OBITUARIES, AMERICAN. (?LEA s ANTON POOLE.) 



593 





was not known in California. Within thirty days the 

 Americans organized and armed a strong battalion for 

 Fremont, drove the army under Castro to the south, 

 freed the northern part of California from Mexican 

 authority, and proclaimed the independence of the; 

 territory. In these swift operations the Americans 

 captured Gen. Jesus Pico, and Fremont released him 

 on parole. In December, following, an insurrection 

 that might have proved fatal to the small American 

 army was discovered at San Luis Obispo, under the 

 immediate direction of this paroled officer. He was 

 again taken prisoner, was tried by court-martial, and 

 was condemned to death for breaking his parole, 

 Dec. 16. On the following day, the one set for his 

 death, Fremont was waited on by a delegation of 

 women, headed by the mother and wife of the officer, 

 who pleaded for his life, and to the surprise of every 

 one Fremont had the officer brought before him and 

 unconditionally pardoned him. Gen. Pico clasped 

 Fremont by the knees, begged the privilege of fight- 

 ing with and dying for him, and swore eternal fidel- 

 ity. In the subsequent movements of Fremont's bat- 

 talion, Jesus Pico's conduct proved him faithful to his 

 pledge, and the clemency thus shown won for the 

 Americans the sympathy and co-operation of the 

 three Picos, who had previously favored the British. 

 In his "Thirty Years' View" Senator Benton wrote 

 concerning Fremont and this family : " The Picos, who 

 were the leading men of the revolt, became his friends. 

 California became independent of Mexico by the revolt 

 of the Picos." After the war Don Pio P'ico resided 

 for some time with his brother Andres at San Fer- 

 nando, then returned to his Santa Margarita ranch, 

 and lived there till 1864. In his prosperous days he 

 was exceedingly liberal, and frequently entertained 

 several hundred- people at a time. Though he had 

 done all that he could while Governor to prevent the 

 transfer of California to the Americans, he submitted 

 to the results with good grace, and thereafter lived a 

 consistent American citizen. His generous hospitality 

 led to his financial ruin. 



Pleasonton, Augustus James, military officer, born in 

 Washington, D. C., Aug. 18, 1808; died in Philadel- 

 phia, Pa., July 26, 1894." He was a brother of Maj.- 

 Gen. Alfred Pleasonton, the noted cavalry officer of 

 the Army of the Potomac; was graduated at the 

 United States Military Academy in 1826 ; and, after 

 serving on garrison and topographical duty, resigned 

 his commission in 1830. He then studied law, was 

 admitted to the bar, and engaged in practice in Phila- 

 delphia. In 1833 he was commissioned brigade 

 major in the Pennsylvania militia; in 1835 was pro- 

 moted colonel; in 1838-'39 was assistant adjutant 

 general and paymaster general ; and in 1844 was 

 wounded in the riots in Southwark, Pa. At the be- 

 ginning of the civil war he was commissioned briga- 

 dier general of the State militia, and organized and 

 commanded during the war a home guard of 10,000 

 men for the defense of Philadelphia. He possessed 

 ample means, and devoted much time to scientific re- 

 search and experiment, in which he became convinced 

 that the blue light of the sky had an important effect 

 on living organisms. In 1860 he began experiment- 

 ing on his farm at Overbrook, near Philadelphia, with 

 blue light produced by glass, applying his theory to 

 an inclosed grapery, 84 feet long, 26 feet wide, and 16 

 feet high at the ridge. He inserted panes of blue 

 glass in every eighth row, using ordinary glass in the 

 other rows, and fitted the ends and sides of the grapery 

 with violet glass. Twenty varieties of grape cuttings 

 one year old were planted*. In four weeks they were 

 in full foliage, with no blemishes nor insects ; in 

 March, 1862, they began to bear, and the 20 cuttings 

 yielded 1,200 pounds of fruit. The result of this ex- 

 periment was widely circulated and attracted much 

 interest among agriculturists and fruit growers. He 

 then applied his theory to animal life, first with pigs, 

 and then with an Alderney bull calf, with the results of 

 remarkably rapid and healthful growth. After ten 

 years 1 experimenting he applied for and received a 

 patent on u An Improvement in accelerating the 

 VOL. xxxiv. 38 A 



Growth of Plants and Animals " in 1871. In Mav, 

 1871, he delivered a lecture before the Philadelphia 

 Society for the Promotion of Agriculture, on u The 

 Influence of the Blue Kay of the Sunlight and of the 

 Blue Color of the Sky in developing Animal and 

 Vegetable Life, in arresting Disease, and in restor- 

 ing Health, in Acute and Chronic Disorders to Hu- 

 man and Domestic Animals" (Philadelphia, 1876). 

