570 



OBITUARIES, AMERICAN. (SEUTER SIXGEELY.) 



feature at Brighton Beach. In the summer of 1897 

 he went to Baireuth, and on July 20 conducted 

 the ninety-third performance of " Parsifal " given 

 there. During the winter of 1897-'98he conducted 

 a series of Sunday-night concerts at the Metropol- 

 itan Opera House, and another series at the Wal- 

 dorf-Astoria, New York city. His death was sud- 

 den and was supposed to have resulted from 

 accidental ptomaine poisoning. 



Seuter, l)e Witt Clinton, politician, born in 

 Ilarriman, Roane County, Tenn.. in 1831 ; died near 

 .Morrisiown. 'IVmi., in June, 1898. In early man- 

 hood he became active in public affairs, and locally 

 was prominent in the Whig party prior to the for- 

 mation of the Republican. Before the civil war 

 opened he had served in the lower house of the 

 State Legislature. In 1861 he espoused the cause 

 of the Union and was a delegate to the Union con- 

 vention held in Knoxville and in Greenville. He 

 made many speeches in the presidential canvass of 

 1868, when he was a candidate for elector on the 

 Grant and Colfax ticket. The same year he was 

 elected to the State Senate, of which he became 

 president. On the election of Gov. William G. 

 Brownlow to the United States Senate by the Legis- 

 lature of 1868-'69, President Seuter became Gov- 

 ernor by virtue of his office. He succeeded to the 

 office at a time when the extremely radical policy 

 of Gov. Brownlow had provoked much bitterness 

 throughout the State. By pursuing a more con- 

 servative course Gov. Seuter did much to restore 

 harmony and peace, and because of this he was 

 elected to the office for the succeeding term by a 

 large majority. 



Sexton, William, billiard player, born in Bur- 

 lington, Vt., April 8, 1854; died in New York city, 

 April 25, 1898. He was virtually reared in a bil- 

 liard room. In 1872 he came to New York citv, 

 and two years later defeated Charles E. Effler, the 

 Albany champion. In 1875 he encountered A. P. 

 Rudolphe, of Prance, and defeated him in 38 out of 

 35 games. He won a match for $1,000 with George 

 F. Slosson in 1876: went to France the same year 

 and lost to Maurice Vignaux. On his return he set 

 out to tour the United States with Slosson. He twice 

 defeated Joseph Dion in 1877, and in 1879 defeated 

 Slosson for the championship of the world. The 

 honor was wrested from him the next year by 

 Schaeffer, whom -he in turn defeated in 1^81 in a 

 match for $2,500 a side. 



Shallenber^er, Oliver Blackburn, electrician, 

 born in Rochester, Pa., in 1860; died in Colorado 

 Springs, Col., Jan. 23, 1898. He was graduated at 

 the United States Naval Academy in 1881, was pres- 

 ent at the bombardment of Alexandria, and was 

 honorably discharged from the navy in 1883. En- 

 tering the employment of the Westinghou.se Com- 

 pany at Pittsburg, he there rose to the post of 

 chief electrician, which be retained till failing health 

 compelled him to resign in 1891. After his retire- 

 ment he applied himself as closely as his health 

 would permit to electrical experiments in his own 

 laboratory at his birthplace. While he was in the em- 

 ployment of the Westinghousc Company Mr. Shallen- 

 berger invented several electrical devices. The most 

 noteworthy of these was the electric meter, known 

 the world over and adopted by the Government 

 Board of Trade of Great Britain as the standard 

 instrument for accurate measurement of electric 

 currents. In co-operation with George Westing- 

 house he was the first to demonstrate in the United 

 States the efficiency and safety of the alternating 

 current. He also originated many of the devices 

 in use in central lighting stations. 



Sharpe, Frieda Stevenson, author, born in 

 Reykjavik, Iceland. Jan. 8, 1861 : died in Chicago, 

 111., Nov. 4, 1898. She was educated in her native 



town. About 1878 she went to Chicago, where she 

 soon learned the English language. She became a, 

 frequent contributor to magazines, her work con- 

 sisting of short stories and poems, as well as trans- 

 lations of Scandinavian and Icelandic stories. She 

 wrote an Icelandic play, " Jon," and at the time of 

 her death had just finished a translation of Kiel- 

 land's novel, "Jakob." 



