Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1889, volume 6).djvu/251

Rh of the most learned churchmen of South America, and, although he is thoroughly identified with the ultramontane party, his memory is venerated even by his political opponents in Chili.

VALDUREZO, Ignacio de (val-doo-ray'-tho), Spanish missionary, b. in Catalonia in the first half of the lGth century; d. in Peru toward the end of that century. He labored for about thirty-five years in the missions of the province of Cocha- bamba, and learned to decipher the Quipos — neck- laces of various colors intermingled with knots of different, sizes — which were formerly used by the Peruvians to record historical events. His manu- script was unfortunately lost, and all that remains is recorded in a letter from Valdurezo to a canon of Charcas, Bartolome Cervantes. The manuscripts of the latter fell afterward into the hands of An- ello Oliva, who utilized them in his " Historia del Reyno de Peru." Ferdinand Denis, in his " Etudes sur les Quipos" (Paris, 1858), commends Friar Valdurezo for his discovery.

VALE, Oilbert, author, b. in London, England, in 1788 ; d. in Brooklyn, N. Y., 17 Aug., I860. He was educated in his native city and was intended for the church, but he abandoned preparation for that profession, came to the United States in 1829, and engaged in teaching, making a specialty of navigation, and in lecturing, publishing, and liter- ary pursuits in New York city and Brooklyn. For several years he edited the " Citizen of the World " and subsequently the " Beacon," a literary and sci- entific journal. He also occupied himself with in- vention, and patented a combined terrestrial globe and celestial sphere to facilitate the teaching of astronomy. Mr. Vale was a free-thinker, and his writings are for the most part arguments for his geculiar tenets. He published " Fanaticism, its ource and Influence " (New York, 1835), and the " Life of. Thomas Paine," including his letters to Gen. Washington, which are suppressed in other biographies of Paine (1841). — His daughter Euphemia Vale Blake, author, b. in Rye, Sussex, England, 7 May, 1824, came to this country at an early age, was educated privately, and since 1843 has been occupied in literary pursuits and in in- ventions. She married Daniel S. Blake in 1863. She has published "Teeth, Ether, and Chloro- form " (Boston, 1847) ; " History of Newburyport, Mass." (1854) ; and " Arctic Experiences," a history of the "Polaris" expedition, with a summary of all preceding expeditions (New York, 1874). VALENCIA, Martin de (va-len'-theah), Spanish missionary, b. in Valencia de Don Juan, kingdom of Leon, about. 1466 ; d. in Ayotzingo, Mexico, 31 Aug., 1533. He became a Franciscan friar at Mayorga, and was early distinguished for his knowledge and austerity. He was charged in 1514 with the refor- mation of the convent of Santa Maria de Bonocal, and established the new province of St. Gabriel, of which he was appointed provincial in 1516. When Hernan Cortes in 1523 asked for Francis- can missionaries, the pope named Valencia to the emperor as the most fit to establish successful mis- sions in the New World. He went to New Spain in 1524 with twelve friars, founded there the prov- ince of Santo Evangelio, learned the Indian dia- lects, and after 1526 preached to the natives in their language with success. He successively founded convents at Mexico. Tezcoco, Vera Cruz, Tlalmanalco, and other places, and justly deserves the name of " first apostle of Mexico." He died from exhaustion during a journey from Tehuan- tepec to Mexico. Father Valencia's letters to the councils of the Indies are published in "Cartas de Indias " (Madrid, 1872), and his life was written by Fray Francisco Ximenez under the title "Vida de Fray Martin de Valencia" (Seville, 1535). His manuscript works include " Cartas al Papa Adri- ano VI." and " Cartas al Emperador Carlos V.," which, besides other historical documents that are preserved in the archives of Simancas, are often consulted by writers on early Mexican history. His published works include " Carta al general del Orden de San Francisco, Fray Matias Weisen, dan- dole razon de los buenos sucesos de la conquista espiritual de Mexico " (Seville, 1554), also in Italian and Latin translations, and " Actas de la primera junta apostolica celebrada en Mexico en 1524" (Mexico, 1769).

VALENTIN, Louis (val-on-tang), French phy- sician, b. in Soulanges, France, 14 Oct., 1758 ; d. in Nancy, France, 11 Feb., 1829. He was gradu- ated in medicine by the faculty of Nancy in 1787, and in 1790 went to Santo Domingo as surgeon of a regiment. He gave particular attention to the diseases that were most prevalent in this colony and the means employed to combat them. When Cape Francais was burned in 1793, he lost all his property, his library, manuscripts, and a rich cabi- net of anatomy which he had just completed, and escaped with great difficulty to the United States, where he met his wife, whom he had believed to be murdered. The French consul placed him in charge of the hospitals in Virginia for the recep- tion of French sailors, and he remained in the United States until 1799. when he returned to France and settled at Nancy. He was a volumi- nous writer on medical subjects. Among his works are "Memoire sur l'incompatibilite des dif- ferents virus dans l'economie animale et sur leur innocuite par rapport au danger de la petite ve- role" (Cape Francais, 1792); "Memoire sur le traitement et l'extirpation des tumeurs du cou, etc." (Boston, 1792) ; " Coup d'ceil sur la culture de quelques vegetaux exotiques . . . et sur quelques decouvertes faites dans les Etats-Unis d'Amerique " (Marseilles. 1808); "Coup d'oeil sur les differents modes de traitor le tetanos en Amerique " (Paris, 1811); and "Notice sur l'opossum et sur quelques animaux a bourses" (Marseilles, 1811).

VALENTINE, David Thomas, historian, b. in East Chester, Westchester co., N. Y., 15 Sept., 1801; d. in New York city, 25 Feb., 1869. He was educated at White Plains academy, went to New York at the age of sixteen, was employed by a grocer for six years, and then received the ap- pointment of clerk to the marine court. In 1831 he became deputy clerk to the common council, and six years later succeeded to that office, to which he was re-elected under each succeeding administration till his death. In 1842, in pursu- ance of a resolution of the state legislature, he began the publication of a "Manual of the Cor- poration and Common Council of New York," and for twenty-five years he issued a volume annually, each containing' historical and antiquarian matters relating to the city, as well as pictures and views illustrative of its history. He was also the author of a "History of New York," treating of the prog- ress of the metropolis from its early beginnings (2 vols.. New York, 1853-0).

VALENTINE, Edward Virginias, sculptor, b. in Richmond, Va., 12 Nov., 1838. He was educated in Richmond, and when a mere boy studied anatomy at the medical college of that city. His first desire for art arose from a visit to the New York exhibition in 1851. After receiving such instruction in drawing and modelling as could be obtained in Richmond, he went to Europe in 1859 to study. Upon his return he opened a studio