OBITUARIES, AMERICAN. 



595 



called on to act as referee during the latter 

 years of his life. He was prominent in religious 

 affairs, being an active and devoted member of 

 the Episcopal Church, whose interests he loved 

 to serve. He was also an ardent Mason. 



Sojoarner Truth, an American negro lecturer, 

 born in the State of New York, about 1775 ; 

 died in Battle Creek, Mich., Nov. 26, 1883. 

 She was born a slave, and spent her life as a 

 slave until 1827, when slavery was abolished 

 in New York. Her parents came from the 

 coast of Guinea, and were brought to the 

 United States, and sold into slavery. The 

 name she received from her master was Isa- 

 bella Hardenburg, but, disliking it, she went 

 out into the woods and prayed to the Lord for 

 another name. According to her account, she 

 heard the name " Sojourner " whispered to her 

 in answer to her prayer, and the appellation 

 "Truth" was afterward added, seeing that, in 

 her going up and down throughout the coun- 

 try, as she held to be her mission, she should 

 preach nothing but truth to all men. For 

 about three quarters of a century she delivered 

 lectures, in the East and West, on temperance, 

 politics, and the woman's rights question. She 

 could neither read nor write, but being very 

 tall nearly six feet and having a deep, pow- 

 erful voice, she proved to be a very imposing, 

 effective lecturer. Among other things, she 

 was anxious to obtain a grant of public lands in 

 the West for the establishment of a negro col- 

 ony, and for educating negro youth. There is 

 no doubt that Sojourner Truth did much good 

 work during her long life, for she helped to re- 

 claim hundreds from bad- ways, and set an ex- 

 ample of great power to people of her own 

 color. 



Sophocles, Evangelinus A., an American schol- 

 ar, born near Mount Pelion, Thessaly, Greece, 

 March 8, 1807; died in Cambridge, Mass., 

 Dec. 17, 1883. He was educated in the Con- 

 vent of Mount Sinai. He came to the United 

 States in 1829, studied for a while at an acad- 

 emy in Monson, Mass., and. then entered Am- 

 herst College, but did .not complete the course 

 there. He taught for a time at Amherst, Hart- 

 ford, and New Haven. He made two voyages 

 to Greece, and returned each time with valu- 

 able works in his special line. From 1842 to 

 1859 he was connected with Harvard as tutor 

 and assistant professor. In 1860 he was made 

 Professor of Greek (Ancient, Modern, and By- 

 zantine). In 1837 Yale College gave him the 

 .degree of A. M., and in 1868 Harvard conferred 

 upon him the degree of LL. D. Prof. Sophocles 

 published a number of Greek books of' excel- 

 lent quality. His " Greek Grammar " (first 

 issued in 1838) had a very large sale, and is 

 still in use. His latest and most elaborate 

 work was <l Greek Lexicon of Roman and By- 

 zantine Periods," published in 1870. 



Swann, Thomas, an American Senator, born 

 in Alexandria, in 1806 ; died in Leesburg, Va., 

 July 24, 1883. He was educated at Columbia 

 College and the University of Virginia. His 



law studies were pursued in his father's office, 

 after completing which he removed to Balti- 

 more. In 1845 he was elected a director of 

 the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Two years 

 later he became its president, and resigned in 

 1853. He next accepted the presidency of 

 the Northwestern Virginia Railroad Company, 

 and while in this office was, in 1856, elected 

 Mayor of the city of Baltimore, and re-elected 

 in 1858. While the secession struggle was in 

 progress he was elected by the Union party 

 Governor of the State of Maryland, and took 

 his seat Jan. 1, 1865. The next year he was 

 elected United States Senator, but was per- 

 suaded to remain at his post as Governor until 

 the expiration of his term, Jan. 1, 1869. In 

 November, 1868, Gov. Swann was elected by 

 the Democrats as representative in Congress. 

 He was re-elected four times, viz., in 1870, 

 1872, 1874, and 1876. 



Talbot, Joseph, an American clergyman, born 

 in Alexandria, Va., Sept. 5, 1816; died in In- 

 dianapolis, Ind., Jan. 16, 1883. He was of 

 Quaker parentage, and received his educa- 

 tional training at the Alexandria Academy. 

 About 1835 he removed to the West, where 

 he engaged hi mercantile pursuits and bank- 

 ing business. His religious convictions took 

 such shape that he abandoned Quakerism, 

 and united with the Episcopal Church. He 

 was baptized in 1837, and after due prepara- 

 tion was admitted to the priesthood in 1848. 

 He thereupon became rector of St. John's 

 Church, Louisville, Ky., where he served some 

 seven years. Thence he went to Indianapolis, 

 and became rector of Christ Church in that 

 city. In 1860 he was consecrated missionary 

 Bishop of the Northwest, and five years later 

 was chosen Assistant Bishop of Indiana. On 

 the death of Bishop Upfold, in 1872, he be- 

 came bishop of the diocese. He received his 

 doctor's degree from the Western University 

 of Pennsylvania, and subsequently, while in 

 England at the Lambeth Conference, he was 

 honored with the degree of LL. D. by the 

 University of Cambridge. Bishop Talbot was 

 possessed of vigorous manhood, was a man of 

 fine appearance, and was an excellent preacher. 



Taylor, Arthur F., an American chemist, born 

 in Andover, Mass., in 1853; died suddenly 

 while on a visit to New York, June 19, 1883. 

 He was a graduate of Harvard College, and 

 also of the School of Chemistry of the Uni- 

 versity of Gottingen, Germany. He was Pro- 

 fessor of Chemistry for a time in the Univer- 

 sity of Pennsylvania, but in 1881 accepted the 

 professorship of Chemistry in the Case School 

 of Applied Science, Cleveland, Ohio. This 

 post he held at the time of his death. 



Thayer, Nathaniel, an American capitalist, born 

 in 1808; died in Boston, Mass.', March 7, 1883. 

 He was a son of Rev. Dr. Thayer, of Lancaster, 

 and for many years was a member of the firm 

 of J. E. Thayer & Brother. He was largely con- 

 nected with railroads and railroad development 

 in the West, and was a director of the New 