Sheldon, Charles H., farmer, born in Johnson, 

 Vt., in 1840; died in Deadwood, S. Dak., Oct. 20. 

 1898. His boyhood was spent mainly on a farm in 

 Lamoille County. At the outbreak of the civil war 

 he enlisted as a private in the 7th Vermont Infantry ; 

 and he was mustered out with the rank of captain, 

 March 14, 1866. After the war he went to Illinois, 

 where he lived eleven years. He then went to Ken- 

 tucky, and in 1881 settled on a farm near Pierpont, 

 S. Dak. He was elected to the Territorial Council, 

 made permanent chairman of the Republican St ,-.! 

 Convention in 1890, elected Governor of South Da- 

 kota in 1892. and re-elected in 1894. 



Sheldon, Isaac Esleeck, publisher, born in Al- 

 bany, N. Y., Dec. 20, 1835 ; died in Rye, N. Y T ., June 

 30. 1898. He was a son of the late S'mith Sheldon, 

 founder of the New York publishing house of Shel- 

 don & Co., and was graduated at the University (if 

 Rochester in 1857. He was brought up in the pub- 

 lishing house, and for many years had been at its 

 head both as a firm and as a corporation. At the timo 

 of the historic sea fight between the " Monitor " and 

 the " Merrimack " he was within the lines at Fort 

 Monroe, and witnessed the encounter. While ho 

 was on his way to New York the late George W. 

 Childs insisted that he should leave his train and 

 write an account of the battle, and the Philadelphia 

 " Ledger " thus obtained the first report. 



Shipman, William 1)., jurist, born in Chester, % . 

 Conn., Dec. 29, 1818; died in Astoria, N. Y., Sept. 

 24, 1898. He worked on a farm at his home from 

 his fourteenth till his twenty-fourth year, when he 

 went to Springfield, N. J., where he taught a school. 

 In 1842 he removed to East Haddam, Conn., studied 

 law, and in 1850 was admitted to the bar. He was 

 elected judge of the Probate Court in 1852 ; member 

 of the State Assembly in 1853; and in July, 1853, 

 was appointed United States Attorney for the dis- 

 trict of Connecticut, and rcappointed in 1856. In 

 1860 he was made United States district judge for 

 Connecticut, which office he held thirteen years. 

 Judge Shipman retired from the bench in 1873, 

 came to New York city, and took up the practice 

 of law, becoming senior member of the firm of 

 Shipman, Barlow, Larocque & Macfarlane. Hu 

 withdrew from the firm in 1895. He received tho 

 honorary degrees of M. A. and LL. D. from Trinity 

 College, Hartford. 



Showalter. John W r illiam, jurist, born in Mason 

 County, Kentucky, Feb. 8, 1844 ; died in ( 'hie-ago, 111., 

 Dec. 10, 1898. Me was graduated al Yale in 1867. and 

 studied law. He went to Chicago in IS(Ji), and was 

 admitted to practice in 1871. lie joined the lav/ 

 firm of Abbott & Oliver, which, on the death of 

 Mr. Abbott, in 1890, became known as Oliver f; 

 Showalter. He was the Democratic candidate for 

 judge of the Superior Court in 180:!. but was de- 

 feated by Judge Gary. On Feb. 25. 1895, he win 

 appointed Judge of the 7th Judicial District of thj 

 United States circuit court, and lie held the office 

 till his death. 



Singerly, William Miskey, capitalist, born in 

 Philadelphia, Pa., Dec. 27,1832; died there. rVI . 

 27. 18!)8. He was graduated at the high school of 

 Philadelphia in 1850; spent ten years as clerk in .1 

 produce commission house, and then became ass 

 ated with his father in the management of street- 

 railway lines. In 1868 he went to Chicago, and 

 built up a successful business, which was ruined by 



