OBITUARIES, AMERICAN. (PATTERSON POTTER.) 



465 



and was either a delegate or an alternate to 

 nearly every National convention until his re- 

 tirement from active work. 



Patterson, Calvin, educator, born in Claren- 

 don, N. Y., July 2, 1847 ; died in Brooklyn, N. Y., 

 Jan. 27, 1902. He was graduated at the Albany 

 Normal Institute in 1867, and later at Rochester 

 University. He taught in Rochester a year, and 

 then in the Buffalo Classical School. In 1871 he 

 became Professor of Mathematics in the New 

 York State Normal School, where he remained till 

 1873, when he became principal of a grammar 

 school in Brooklyn. In 1882 he became super- 

 intendent of public instruction in Brooklyn, and 

 he hold this post till 1888, when he was made 

 principal of the Girls' High School, where he re- 

 mained till his death. He established the first 

 evening sessions of the public schools of Brooklyn. 



Pennoyer, Sylvester, lawyer, born in Groton, 

 N. Y., July 6, 1831; died in Portland, Ore., May 

 30, 1902. He was graduated at 'Harvard Law 

 School in 1854; removed to Oregon in 1855, and 

 taught school several years. In 1862 he became 

 connected with the lumber industry, in which he 

 acquired large wealth. In 1886 and 1890 he was 

 elected Governor of Oregon, and in 1896 mayor 

 of Portland. He attracted attention while Gov- 

 ernor by saying, on an occasion when Secretary 

 of State Gresham conveyed to him certain sug- 

 gestions of President Cleveland concerning the 

 Chinese exclusion act : " I will attend to my busi- 

 ness; let the President attend to his." 



Perkins, William. Oscar, composer, born in 

 Stockbridge, Vt., May 23, 1831; died in Boston, 

 Mass., Jan. 13, 1902. He was graduated at Kim- 

 ball Union Academy in 1853; studied music, and 

 then taught in Boston. He organized what is 

 believed to have been the first male quartet 

 for concert singing in the United States, the 

 Mendelssohn Vocal Quartet; became conductor 

 at the Boston Music Hall in 1858; and conducted 

 many musical festivals. He lectured and wrote 

 on musical and other topics ; composed numerous 

 part songs and hymns; and compiled and edited 

 many collections of vocal music, his published 

 works numbering 60 volumes. His last composi- 

 tion \vas The War in South .Africa; or, Boer and 

 Briton. 



Pierce, Henry Miller, manufacturer, born in 

 Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, Oct. 6, 1831; 

 died in Ocala, Fla., Feb. 19, 1902. He was gradu- 

 ated at Waterville (now Colby) University, and 

 was elected president of Rutgers Female College, 

 New York city, which post he held thirteen years. 

 Later he engaged in the wood-alcohol and phos- 

 phate industries. On the outbreak of the civil 

 war, he, with two others, organized the army 

 ambulance corps, and he personally directed its 

 work during the campaign on the James, under 

 Gen. McClellan. In 1887 he founded the city of 

 West Nashville, Tenn., where he lived till 1890, 

 when he removed to Washington, and thence, in 

 1894, to Rochester, N. Y. 



Piper, Alexander, military officer, born in 

 Pennsylvania, May 11, 1829; died in New York 

 city, Feb. 21, 1902. He was graduated at West 

 Point in 1847; was brevetted 2d lieutenant, 3d 

 Infantry, July 1, 1851 ; promoted 2d lieutenant, 

 Dec. 12, 1851; 1st lieutenant, Jan. 31, 1855; cap- 

 tain, 3d Artillery, May 14, 1861; major, 4th Artil- 

 lery, Dec. 20, 1875: lieutenant-colonel, 1st Artil- 

 lery, Nov. 8, 1882 ; transferred to the 3d Artillery, 

 Nov. 10 following, and to the 1st Artillery, Jan. 

