Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1892, volume 3).djvu/297

Rh an officer in Cromwell's army, came to Boston on the accession of Charles II., and afterward settled in Middletown. Titus was graduated at Yale in 1757, practised law, was a member of the council and of the assembly of 1773-'8, speaker in 1777, served in the Continental congress of 1778-'9, and in 1780 became a judge of the maritime court of appeals of the United States. He was the patron of Joel Barlow, who wrote a much-admired elegy on his death. &mdash; His son, Stephen Titus, jurist, b. in Middletown, Conn., in 1763; d. there, 5 Aug., 1834, was graduated at Yale in 1782, and settled in the practice of law at Middletown in 1785. For two years and a half he was a member of the council of state, and after the adoption of the state constitution was chief justice of Connecticut from 1815 till 1833. &mdash; Titus's brother, Timothy, surgeon, b. in Middletown, Conn., in 1740; d. in Canandaigua, N. Y., in 1820, was an officer in the Continental army, served throughout the war, and for two years and a half was surgeon on Washington's staff. He removed to Ontario county, N. Y., where his was one of the first two settlements in the wilderness. In 1798 he was appointed first judge of the county. &mdash; Timothy's son, George, lawyer, b. in Farmington, Conn., 30 Aug., 1781; d. in Chicago, Ill., 6 March, 1861, received a classical education, studied law, and, after practising a year in Canandaigua, removed to Avon, N. Y. During the war of 1812 he served on the western frontier. He was elected district attorney of Livingston county in 1820, and a member of the legislature in 1823-'5, declined a renomination, and resumed practice. &mdash; George's son, William Henry Cuyler, poet, b. in Avon, N. Y., 25 May, 1814; d. there, 23 May, 1877, was graduated at the University of Vermont in 1841, studied law, and became a master in chancery at Avon, and in 1854 was appointed clerk in the New York city custom-house. He was a student of Indian character and lore, and travelled extensively among the tribes of Florida and Wisconsin. His mother was an accomplished woman, and spoke several Indian dialects. His publications are &ldquo;The Fall of Tecumseh,&rdquo; a drama (Avon, 1830); &ldquo;The Themes of Song&rdquo; (Rochester, 1834); &ldquo;The Pioneers of Western New York&rdquo; (Boston, 1838); &ldquo;The Months&rdquo; (1847); &ldquo;Yonnondio, or the Warriors of Genesee&rdquo; (New York, 1844); &ldquo;Bird-Notes&rdquo; (1850); &ldquo;Indian Traditions and Songs&rdquo; (1850); &ldquo;Legend of the Senecas&rdquo; (1850); and &ldquo;Poetical Works,&rdquo; a collection of the preceding (2 vols., 1854).

HOSSET, or OSSET, Gillis, colonist, b. in Holland; d. on Delaware bay in December, 1631. He came to this country in command of a Dutch colony, known as the De Vries expedition, which was sent out bv a companv of patroons, and sailed from the Texel, 12 Dec, 1630, in the ship " Wal- rus." They arrived probably in March, 1631, and landed on the South (or Delaware) bay at the Hoerkil or Lewis creek), where they settled, being the first colony on Delaware bay (or river). They built a house " well beset with palisades in place of breast- works," and named it Fort Optlandt. This served the colony, which consisted of thirty-two men, as a place of defence, a dwelling, and a storehouse. Conformably to the custom of the Dutch, Commis- sary Hosset erected a pillar, bearing a piece of tin, on which were traced the arms of the United Neth- erlands. This was innocently removed by an In- dian, which act was viewed by Hosset as a national insult, and, according to De Vries, " those in com- mand at the house made such ado about it that the Indians, not knowing how it was done, went away and slew the chief who had done it." whereat the friends of the murdered chief attacked the colo- nists, and Commander Hosset and his entire com- pany were treacherously and brutally murdered. Hosset had previously been in this country, when he was selected by Minuet to make purchases of lands from the Indians on the North river, and in 1631, shortly after his arrival on the Delaware, he, with Capt. Heges of the " Walrus," made a pur- chase of lands for Godyn and Bloemaert in what is now Cape Mav, N. J.

HOSTLOT, Louis, clergyman. b. in Brooklyn, N. Y., 19 Nov., 1848 ; d. in Rome, Italy, 1 Feb.. 1884. He was graduated at the College of St. Francis Xavier. New York city, in 1868, and went to Rome, where he pursued a course of theology. He was ordained priest in 1873, was appointed vice-rector of the American college of Rome, and afterward became its rector. The college was in debt, and he not only succeeded in paying it, but acquired sufficient funds to enable him to purchase a country house in Palestrina for the use of the students during the summer months. The American college as an educational institution soon began to rank first among the colleges of the Propaganda under his guidance. Dr. Hostlot was made a monsignor of the second class by the pope, and was afterward raised to the rank of domestic prelate of the first grade. Mgr. Hostlot used his great influence in Rome for the benefit of such of his countrymen as visited that city. He left some manuscripts which he was about to publish at the time of his death.

HOTCHKISS, Benjamin Berkely, inventor, b. in Wateitown, Conn., 1 Oct., 1826; d. in Paris, 14 Feb., 1885. He was brought up as a machinist, and as early as 1856 designed a rifle field-gun, which was purchased by the Mexican government. In 1860 he submitted to the U. S. government an improved system of rifling-belt and percussion fuse for projectiles, and after their adoption he engaged in their manufacture in New York. During the civil war, more Hotchkiss shells were used than any other variety except the Parrott shell. Mr. Hotchkiss visited Paris in 1867, and invented an improved metallic cartridge-case as a substitute for the paper-case then used in the French army. This form was purchased by the French authorities, and its manufacture begun at St. Etienne. He remained in Paris, where he made important improvements in the guns used by different nations, including his revolving cannon, which was adopted in Germany, Holland, Denmark, Russia, Italy, Austria, Chili, China, Norway, and the United States. His next invention of importance was that of a magazine-rifle, devised in 1875, and followed in 1882 by a quick-firing gun that has since been adopted in France, England, and the United States. During 1882 the firm of Hotchkiss and Company was formed, and the policy was introduced of manufacturing the guns in the different countries using them. In this manner connections were established in Germany. Austria, Italy, England, and Russia. At the time of his death, Mr Hotchkiss had the reputation of being the first artillerv engineer in the world, and up to July, 1886, his factories had delivered 5.037 guns, of which but two had ever failed. The Hotchkiss ordnance company, in which the three original partners are managing directors, was formed in 1887, and arrangements were made by the U. S. government for the establishment of one of the companv's factories in this country.

HOTCHKISS, James Harrey, clergyman, b. in Cornwall, Conn., 23 Feb., 1781 ; d. in Prattsburgh, N. Y., 21 Sept., 1851. He was graduated at Williams in 1800, and stationed at Prattsburg from