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OBITUARIES, AMERICAN. (BEHRENDS BINGHAM.) 



that bill he was appointed as one of the counsel, 

 and he served in that capacity until his election 

 to the bench. In 1889 Gov. Hill named him as 

 one of the commissioners for the promotion of uni- 

 formity of legislation in the United States with 

 respect to marriage, divorce, and other subjects. 

 In November, 1894, Mr.Beekman was elected judge 

 of the Superior Court of the city of New York 

 on the union ticket headed by William L. Strong, 

 and upon the consolidation of the courts under the 

 new Constitution, Jan. 1, 1896, he became a justice 

 of the Supreme Court in the First District. 



Behrends, Adolphus Julius Frederick, cler- 

 gyman, born in Nymwegen, Holland, Dec. 13, 1839; 

 died in Brooklyn, N. Y., May 22, 1900. He came 

 to this country with his father, a Lutheran clergy- 

 man, in 1845. He was graduated at Dennison 

 University, Granville, Ohio, in 1862, and at Roch- 

 ester Theological Seminary in 1865. He was called 

 to the Baptist Church in Yonkers, N. Y., where 

 he was ordained on July 27, 1865. His ministry 

 there was remarkably successful, and in 1873 he 

 was called to the First Baptist Church of Cleve- 

 land, Ohio. In the same year the degree of doctor 

 of divinity was conferred on him by Richmond 

 College, Richmond, Va., he being the first Northern 

 man to receive the honor from that institution. 

 He remained pastor of the Cleveland church till 

 Feb. 1, 1876, when, on account of a change in his 

 doctrinal views, he left the Baptist denomination 

 and accepted the pastorate of the Union Congrega- 

 tional Church of Providence, R. I., where he re- 

 mained till 1883. Dr. Behrends was installed pas- 

 tor of the Central Congregational Church of Brook- 

 lyn, March 1, 1883. In 1886 he was chosen as 

 the Ely lecturer in Hartford Theological Seminary, 

 and his lectures were published under the title 

 of Socialism and Christianity. He was the Lyman 

 Beecher lecturer at Yale Divinity School in 1890, 

 and the degree of doctor of sacred theology was 

 conferred upon him by that university the same 

 year. His lectures at Yale on The Philosophy of 

 Preaching were published, and he also published 

 The World for Christ and many pamphlets, and 

 was a frequent contributor to periodicals. He was 

 chaplain at large, with the rank of captain, in 

 the National Guard of the State, and was the suc- 

 cessor of the Rev. Dr. Talmage as chaplain of the 

 13th New York Regiment. Dr. Behrends was a 

 fearless and forceful speaker, and his tolerance and 

 liberality in matters of Christian belief made his 

 church conspicuous in the denomination. During 

 the trolley strike in 1895 he made a strong address 

 from the pulpit, advocating stern military meas- 

 ures to suppress violence. He was a prominent 

 figure in the (Ecumenical Conference on Foreign 

 Missions in New York city in 1900, and on May 6 

 made a notable address before that body an im- 

 passioned plea for the unity of Christendom and 

 the abolition of creeds which excited universal 

 interest and comment. 



Benjamin. William. H., soldier, born in Wil- 

 ton, Conn., Oct. 18, 1825; died in Rochester, N. Y., 

 Jan. 5, 1900. He moved with his parents to 

 Rochester, N. Y., when a boy, and was educated 

 in the public schools. At the beginning of the 

 civil war he assisted in organizing the 8th New 

 York Cavalry, and went to the front with the 

 rank of major. He was wounded in the battle 

 of Cold Harbor. He was made lieutenant colonel 

 for gallant conduct at Gettysburg, and in the 

 autumn of 1863 took command of the regiment. 

 At the close of the war he was brevetted brigadier 

 general. Afterward he engaged in business. In 

 1895 he was Deputy Collector of Customs. 



