OBITUARIES, AMERICAN. 



585 



and a professor in Colombia College. William 

 A. studied at the General Theological Semi- 

 nary in New York City, and after his ordina- 

 tion acted as assistant to the Rev. Mr. Ran- 

 kin, and became rector of St. Barnabas, at Ir- 

 vington, N. Y. Failing health induced him to 

 seek a milder climate, and he acted as rector 

 of the American Chapel at Nice, France, where 

 he remained until 1876, when he became rector 

 of Christ Church, New York. He was the 

 author of the " Life of John McVickar." 



MEIGGS, HENKY, was born at Catskill, N. Y., 

 July 7, 1811, and died in Peru in October. 

 He came to New York in 1835, engaged in the 

 lumber business, and failed in 1837. In 1838 

 he started a large lumber yard at Williams- 

 burg, and was at one time President of the 

 Board of Trustees of that place. In 1842 he 

 again failed, but, attracted by the discoveries 

 of gold in California, in 1848, he engaged in 

 shipping lumber there, and in a few years 

 built a fleet of sloops and schooners to convey 

 lumber from different points on the coast. At 

 length a financial crisis in San Francisco forced 

 Mr. Meiggs to accept large loans from bank- 

 ers ; the crash finally came and he left the 

 State. He next appeared in Chili, as a build- 

 er of bridges on the Valparaiso & Santiago 

 road, and by 1858 he had effected a contract 

 with the Chilian Government by which he 

 cleared a profit of $1,300,000. One of his 

 many public works was the improvement of 

 the environs of Lima, in Peru, and he con- 

 tracted for the construction of six railways 

 in that country, the most remarkable among 

 them being the building of the Callao, Lima & 

 Oroya Railroad, which ranks among the most 

 daring achievements of modern engineering. 

 He was enabled to meet his claims in Califor- 

 nia, which were paid in full and with interest. 

 He was a connoisseur in art, and was, at one 

 time, president of a prominent musical society 

 in New York City. 



MILES, MARCUS II., died at St. Clair, Mich. 

 He was born in Fabius, Onondaga County, N. 

 Y., in 1813, and after his admission to the bar 

 began the practice of law at St. Clair. He 

 aided in organizing the Republican party in 

 Michigan, and held various public positions, in- 

 cluding that of Judge of Probate, Circuit Court 

 Commissioner, member of the State Legisla- 

 ture for several terms and of the Constitutional 

 Convention of 1867. After being appointed 

 Draft Commissioner in 1862, and later provost- 

 marshal of his district, he resigned in 1863 to 

 accept tlie position of Quartermaster of the 

 Eleventh Michigan Cavalry. From 1864 until 

 the end of the war he served as Judge Advo- 

 cate of the Military Commission and General 

 Court-Marshal for the District of Kentucky, 

 and in 1870 he was appointed United States 

 Inspector of Customs, at Toronto, Ont., hold- 

 ing the office for five years, when failing health 

 compelled him to resign. 



MOSES, Chief Justice, of the Supreme Court 

 of South Carolina, died at Columbia, S. 0., 



March 6th, nged 70 years. He was the father 

 of ex-Governor Moses. 



MUMFORD, Rev. THOMAS J., the editor of the 

 Christian Register, died at Dorchester, Mass., 

 August 29th. He was of the old Newport fam- 

 ily of Mumfords, but his early years were spent 

 at the South, where he was educated. He be- 

 came a most zealous abolitionist after he re- 

 moved to the North. 



NEWCOMB, W. W., died in New York City, 

 May 2d. He was a well-known negro min- 

 strel and delineator. 



NEWTON, Prof. HENRY, died at Deadwood, 

 Dak., August 5th, aged 82 years. His father, 

 Isaac Newton, was one of the pioneers of steam 

 navigation, and his brother, Isaac Newton, the 

 engineer, was well known for his introduction 

 of iron-clads during the war. Henry Newton 

 graduated at the College of New York in 1866, 

 and three years later took his degree at the 

 Mining School of Columbia College as engineer 

 of mining. After his graduation he was ap- 

 pointed Assistant Professor of Geology, which 

 position he filled until called to make the geo- 

 logical survey of Ohio, under Prof. Newberry. 

 He was appointed geologist to the United 

 States exploring expedition two years ago; his 

 report of this survey is soon to be published 

 by the Government. In 1876 he received the 

 honorary degree of Doctor of Philosophy from 

 Columbia College, and shortly before his death 

 he was appointed Professor of Geology and 

 Mining Engineering in Ohio. He was the au- 

 thor of many original and striking papers ; the 

 one on the Geology of the Black Hills, read 

 before the Academy of Sciences in 1676, at- 

 tracting much attention. 



ODLIN, PETER, died in Dayton, Ohio, October 

 19th. He was born in New Jersey in 1798, and 

 began the practice of law in Somerset, Ohio, but 

 subsequently removed to Dayton, then a small 

 settlement, and contributed much to its devel- 

 opment. He attained a high reputation as a 

 lawyer, and was influential both in the Ohio 

 Senate and in other important positions. 



O'MAHONY, JOHN, died in ^ew York City, 

 February 6th. He was born in Mitchelstown, 

 County Cork, Ireland, in 1816, and was a stu- 

 dent at Trinity College, Dublin. In 1848 ho 

 took an active part in the Smith O'Brien re- 

 bellion, and became a leader in another rising 

 inTipperary and Waterford, which was quickly 

 suppressed. In 1856 O'Mahony and John 

 Mitchel were the leaders of a large body of 

 Irish Nationalists in New York City known as 

 the Emmet Monument Association, and in 1858 

 he with James Stevens established tho Irish 

 Revolutionary Brotherhood in Ireland and in 

 this country, O'Mnhony being at the head of 

 the American Branch of Fenians. Ho raised 

 the 99th Regiment of New York in 1864, and 

 was appointed to its command. In 1866 he 

 relinquished the leadership of tho Fenians, re- 

 sumed it in 1872, and retained it up to the time 

 of his death. Ho started and edited The Iri*h 

 People for two years, contributed also to The 



