Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1889, volume 6).djvu/291

Rh d. there about 1660. He entered the Franciscan order and was attached to the missions in Chiapa, where. he labored with great success for about twenty -five years, founded several missions, be- came chronicler of his order, and established the Franciscan province of Nicaragua. He left a valu- able manuscript, " Cronica de la provincia del Santisimo Nombre de Jesus, del orden de San Francisco de Guatemala, y de las misiones en la provincia de Chiapa" (2 vols., Guatemala, 1714 and 1716), in which he recounts the entrance of the Spaniards into Guatemala, narrates the stages of the conquest, and gives valuable information about the foundation of Chiapa, and concerning the missionaries that wrote in the aboriginal lan- guages of Guatemala and Chiapa.

VASQUEZ, Francisco Pablo, Mexican R. C. bishop, b. in Atlixco in 1769 ; d. in Cholula in 1847. He was educated in the Palafoxiano seminary of Puebla, where he studied philosophy, and in 1788 was graduated at the University of Mexico, where he obtained in 1789 the chair of philosophy. He was given the degree of doctor in theology in 1795, appointed to the parish of San Geronimo Coatepec, and made secretary of the diocese of Puebla. In 1818 he was elected canon of the cathedral, and in 1825 the government appointed him minister to the pope, to obtain the recognition of the republic and arrange a convention. He sailed for London, and afterward went to Paris, and in December, 1828, received new instructions in Florence. His negotiations with Pius VIII., and afterward with Gregory XVI., ended in a satis- factory treaty between the apostolic see and the government of the republic. He was consecrated bishop of Puebla in Rome by Cardinal Odescalchi in March, 1831, and returned to Mexico. He founded the correctional asylum for women, im- proved the hospital, and favored all the charitable institutions of Puebla. He translated Clavigero's "Storia Antica del Messico " a,nd Voltaire's " Let- tres de quelques juifs Allemands et Polonais " into Spanish (Mexico, 1842).

VASSAR, Matthew, philanthropist, b. in the parish of Tuddenham, Norfolk, England, 29 April, 1792 ; d. in Poughkeepsie, N. Y., 23 June, 1868. His father, James Vassar. of French ancestry, who was a dis- senter of the Bap- tist communion, emigrated with his wife and chil- dren and an un- married brother, Thomas, to this country. He reached New York in 1796, and, after spend- ing a few months in exploring the country, settled in the spring of 1797 on a farm in the neighbor- hood of Pough- keepsie. Here the Vassar family, having brought the art with them from England, began the brewing of ale first for their own con- sumption and then to meet the demands of their neighbors. These demands grew so rapidly that in 1801 James Vassar removed to Poughkeepsie and there conducted the brewing business on an exten- sive scale. His son, Matthew, finally succeeded to this business, and in it acquired the large fortune that he ultimately devoted mainly to the higher education of women. In 1845, after many years of diligent and prosperous labor, he visited Europe and spent nearly twelve months in travelling over Great Britain, Ireland, and the continent. Having no children, he was already meditating as to the man- ner in which he should dispose of his fortune so as best to promote the welfare of society. Circum- stances finally determined him to erect and endow a college for young women which should be to their sex what Harvard and Yale were to young men. In the execution of this purpose Mr. Vas- sar was a pioneer in a field that now abounds in imitators. In January, 1861, he obtained from the legislature an act to incorporate Vassar col- lege, and in February following, at a meeting of the board of trustees which he selected, he trans- ferred to their custody the sum of $400,000. At his death this was increased by the bequests of his will to more than $800,000. In the earlier years of his career Mr. Vassar gave much to various charities. A handsome house of worship for the Baptist church of Poughkeepsie, to which he was warmly attached, was built mainly by his contri- butions. His death occurred suddenly on com- mencement-day while he was engaged in reading his annual address to the trustees. — His nephew, Matthew, philanthropist, son of John Guy Vas- sar, b. in Poughkeepsie, N. Y., 11 May, 1809; d. there, 10 Aug., 1881. At the age of twenty-two he accepted a partnership in his uncle's brewing business, and laid the foundation of a large for- tune. Though his early education was limited, he became a well-informed man of sound judgment, positive convictions, and resolute energy, and ex- erted a commanding influence in the community in which he lived. He was active in various local institutions and charities, but rendered especially valuable service in his care of the college that his uncle had founded. He was one of its original trustees, and its treasurer until the time of his death, devoting, without salary, to the duties of this office and the general interests of the college several hours of each day for sixteen years. Ho endowed two professorships that bear his name in Vassar college, contributing for this purpose $100,- 000, and also bequeathed to the college $50,000 as a beneficiary fund. In conjunction with his brother, John Guy, he built and equipped the Vas- sar brothers' laboratory connected with the college at a cost of $20,000. In the city of Poughkeepsie he and his brother erected and endowed the Vas- sar brothers' home for aged men, the Vassar broth- ers' scientific and literary institute, and the Vassar brothers' hospital, of which the last named was completed after his death. His various benefac- tions amounted to about $500,000. By his exer- tions a branch of the New York society for the prevention of cruelty. to animals was established in Poughkeepsie, and he became its president. He also gave much to the Baptist church of Poughkeepsie, of which he was a life -long member. —The second Matthew's brother, John Guy, philanthropist, b. in Poughkeepsie, N. Y.. 15 June, 1811; d. there, 27 Oct., 1888, was early associated with his uncle in the brewing business, and shared its prosperity. Infirm health prevented his steady application to business, and he spent thirty years abroad, during which he travelled over a large part of the globe. He gave an account of these travels in a published volume entitled "Twenty Years Around the World" (1861). He is one of the original trustees of Vassar college, being selected for that position by its founder. Be-