Biddle, Horace P.. jurist, born in Fairfield 

 County, Ohio, March 24, 1811; died in lagans- 



Ind., May 16, 1900. He received only a 

 common-school education, but studied by himself 

 Latin, German, French, Italian, and Spanish. He 

 was admitted to the bar in 1839, and in 1840 began 

 practice in Logansport, Ind. He was elected judge 

 of the Eighth Circuit Court in 1846, and was a 

 member of the convention that framed the present 

 Constitution of Indiana in 1850. He was defeated 

 for Congress in 1852, and in 1857 was elected 

 judge of the Supreme Court, but was not cominis 

 sioned. He was re-elected by a majority of 33,000 

 in 1874, and served six years. He was a circuit 

 judge nineteen years. Judge Biddle retired from 

 active life in January, 1881. He published A Few 

 Poems (1858), The Musical Scale (1860), Biddle's 

 Poems, American Boyhood, Elements of Knowl- 

 edge, Prose Miscellany, Glances at the World, and 

 Last Poems. 



Bidwell, Dollie (Mrs. Charles Bidwell, after- 

 ward Mrs. Levering Kissam), actress, born in 

 Seabrook, N. H., April 13, 1843; died in New- 

 York city, Jan. 25, 1900. She made her first ap- 

 pearance in Boston at the National Theater as 

 Jeanette in the Idiot Witness in the autumn of 

 1860. She then was engaged by Joseph Procter 

 to support him in his starring tours, and became 

 very popular throughout New England, where she 

 ultimately became herself a star. For many years 

 she played a drama that was written for her, callec 

 The Pretty Panther. On her marriage to Mr 

 Kissam, in 1880, she retired from the stage. 



Bidwell, John, born in Chautauqua County 

 New York, Aug. 5, 1819; died in Chico, Cal., 

 April 4, 1900. In 1831 his parents settled in 

 Ashtabula County, Ohio. He attended the Kings- 

 ville Academy, and taught school in Ohio and 

 Missouri till 1841, when he crossed the Rocky 

 mountains with the first overland party to Cali- 

 fornia. He enlisted in defense of California 

 against the native chiefs Castro and Alvarado in 

 the revolt of 1844 and 1845, and acted as aid- 

 de-camp to Sutter till the war ended by the ex- 

 pulsion of the Mexican Governor, Micheltorena. 

 One of Gen Fremont's first acts after the war 

 was to appoint young Bidwell, who had risen to 

 the rank of major, magistrate of San Luis Rev 

 District. In 1849 he was chosen a member of th 

 Constitutional Convention, and the same year 

 he was elected to the Senate of the first Legis- 

 lature. In 1850 he was appointed by Gov. Bur- 

 nett one of the commissioners to convey to Wash- 

 ington the block of gold-bearing quartz, Cali- 

 fornia's contribution to the Washington monu- 

 ment. In 1860 he was a delegate to the Demo- 

 cratic Convention in Charleston, S. C. In th>; 

 civil war he commanded, in 1863, the 5th Brigade, 

 California Volunteers. In 1864 he was a delegate 

 to the Baltimore convention that renominated 

 President Lincoln. In the same year he wa* 

 elected to Congress. In 1875 he was a candidate 

 for Governor of California on the nonpartisar , 

 antimonopoly ticket, but was defeated. In 1890 

 he was the Prohibition candidate for Governor, 

 and two years later was nominated, at Cincir- 

 nati, by the National Prohibition party, for tlie 

 presidency. Gen. Bidwell was a sincere Prohibi- 

 tionist, and mi espousing (lie cause of the party 

 destroyed $500,000 worth of wine, rooted out of 

 his vineyard all his wine-growing vines, and 

 turned his winery into a school for Indian chil- 

 dren. His property, about 30,000 acres of tlie 

 richest soil in the Sacramento valley, is one of the 

 finest fruit-growing ranches in the world. 



Bingham. John Armor, diplomatist, born in 

 Mercer, Pa., Jan. 21, 1815: died in Cadi/. Ohio, 

 March 19. 1!00. He was educated at Franklin 

 College, New Athens, Ohio, and went to Cadiz in 



