lookout mountain, where his 

 n Diluent captured 11 Confederate battle flags, he was 

 shot through the sword arm. lie was again wounded 

 by a fragment of shell in his right, side at Peach- 

 tree (nek, (Ja., July '20, 1864. In consideration of 

 his distinguished bravery, Gen. Sherman placed his 

 brigade in the extreme advance on the approach to 

 Savannah, and Col. Barnum led it into the captured 

 city, lie was brevetted brigadier-general of United 

 States Volunteers while at Savannah, prompted to the 

 full rank May 81, 1865, and brevetted major-general 

 to date from March 18, 1865. He declined a colonel's 

 commission in the regular army, and resigned his 

 volunteer ''ommission Jan. 9, 1866. lie then served 

 three years as an inspector of New York State prisons, 

 was deputy tax commissioner of New York in 1869- 

 "TJ, was elected a member of the Legislature 1886, 

 served as harbor master of the port of New York for 

 inie term of five years, and was appointed for a seeond 

 term in 1889. Gen. Barnum received one of the medals 

 of honor awarded by the War Department, was voted 

 u special gold medal \>\ Congress for general bravery 

 during the war, and received numerous other tc.-ti- 

 inonials. In 1890, Congress, by a special order, voted 

 him i'. pension of $100 a month, tho largest ever granted 

 to an otliecr in his own right. 



Beach, Moses Sperry, publisher, born in Springfield, 

 Mass., Oct. :>, ls-'; -lied in IVckskill. N. ^ ., July 25, 

 1892. He was a son of Moses Y. Beach, and an elder 

 brother of Alfred E. Beach, present proprietor of tho 

 " Scientific American." His father was inventor of a 

 rai:-euttinu machine, and after being engaged in the 

 manufacture of paper in Saugertics, N. Y., he began 



supplying tho paper on which his brother-in-law, 

 Benjamin H. Day, a job printer in New York city, 

 printed a little penny pa]<tr as an advertiHcii 

 his business. This paper, called " The Sun," grew to 

 be an imjiortant new.-pai>er. Mibno'juctitlv, through 

 reverses in the paper-making bu.-iner*, Sir. . 

 was obliged to seek employment, and entered Mr. 

 Day's office as a clerk. In !>:;* Mr. Beach lx>ught 

 the newspaper for $40,000; in 1M'> lie admitted Mono* 

 S. and Alfred E. Beach to partnership with him; in 

 1-ls tlies bought him out; and in Ai>ril, Ih'jj, MOM 

 Sperry Beach became sole proprietor of the pajn-r. 

 Excepting during a short period in the early pan of 

 the war till " The Sun " was purchased by the | 

 corporation, it remained in the possession of Mr. 

 Beach. A striking illustration of the improvement 

 in metropolitan journalism is found in the fact that 

 in Mr. Beach's early career as proprietor and pub- 

 lisher he kept carrier pigeons to bring him news from 

 the suburbs. For several years he had occupied him- 

 self wholly with the management of a large estate at 

 Pcekskill, N. Y. 



Beatty, Henry Oscar, jurist, born in Washington, 

 Ky., in 1812; died in Sacramento, Cal., Feb. 14. 

 At an early age he removed to Ohio, where he studied 

 law, was admitted to the bar, and engaged in prac- 



Supreme Court In 1868 he resigned his office and 

 returned to Sacramento, where he resumed practice 

 till about ten years ago. when increasing deafness 

 caused him to retire. He was father of the present 

 Chief-Justice Beatty, of California. 

 Becher, Albrecht, mechanical engineer, born in Suit t - 



Sirt, Germany, Aug. 8, 1821 ; died in New York city, 

 ec. 22, 18D2. Ho was the son of Dr. Frederick 

 Becher, who at one time was physician to the King of 

 Wiirtemberg. He came to the Lnited States in 1849, 

 distinguishing himself on the voyage by contributing 

 largely to saving the ship when -it was imperiled by 

 a leak. Mr. Becher was the projector of many large 

 public ,works in the United States, was for seventeen 

 years connected with the Morgan Iron Works in New 

 York city, was a member of the United States Navy 

 Advisory Board, and was in the employ of John 

 Koach when he was building the I'niteu States vessels 

 "Dolphin "and "Chicago." During the past eight 

 years he had lived in retirement in New York city. 

 His notable works included the water works of Chi- 

 cago and St. Louis and the great Bessemer Steel 

 Works, at Steelton, Pa. 



Beck, William E., jurist, l>orn in Vcnango County, 

 1'a., in 1SW; died in Denver, Col., Sept 2, 1892. lie 

 was brought up on a farm, taught school for several 

 years while studying law, and was admitted to the 

 bar of the Supreme Court of Illinois in 1861. He 

 practiced at Mendota and Ottawa, 111., till 1-71. when 

 lie removed to Boulder, Col., where he resumed prac- 

 tice till the autumn of 1876. In October of that year 

 he was elected judire. of the 1st Judicial District of 

 Colorado, where he served three years, and was then 

 elected Chief Justice of the Supreme Court He 

 held this office till January, 1889. On his retirement 

 from the bench he was appointed reporter of the 

 decisions of the Supremo Court and of the Court ot 

 Appeals of Colorado, and ho held the place till Uie 

 time of his death. 



Bedell, Gregory Thurrton, Protestant Episcopal bishop, 

 born in Hudson, N. Y.. Aug. 'J7. 1H7; died in New 

 York city, March 11, lv<_'. When nine years old he 

 entered the Rev. Dr. Muhlcnbenr's school at Flush- 

 ing, L. 1. ; subsequently studied for eight yearn at 

 Flushing Institute; and was graduated at Bristol 

 College, 1'a., in ls:;ii, and at the Virginia Theological 

 Seminary in 1840. He was ordained deacon in tho 

 1'rotestant Kpiscopal Church, July 19. IMO.and priewt 

 Aug. 29, 1H41 : was rector of Holy Trinity Church. 

 \\.-tchester. Pa., in Ks41-'4S, and of the Church of 

 the Ascension. New York city, 1^3-'59; waa conse- 

 crated assistant Bishop of Ohio, Oct. 18, 1859; be- 