 This lecture gave rise to a short-lived craze for the 

 application of blue-glass light to all infirmities. 



Poole, William Frederick, librarian, born in Salem, 

 Mass., Dec. 24, 1821 ; died in Evanston, 111., March 1, 

 1894. He attended school in Danvers (now Peabody), 

 Mass., and in Keene, N. II., and while in the latter 

 city began learning the jeweler's trade. He then 

 spent a year in farming in Worcester, Mass., and, re- 

 turning to Danvers, engaged in mercantile business 

 and learned the tanners trade. In 1842 he entered 

 Yale College, but his circumstances soon obliged him 

 to give up his studies. After spending three years in 

 teaching, he re-entered Yale and was graduated in 

 1849. While in his sophomore year he was appointed 

 assistant librarian of the Brothers in Unity, and in 

 1848 he published an alphabetical index to periodicals 

 in the library of that society, a marked innovation in 

 bibliography, entitled " Index to Keviews and Other 

 Periodicals to which no Indexes have been pub- 

 lished." After graduation he remained in New Haven, 

 preparing an enlarged edition of his index, till 1850, 

 when he was appointed assistant librarian in the Bos- 

 ton Athena?um. Two years afterward he became 

 librarian of the Mercantile Library Association of 

 Boston. He resigned the office in 1856 to become li- 

 brarian of the Boston Athena?um, where he remained 

 till January, 1869, made a reclassification of the li- 

 brary, and superintended the preparation of the 

 greater part of the catalogue. In 1869 he took charge 

 of the Cincinnati Public Library, resigning in 1873 to 

 assume the librarianship of the new public library in 

 Chicago, which he held till 1887, when he was ap- 

 pointed librarian of the great library established in 

 Chicago by Walter N. Newberry, on a foundation of 

 $3,000,000. He held this office till his death, and was 

 enthusiastic in his efforts to build up, with unequaled 

 opportunities, a model library of reference. While at 

 the Boston Mercantile Library he brought out the 

 second edition of his work, under the new title of" In- 

 dex to Periodical Literature," which has been simpli- 

 fied into " Poole's Index," and also a catalogue of the 

 library. A third edition (8vo, pp. xxvii, 1442) was 

 brought out while he was in charge of the Chicago 

 Public Library. He received the degree of LL. D. 

 from Northwestern University in 1882. Dr. Ppole 

 has been deservedly called "the father of American 

 librarians." He was a member of the convention of 

 librarians held in New York city in 1853, the first of 

 its kind in the United States, and the first probably 

 in the world. In 1876, on the organization of the 

 American Library Association, he was made a vice- 

 president, and held the office till 1885, when he was 

 elected president. He was a delegate to, and a vice- 

 president of the first conference of English'librarians 

 in London in 1877. To the " Report on Public Li- 

 braries," published in 1876 by the United States Bu- 

 reau of Education, he contributed important papers, 

 notably the one on " The Organization and Manage- 

 ment of Public Libraries." lie was for several years 

 President of the American J Listorical Society. He 

 published a large number of pamphlets and articles 

 on historical subjects, chief among which were " Cot- 

 ton Mather and Salem Witchcraft" ; " Witchcraft in 

 Boston " ; " The Popham Colony " ; " The Ordinance 

 of 1787"; " The Battle of the Dictionaries" (1856^ ; 

 " Websterian Orthography : A Reply to Noah Web- 

 ster's Calumniators" (1857); "The- Orthographical 

 Hobgoblin" (1859); and " Antislavery_ Opinions be- 

 fore 1800." He also discovered and printed a MS. of 

 Gov. Thomas Hutchinson on t; The Witchcraft De- 

 lusion of 1692," and reprinted a rare work, entitled 

 Wonder-working Providence of Sion's Saviour in New 

 England," with an elaborate introduction and index. 



