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518 gaged in skirmishes near New York city in the spring of 1776. In August, 1777, he was second in command at Fort Stanwix, whence he led a sally against the main force of Col. Barry St. Leger, and thus gave the victory to the militia at Oris- kany. He joined Gen. Washing- ton's army in New Jersey in June, 1778, and in 1779 accompanied Gen. John Sullivan in his expedition against the Six Nations. From 1780 till the end of the war he commanded the forces in the Mo- hawk valley, en- countering the ir- John^ohnson at Johnstown in the summer of 1781, and in February, 1783, conducting the last hostile movement against the British, which was an attempt to surprise the garrison at Oswego. He was elected to the state assembly after the peace, but vacated his seat in February, 1784, on being appointed sheriff of New York, which office he held till 1792. In the latter year he was offered the com- mand and rank of a brigadier-general in the expedi- tion against the western Indians, but declined. He was sent by President Washington in 1794 to the south on a mission to the Creek Indians, and brought Alexander McGillivray and his principal chiefs and warriors to New York, where tney signed a treaty of peace. When De Witt Clinton was removed from the office of mavor of New York, in 1807, Willett was appointed in his place. In 1810 the section of the Republicans that became the Tam- many party nominated him for lieutenant-governor in opposition to Clinton. On 24 June, 1812, he was secretary of a mass-meeting in favor of mili- tary preparations against the British. See " A Narrative of the Military Actions of Col. Marinus Willett," prepared chiefly from his manuscript journals by his son, William M. Willett (New York, 1831). — Marinus's son, William Marinus, author, b. in New York city, 3 Jan., 1803, entered the New York conference of the Methodist Episcopal church in 1823, and preached in eastern New York and Connecticut, and afterward in the limits of the Genesee conference, to which he was transferred in 1826 till 1833. In 1838 he became instructor in Hebrew at Wesleyan university, and in 1841-'2 was professor of Hebrew and biblical literature, and also edited the last numbers of the college magazine that was called the " Classic." In 1843 he founded the Biblical institute at Newbury, Vt., of which he was president till 1848. His life has since been spent in literary labor. He edited the "Newbury Biblical Magazine" in 1843-'4, and in 1882 the " New Bible Magazine," which was con- tinued only through one volume. His works in- clude " Scenes in the Wilderness : Authentic Nar- rative of the Labors and Sufferings of the Moravian Missionaries among the North American Indians " (New York, 1842) ; " A New Life of Summerfield " (Philadelphia. 1857); "The Life and Times of Herod the Great, as connected, Historically and Prophetically, with the Coming Christ " (Philadel- phia, 1860) ; " Herod Antipas, with Passages from the Life of Jesus," a sequel to the last-named (New York, 1866) ; " The Messiah " (Boston, 1874) ; and " The Restitution of All Things " (New York, 1880).

WILLETTS, Jacob, educator, b. in Fishkill, N. Y., in 1785; d. near Mechanic, Dutchess co., N. Y., 12 Sept., 1860. He was educated at the Friends' boarding-school near Mechanic, and on his eighteenth birthday became head teacher there. About 1813 he settled on the island of Nantucket, where with his wife he conducted a flourishing school for many years; but in 1824 they returned to Dutchess county and established a school near Mechanic, which they continued until 1852. He was an accomplished mathematician, and published text-books of geography, arithmetic, and book- keeping, which were much used throughout the country. — His wife, Deborah, b. in Marshfield, Mass., in 1789; d. near Mechanic, Dutchess co., N. Y., in 1880, was educated in the same school with Mr. Willetts, and married him in 1812. Her maiden name was Rogers, and she was a lineal de- scendant of the martyr of Smithfield. She was a skilful grammarian, and was often consulted on difficult questions by Goold Brown, who in the preface of his celebrated grammar acknowledged his indebtedness to her.

WILLEY, Austin, reformer, b. in Campton, N. H., 24 June, 1806. He was educated at Pembroke academy, studied at Bangor theological seminary, where he was graduated in 1837, arid in 1839 be- came editor of the " Advocate of Freedom," an anti-slavery paper that had been established in the preceding year at Brunswick, Me., which he con- ducted until the abolition of slavery. He was also an early advocate of prohibition, and contributed to the adoption of the Maine law. He has pub- lished in book-form a " Family Memorial " (San Francisco, 1865), and " History of the Anti-Slavery Cause in State and Nation " (Portland, 1886).

WILLEY, Benjamin Glazier, author, b. in Conway, N. H., 1 Feb., 1796 ; d. in East Sumner, Me., 17 April, 1867. He was graduated at Bowdoin in 1822, studied theology with Rev. Asa Cumniings, was ordained as colleague pastor at Conway in 1824, and preached there for seven years, and sub- sequently at Milton and Farmington, N. H., and East Sumner, Me. His father, Samuel, was one of the first settlers of Conway, and his brother, who was also named Samuel, perished with all his family in the avalanche of 28 Aug., 1826. An account of this catastrophe is given in Mr. Willey's " Incidents in White Mountain History " (Boston, 1856), which was enlarged and republished under the title of " History of the White Mountains, together with many Interesting Anecdotes, illustrating Life in the Backwoods " (New York, 1870).

WILLEY, Calvin, senator, b. in East Haddam, Conn., 15 Sept., 1776; d. in Stafford, Conn., 23 Aug., 1858. He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1798, and began practice at Salford. He served in the state house of representatives f(5r nine successive years and in the state senate for two years, was postmaster at Stafford Springs in 180fr-'8, and afterward at Tolland till 1816, and for seven years filled the office of probate judge for the Stafford district. He was a presidential elector in 1824, voting for John Quincy Adams, and was elected a U. S. senator, serving from 9 Dec, 1825, till 3 March, 1831. At the end of his term he resumed practice at Stafford.

WILLEY, Henry, botanist, b. in Geneseo. N. Y., 19 July, 1824. He was educated at the normal school in Bridgewater, Mass., and afterward taught a farm-school for boys in Geneseo. Subsequently he studied law, and was admitted to