Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1889, volume 6).djvu/340

312 general of the diocese. In 1872 he was nominated to the new see of Ogdensburg, and on 5 May he was consecrated bishop. He was installed in his diocese on 16 May, and at once began an energetic adminis- tration, building many churches and about twenty chapels for the smaller missions. The numerous and heavy debts that were incurred for these build- ings were paid after a few years. He founded schools in Ogdensburg, which he placed in charge of the Clerks of St. Viateur. Franciscan sisters opened others in Croghan and Mohawk Hill, a boys' college was established at Watertown by the Fathers of the Sacred Heart, and other schools Were established in various places. The improvement of the clergy has also been an object with Bishop Wadhams, and with this view he established annual retreats and conferences, with periodical examinations for the younger priests. In 1888 there were 98 churches in the diocese and 58 stations, 77 priests, 5 religious communities of men, and 13 of women.

WADLEIGH, Bainhridge, senator, b. in Brad- ford, N. H., 4 Jan., 1831. He received a liberal education, studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1850, and practised in Milford. For eight terms, between 1855 and 1872, he served in the legislature, where' he was conspicuous as a debater. He was elected to the U. S. senate, as a Republican, to succeed James W. Patterson, serving from 4 March, 1873, till 3 March. 1879. In that body he was a member of the committees on patents, military affairs, and elections. After his retirement from the senate, he resumed the practice of law.

WADSWORTH, Benjamin, educator, b. in Milton, Mass., in 1669 ; d. in Cambridge, Mass., 16 March, 1737. He was the son of Capt. Samuel Wadsworth, who fell in battle with the Indians at Sudbury, Mass., on 18 April, 1676, and the spot where he fell is designated by a monument that this son erected to his memory. After graduation at Harvard in 1690 he studied theology, was licensed to preach, became assistant teacher in the First church in Boston in November, 1693, and on 8 Sept., 1696, was made its colleague pastor. On 7 July, 1725, he was inaugurated president of Har- vard college, and he held this post until his death. John Eliot says: "The general opinion, however, was that he was better fitted for the pastor of a church than to be master of the school of the prophets. He had confined his studies to theology, and was not a man of extensive erudition, or much acquainted with the sciences." He published nu- merous essays and sermons, which include "An Artillery Election Sermon" (1700) and "Five Ser- mons" (1711), the first, dated 30 Sept., being the last sermon that he delivered in the old meeting- house, which was burned on 2 Oct., 1711, and the last a " Thanksgiving Sermon for God's Goodness in providing a New Meeting-House for the Old Church," an account of the fire.

WADSWORTH, Charles, clergyman, b. in Litchfield, Conn., 8 May, 1814 ; d. in Philadelphia, Pa., 1 April, 1882. After graduation at Union college in 1837 he was pastor of the 2d Presbyte- rian church in Troy, N. Y., in 1842-50; of "the Arch street Presbyterian church, Philadelphia, in 1850-'62; of a Presbyterian church in San Fran- cisco in 1862-9 ; of the 3d Reformed Dutch church, Philadelphia, in 1869-73; of the Clinton street Presbyterian church, Philadelphia, in 1873-'9 ; and of the Clinton street Immanuel church, Philadel- phia, in 1879-'82. Dr. Wadsworth was among the most eloquent divines of his day. The University of the city of New York gave him the degree of D. D. in 1857. His sermons were published, with a memoir (3 vols., Philadelphia, 1882-'4).

WADSWORTH, James, soldier, b. in Durham, Conn., 6 July, 1730; d. there, 22 Sept., 1817. He was graduated at Yale in 1748. From 1756 till 1786 he was town-clerk of Durham, and at the be- ginning of the Revolution he became a member of the committee of safety. In 1776 he was colonel and brigadier-general of Connecticut militia, and in 1777 he was appointed 2d major-general. In the latter year he was ordered to New Haven to defend the towns on the coast. Subsequently he was a justice, and afterward presiding justice of the New Haven county court of common pleas, was a delegate from Connecticut to the Continental congress in 1783-6, and from 1785 till 1790 a mem- ber of the executive council. — His nephew, James, philanthropist, b. in Durham, Conn., 20 April, 1768; d. in Geneseo, N. Y., 8 June, 1844, was graduated at Yale in 1787, and in 1790 removed with his brother, William, to Genesee river, pur- chasing a large tract of land in what is now the town of Geneseo, and becoming one of the most wealthy land-proprietors in the state. At his per- sonal expense he printed and circulated publica- tions on education, employed lecturers on this sub- ject, and offered premiums to the towns that should be the first to establish libraries. In 1811 he pro- posed the establishment of normal schools, and in 1838 he procured the enactment of a school-library law, and founded a library and institution for sci- entific lectures at Geneseo, which he endowed with f 10,000. In his sales of land he always stipulated that a tract of 125 acres in each township should be granted free for a church, and another of the same size for a school. — James's brother, William, soldier, b. in Durham, Conn., in 1732 ; d. in Gene- seo, N. Y., in February, 1833, was also an early settler in western New York. At the beginning of the war of 1812 he was brigadier-general of New York militia, and he served in the U. S. army from 26 June till 15 Nov., 1812, took part in the assault on Queenston Heights, 13 Oct., 1812, where he was in command when the Americans surrendered, and gave up his sword in person to Sir Roger Sheaffe, — James's son. James Samuel, soldier, b. in Gene- seo, N. Y., 30 Oct., 1807 ; d. near Chancellorsville, Va., 8 May, 1864, was educated at Harvard and Yale and studied law in Albany, completing his course with Dan- iel Webster. Al- though he was admitted to the bar in 1833, he never practised his profession, but devoted him- self to the man- agement of the family estate in western New York, which amounted to 15,- 000 acres. In 1852 he was elect- ed president of the State agricultural society, in which he was interested during his life. He promoted education and the interests of the community in which he lived. He founded a public library in Geneseo, was a subscriber to the endowment of Geneseo college, aided in establishing the school-district library system, and was