Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1892, volume 3).djvu/573

Rh ber of scientific societies, and was vice-president of the American institute of mining engineers in 1881-'2. His publications, mostly on geological and metallurgical subjects, have been contributed to American and foreign technical journals, and also include his official reports to the National government as director of the mint.

KIMBALL, James William, author, b. in Salem, Mass., 4 Feb., 1812 ; d. in Newton, Mass., 28 March, 1885. He entered Yale with a view to studying for the ministry, but feeble health obliged him to leave, and, after a visit to Europe in 1835, he devoted himself to commercial pursuits. Dur- ing the intervals of active business he wrote on religious subjects, publishing about fifty tracts, and in book-form " Heaven, my Father's House " (Boston, 1857); "Friendly Words with Fellow- Pilgrims " (1867) ; " Encouragements to Faith " (1873); "How to see Jesus" (1877); and "The Christian Ministry " (1884).

KIMBALL, Joseph Horace, author, b. in Pembroke, N. H., in 1813; d. in Pembroke, N. H., 11 April, 1838. He resided in Concord, N. H., where he edited " The Herald of Freedom," an anti- slavery journal. After a visit to the West India islands he published jointly with two friends " Emancipation in the West Indies : a Six Months' Tour in Antigua, Barbadoes, and Jamaica in 1837 " (New York, 1838).

KIMBALL, Nathan, soldier, b. in Indiana. He served in the Mexican war as captain of vol- unteers, and at the beginning of the civil war was appointed colonel of a regiment of Indiana infantry. He took part in operations in Cheat Mountain in September, and at the battle of Greenbrier in October, 1861, commanded a brigade at the battle of Winchester, and was com- missioned as a brigadier-general of volunteers on 15 April, 1862. At Antietam his brigade held its ground with desperate courage, losing nearly six hundred men. At Fredericksburg he was wounded in the thigh. Subsequently Gen. Kimball served in the west, commanding a division at the siege of Vicksburg in June and July, 1863, and at the bat- tle of Franklin on 30 Nov., 1864. He was brevetted major-general on 1 Feb., 1865, and mustered out of the service on 24 Aug., 1865.

KIMBALL, Richard Burleigh, author, b. in Plainfield, N. H., 11 Oct., 1816. He was graduated at Dartmouth in 1834, studied law, and in 1836 went to Paris, continuing his studies in the uni- versity there. On his return he practised his pro- fession in Waterford, N. Y., and afterward in New York city. He founded the town of Kimball, in Texas, and built the first railroad that was constructed in that state, running from Galveston to Houston and beyond, of which he was presi- dent from 1854 till 1860. In 1873 he received from Dart- mouth the degree of LL. D. He has pub- lished in magazines many tales, sketches of travel, and essays on biographical, historical, and financial subjects. Of his books four have been translated into Dutch, and several into French and German. They include " Letters from England " (New York, 1842) ; " St. Leger, or the Threads of Life," a novel that had previously ap- peared in the " Knickerbocker Magazine " (1850) ; "Cuba and the Cubans" (1850); "Letters from Cuba " (1850) ; " Romance of Student Life Abroad " (1852) ; " Lectures before the Law Institute of New York City" (1853) : " Undercurrents of Wall Street" (1861) ; " In the Tropics, by a Settler in Santo Do- mingo," edited (1862) ; " Was he Successful % " a nov- el (1863) ; " The Prince of Kashna," a West Indian story, edited (1864) ; " Henry Powers, Banker, and how he Achieved a Fortune and Married " (1868) ; " To-Day in New York " (1870) ; and " Stories of Exceptional Life " (1887). He was also an editor of the " Knickerbocker Gallery " (New York, 1853).

KIMBALL, Sunnier Increase, general super- intendent of the U. S. life-saving service, b. in Leb- anon, York co.. Me., 2 Sept., 1834. He was gradu- ated at Bowdoin in 1855, studied law with his fa- ther, was admitted to the bar in 1858, and began practice at North Berwick, Me. In 1859 he sat in the legislature, and, though the youngest member, took an active part in the proceedings, serving on the committee on the judiciary. In January, 1861, he became a clerk in the treasury department at Washington. He rose to be chief clerk in the sec- ond auditor's office, and in 1871 was placed in charge of the revenue marine service, which he re- organized and reformed, greatly reducing the ex- penses of maintenance, while increasing its effi- ciency more than fivefold. While retaining this post he acted during the secretaryship of Lot M. Morrill in 1876-'7 as chief clerk of the treasury de- partment, after twice declining a regular appoint- ment to that office. When Kimball was made chief of the revenue marine division, there were several buildings on the coasts of New Jersey and Long Island in which were stored surf-boats and simple appliances for the use of fishermen and wreckers in the rescue of shipwrecked persons. The keepers of these stations were scarcely more than mere custodians of the government property, and had generally been appointed on political grounds. During the winter of 1870-'l there had occurred several fatal disasters on these coasts, and when Mr. Kimball assumed office he made a tour of in- spection, and found that the stations were in a dilapidated condition, the keepers negligent and incapable, and the whole service inefficient. Con- gress appropriated $200,000 for fitting out and manning the stations, and the service was reorgan- ized by Mr. Kimball so thoroughly that during the following winter every person who was im- perilled by shipwreck on those coasts was rescued. The number of stations was increased, life-saving crews and modern appliances were provided for all of them, the incapable keepers were supplanted by expert surfmen without regard to politics, and the patrol system for constantly watching the entire coast was introduced. The success of the life-sav- ing service during the first year caused it to be ex- tended in 1872 to Cape Cod, and afterward to other parts of the Atlantic coast. In 1878 the life-saving service was organized as a separate bureau, with Mr. Kimball at its head, and stations were estab- lished on the Pacific coast and on the Great Lakes.

KIMBERLY, Lewis Ashfleld, naval officer, b. in Troy, N. Y., 2 April, 1830. He was appointed a midshipman in the navy from Illinois, 8 Dec, 1846, commissioned lieutenant in 1855, and lieutenant-commander, 16 July, 1862. He served on the frigate "Potomac" of the Western Gulf blockading squadron in 1861-'2. and on the "Hartford" in 1862-'4, taking part in all the engagements in which that vessel participated. Capt. Percival