OBITl AUKS. AMERICAN. .Fuxs. i GAYLEIU) 



547 



. muscles of their toes and lingers, which they 

 .irefully studied in secret. Alter the stance* 

 had hci/iin to attract attention, Leah, the eldest sister, 

 took the ..tilers to her home in Rochester, w here she 

 encoura.'e.l the development of their trickery. Owing 

 to ihe peculiarity of these stances the name of the 

 -ter ruppiiiirs '' was L'ivcn to them, tin- applica- 

 tion of the title being dm- to the allegation that the 

 communications between the living and the dead, 

 through the liieiliumship of the sisters, was indicated 

 b\ means of siicee--i\e raps. The home of the sis 

 :s visited by Spiritualists from all parts of the 

 country, and by many from Europe, and ooth scien- 

 <d honest seekers after truth visited them. The 

 -uhsequently went to Philadelphia and New 

 York city, where Margaret and Dr. Klisha Kent 

 Kane, the arctic explorer, became intimately ac- 

 quainted and (she subsequently declared) were pri- 

 niarried. Catharine kept up the ai'mices after 

 t's withdrawal, and was married to Henry D. 

 .Icncken.aii Kn^lish barrister, in 1873. He died in 

 Spain about l-'. In 1888, while living in New York 

 city, she was arrested by the Society for the Preven- 

 tion of Cruelty to Children on a charge of having 

 .d her two children. The boys were inmates 

 for some time of the Juvenile Asylum, and when 

 they were restored to her she went to England, re- 

 turning to New York city after a short sojourn, where 

 she lived ill ret ireineiit till her death. 



Francis, James B,. hydraulic engineer, born in 

 South Lciirh, Oxfordshire. England, May 18, 1815; 

 died in ISoston, Mass., Sept. 18, 1892. He came to 

 New York city in April, 1833, and was at once em- 

 ployed on the survey of the New York, Providence 

 and Hoston Railroad In 1837 he was appointed 

 chief engineer by the directors of the Locks and 

 < 'anal Company of Lowell, Mass., and he remained 

 in charge or their important interests for fifty years. 

 He was then, on retiring from active service, ap- 

 puinted consulting engineer of the company, his son 

 lames Francis succeeding him as engineer. There 

 arc in Lowell 2 monuments of his engineering skill: 

 one, the northern canal, a mile long, 100 feet wide, 

 and \:> t'eet deep, which cost $530,000: the other, 

 known as the guard lock, which saved the city from 

 destruction during the memorable freshet or 1852. 

 The citi/eiis were so grateful for their escape through 

 tcctive strength of this lock that they pre- 

 sented Mr. Francis with a massive silver pitcher and 

 salver. Mr. Francis had been President of the Ameri- 

 can Society of Civil Engineering, was a member of 

 the commission to examine into the causes of the 

 .lohnstown. Pa., disaster, and compiled a work on the 

 hydraulic experiments at Lowell. 



Fry, Benjamin St. James, editor, born in Rutledgo, 



Tt nn.. .lime ir,, l-vji; died in St. Louis, Mo., Feb. 5, 



lie was educated at Woodward College, Cin- 



Voluntccrs. From lf,y till 1872 he was supervisor 



of internal revenue in Kentucky, and at the ti:m- of 

 his death he was Superintendent of the Soldier* 1 

 Home in Louisville. 



damage, Henry Ten Brook, recluse, Urn ii 

 York citv about 1-1 ; died there. Feb. !_'. I".IL'. He. 

 was graduated at Yale in i-:;7. His father was an 

 enthusiastic collector of paintings and art curios, who 

 died about IM.O, leaving his collection to hi.-, son and 

 a daughter. The father hired Room 59 on the top 

 Hour of the University Building, on Washington 

 Square, several years prior to his death and the son 

 occupied the room continuously till his lonely death. 

