Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1889, volume 6).djvu/707

Rh tice of his profession, which he continued until shortly before his death. Col. Biddle was connect- ed with the Fairmount park art association, and, through his counsel, beautiful fountains and groups were placed in the park.

BINGHAM, Henry Harrison, congressman, b. in Philadelphia, Pa., 10 July, 1841. He was graduated at Jefferson college in 1862, became a lieutenant in the 140th Pennsylvania volunteers, was wounded at Gettysburg, Spottsylvania, and Farmville, and in July, 1866, was mustered out as judge advocate, with the rank of major and brevet brigadier-general of volunteers. He was postmaster at Philadelphia in 1867-'?2, but resigned to become clerk of the courts of oyer and terminer and quar- ter sessions of Philadelphia, to which office he was re-elected in 1875, and served till 1878, when he was chosen to congress as a Republican. He has since occupied a seat in the latter body by re-elec- tion. Gen. Bingham was a delegate-at-large from Pennsylvania to the National Republican conven- tion in 1872, and a delegate from the first district to the conventions of 1876, 1884, and 1888.

BISHOP, Judson Wade, soldier, b. in Evans- ville, Jefferson co., N. Y., 24 June, 1831. He re- ceived his education at Predonia academy, N. Y., where his father was settled as pastor of the Bap- tist church for several years, and later at Belleville, Jefferson co. After serving as a clerk and book- keeper, he taught for two winters, then studied civil engineering, and in 1853 entered the office of the Grand Trunk railway at Kingston, Ont. After serving as an assistant engineer there and in Min- nesota, he settled in Chatfield, Minn., as a survey- or, publishing a map and pamphlet history of that county. He also taught there, and then purchas- ing the " Democrat " in 1859, which he published until 1861, when he sold it and recruited a compa- ny of volunteers. He was mustered as a captain of the 2d Minnesota regiment on 26 June, 1861, and served through the war in the west. He rose to be colonel, 14 July, 1864, and was brevetted briga- dier-general of volunteers on 7 June, 1865. Since the war he has been engaged in building and op- erating railroads in Minnesota. He resigned m April, 1881, to engage in railroad construction.

BLODGETT, Henry Williams, jurist, b. in Amherst, Mass., 21 July, 1821. His parents re- moved, to Illinois about 1831. When seventeen years of age Henry attended the Amherst acad- emy one year, whence he returned to Illinois and engaged in teaching and subsequently in land- surveying until twenty -one years of age. He studied law in Chicago with Jonathan Y. Scam- mon and Norman B. Judd, was admitted to the bar in 1845, and began practice in Waukegan, 111., where he still resides. In 1844 he voted the Anti- slavery ticket, and he has since been an adherent of the Anti-slavery and Republican parties. In 1852 he was elected to the general assembly of Illinois, being the first avowed Anti-slavery member that ever occupied a seat in that body, and in the fol- lowing year was elected to the state senate. As a legislator he was one of the ablest and most useful, and was largely instrumental in shaping the legis- lation of the commonwealth and in promoting the development of the resources of Illinois. In 1855 and for several years subsequently he was associ- ated with the legal department of the Chicago and Northwestern railway, of which he was one of the projectors. He was the pioneer in the building of the Chicago and Milwaukee railroad, and was iden- tified with it in the capacities of attorney, direct- or, and president. Later he was solicitor of the Michigan Southern, Fort Wayne, Rock Island, and Northwestern roads, and he retired when the busi- ness reached such proportions that it was impos- sible for one man to attend to it. In 1870 he was appointed by President Grant a judge of the U. S. district court for the northern district of Illinois, which office he still holds.

BLODGETT, Rufus, senator, b. in Dorchester, N. H., 9 Oct., 1834. He studied in local schools and academies, and at the age of eighteen was ap- Srenticed to the Amoskeag locomotive works, at [anchester, N. H., where he learned the trade of a machinist. In 1866 he removed to New Jersey and engaged in the railroad business. From 1874 till 1884 he was superintendent of the New Jersey southern railroad, and in the latter year was ap- pointed superintendent of the New York and Long Branch railroad, which place he still holds. Sena- tor Blodgett is also president of the Long Branch city bank. He was a member of the New Jersey legislature in 1878-'80, and was a delegate to the Democratic national convention in 1880. In 1887 he was elected as a Democrat to the U. S. senate, and took his seat on 4 March of that year.

BONNEY, Charles Carroll, reformer, b. in Hamilton, N. Y., 4 Sept., 1831. He was educated at Hamilton academy, settled in Peoria, 111., in 1850, and in 1852 was admitted to the bar. He removed to Chicago in 1860, where he soon attained a large practice. Mr. Bonney was elected presi- dent of the National law and order league in New York in 1885, and has since been annually re-elect- ed to that office. He has been president of the Illinois state bar association, and a member of the American bar association. Among the reform measures proposed by him are constitutional pro- hibition of special legislation ; a national currency under a national law ; national uniformity of com- mercial paper ; an extension of equity practice to bankruptcy and other law proceedings ; civil-ser- vice pensions ; and state boards of labor and capi- tal. Besides numerous pamphlets, addresses, and essays on public questions, he has published " Rules of Law for the Carriage and Delivery of Persons and Property by Railway" (Chicago, 1864) and " A Summary of the Law of Marine, Fire, and Life Insurance" (1865), and edited " Poems by Alfred W. Arrington, with a Sketch of his Character " (1869).

BRIGHTLY, Frederick Charles, lawyer, b. in Bungay, Suffolk, England, 26 Aug., 1812 ; d. in Germantown, Pa., 24 Jan., 1888. After serving as a midshipman under the East Indian company he came to this country in 1831, studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1839. Mr. Brightly retired from active practice about 1870, and devoted his time to legal authorship. His collection of about 5,000 volumes is one of the best private law libraries in this country. He printed a descriptive catalogue of his books, with critical notices of authors and subjects, for private circulation (Philadelphia, 1885). His legal works are " The Law of Costs in Pennsylvania " (1847) ; " Reports of Cases decided by the Judges of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania," with notes (1851) ; " The Equitable Jurisdiction of the Courts of Pennsylvania " (1855) ; " An Analytical Digest of the Laws of the United States, 1789-1869" (2 vols., 1865-'9); "A Digest of the Decisions of the Federal Courts " (2 vols., 1868-73); "The Bankrupt Law of the United States " (1871) ; " A Collection of Leading Cases on the Law of Elections in the United States " (1871) ; " Constitution of Pennsylvania, as Amended in the Year 1874," to which is appended the constitution of 1838 (1874) ; " A Digest of the Decisions of the Courts of the State of New York to January, 1884" (3 vols., New York, 1875-'84); and "A Digest of