 25, 1885; colonel, 5th Artillery, Aug. 10, 1887; and 

 was retired at his own request, July 1, 1891. In 

 the volunteer service he was brevetted colonel of 

 the 10th New York Artillery, Jan. 7, 1863, and 

 VOL. XLII. 30 A 



honorably mustered out July 6, 1865. He was 

 assistant professor at West Point in 1853-'54; on 

 frontier duty in 1854-'60; during the civil war 

 participated in the campaigns of the Army 

 of the Potomac in 1861-'64; and was brevetted 

 major, in August, 1862, for gallant and meritori- 

 ous services during the campaign in Virginia, and 

 lieutenant-colonel in June, 1865, for similar serv- 

 ices at the siege of Petersburg. After the war he 

 was assistant instructor of artillery tactics at 

 West Point, and served at various posts and sta- 

 tions in 1868-'90. He was a victim of the Park 

 Avenue Hotel disaster in New York city. 



Polk, Joseph B., actor, born in Maryland in 

 1841; died in Baltimore, Md., Jan. 5, 1902. His 

 first appearance was in 1861, under the manage- 

 ment of John T. Ford. He began to attract atten- 

 tion when he became a member of Wallack's 

 Theater company, New York, and later he played 

 for a time in Augustin Daly's Fifth Avenue 

 Theater, finally joining the Union Square com- 

 pany, under the management of A. M. Palmer, 

 where he remained for many seasons, making the 

 most distinguished successes of his career. Asso- 

 ciated with him were Clara Morris, Charles 

 Thorne, Stuart Robson, Sara Jewett, and other 

 well-known actors. His most artistic impersona- 

 tions were of genial, humorous old men and 

 strong " character " rOles. After the disbanding 

 of the Union Square Theater company, Mr. Polk 

 went on a successful starring tour in the United 

 States and also in England and Australia, where 

 he became as great a favorite as in his own coun- 

 try. His last appearance was in Salt Lake City, 

 in 1898, in What Happened to Jones. At that 

 time he was stricken with paralysis, from which 

 he partially recovered. He then became president 

 of the Chesapeake Brewing Company, of Balti- 

 more, holding that place until his death. He mar- 

 ried, in 1867, Julia Parker, daughter of the come- 

 dian, Joseph Parker. Mrs. Polk died June 20, 

 1900. 



Poston, Charles D., pioneer, born in Hardin 

 County, Kentucky, about 1822; died in Phenix, 

 Arizona, in June, 1902. He was a native of Ken- 

 tucky, where he practised law in early life, and 

 afterward in Washington, D. C. In 1854 he went 

 to California as a gold seeker, and remained there 

 till the civil war broke out, when he joined the 

 National army as an aide on the staff of Gen. 

 Heintzelman. After the war he returned to Cali- 

 fornia as Superintendent of Indian Affairs, and 

 while holding this office served also as recorder 

 of the region now embraced within Arizona. He 

 gave Arizona her name in 1863, and secured the 

 organization of the new Territory. In 1864 he 

 was elected the first Delegate to Congress from 

 Arizona. Subsequently he traveled in Europe, 

 and again returned to Arizona, where he held 

 various minor offices. For a time he was con- 

 nected with several New York papers. 



Potter, Edward Eels, naval officer, born in 

 Medina, N. Y., May 9, 1833 ; died in Belvidere, 111., 

 Jan. 8, 1902. He entered the navy as midshipman 

 Feb. 5, 1850; was promoted passed midshipman, 

 June 20, 1856; master, Jan. 22, 1858; lieutenant, 

 March 18, 1858; lieutenant-commander, July 16, 

 1862; commander, March 2, 1869; captain, April 

 1, 1880; and commodore, June 27, 1893: ami waa 

 retired May 9, 1895. His first important duty 

 was in conveying the first Japanese embassy 

 home in 1860. At the outbreak of the civil war 

 he was ordered to the Wissahickon, and he served 

 on it during the bombardment and passage of 

 Forts Jackson and St. Philip, and the capture of 

 New Orleans. He also passed the Vicksburg bat- 

 teries twice, and participated in the engagement 