 Here he secluded himself from all society. He had 

 an income suitable to his wants, derived from some 

 investments made in curly life, an-i seemed to the 

 few people who in late years caught gliinj. 

 him to have spent his time in the enjoyment of 

 works of art. lie visited the art galleries several 

 times a week, retained the collection of paintings 

 left him by his father through life, and added large- 

 ly to it at various periods. His room was plainly fur- 

 nished ; hod a valuable mahogany case filled with 

 books on science, theology, natural history, and gen- 

 eral literature, mostly of the time of Queen Anne; 

 old chairs and sofas, once costly, were numerous; and 

 about the walls and piled on the floor, or laid several 

 deep on sofas and tables, were about 300 oil paintings 

 and works of art, many of which he had claimed 

 were originals by Reynolds, Rubens, Titian, Uuido, 

 and Velasquez ; one of the latter was valued by him 

 at $40,000. Mr. Gutnagc had the sole charge of his 

 curious abode, seldom spoke to any one, prepared his 



of i be Western Methodist Book Concern in 



-i ; and from the latter year was editor of 



"The Central Christian Advocate." He published 



"Property Consecrated," a prize essay (New York, 



revised 1884), and biographies of Bishops 



Whatcoat, McKendree, George, and Roberts. 



Frye, Speed Smith, military officer, .born near Dan- 

 >'ille, Ky., in Isl7; died in Louisville, Ky., Aug. 1, 

 He was educated at Center and Wabash Col- 

 and was admitted to the bar. He served 

 through the Mexican War, distinguishing himself 

 particularly on the battle field of Bucna Vista. After 

 the war he engaged in law practice, and was for 

 several years judge of the county court of Boyle 

 County, Ky. Just before the outbreak of the civil 

 war he opposed the secession movement with great 

 \ ii. r "r, and after the attack on Fort Sumter he re- 

 cruited -J reir'unents for the National army, took the 

 field as colonel of the 4th Kentucky Regiment, and on 

 March 21, 1862, was promoted brigadier-general of 



own meals, retired early, paid his rent promptly, and 

 was clocklike in all his movements. He left a will 

 making J. Alden Weir, the artist, his executor, and, 

 besides his paintings, left $15,000 in money, be- 

 queathing small sums to several of the enterprises 

 connected with the University Place Presbyterian 

 Church and to several relatives and friends, and the 

 residue of his estate in equal parts to the American 

 Bible Society, the Board of Home Missions of the 

 Presbyterian Church, and the Society for the Em- 

 ployment and Relief of Poor W T omen. He was found 

 dead in his room. A contest of his will was begun in 

 October. 



Gardner, Henry Joseph, merchant, born in Dorches- 

 ter. Mass., in 181!); died in Milton, Mass., July 21, 

 1892. He was graduated at Bowdoin College in 1838. 

 was engaged in the dry -goods business till 1876. and 

 from that time till his death in the life-insurance busi- 

 In 1850-'53 he was a member of the Common 

 Council of Boston, in 1852-'53 was its president, in 

 1851- 1 52 was a member of the Legislature, in 1858 

 member of the State Constitutional Convention, and 

 in K>.~), 1856, and 1857 was elected Governor of Massa- 

 chusetts. During his terms as Governor much im- 

 portant legislation was accomplished through his 

 etforts, including the Homestead act, the Alien Pauper 

 act, the act regulating appropriations of school money, 

 the act reguhitiiiir the membership of the General 

 Court, the act rei'ormini: the s]>ecial election laws, 

 and that inserting the "reading and writing" clause 

 in the naturalization laws. 



Gayler, Charles, playwright, born in New York city, 

 April 1, lv.'<>; died in Brooklyn, X. Y.. May -_N, 18M. 

 He received a limited education; taught for two years 

 in Dayton, Ohio; became a newspajn-r writer; studied 

 law with Abraham Lincoln: was admitted to the bar, 

 and engaged in the jvolitieal movement.-* of that day. 

 For nearly fifty years he had been a writer for the 

 American stage, and ho was credited with having 

 written nearly 400 plays. His tirst piece. -The Heir 

 >f (Hen Avon," was produced in 183J>. In the early 

 days of the California gold fever he produced the 

 drama "The Buckeye Gold Hunters." which had a 



-nil run in Cincinnati. This was follo\\i 

 Tin Frightened Fiend," on operetta, and "The 

 <'lement County Snake," a burlesque. In 1850 he 

 returned to Now York, and for some years was em- 

 ployed in journalism. His other dramatic writing* 



