Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 1).djvu/741

Rh  of all navigators, as they would deprive &ldquo;the myriad-minded&rdquo; of the authorship of his own writings. The latest of these futile efforts to prove him to be an &ldquo;inglorious Columbus,&rdquo; was made in an address before the New York Historical Society, on the evening of 2 Nov., 1886 &mdash; Fernando, son of Christopher Columbus and Beatriz Enriquez, his second wife, b. in Spain in 1488; d. in 1539. His father legitimated him by a codicil dated at Segovia, 25 Aug., 1505. At the age of ten he was a page of Queen Isabella, and then began his studies, becoming proficient in mathematics, cosmography, and naval subjects. In 1508-'9 he made a voyage to Hispaniola with his eldest brother, Admiral Diego Columbus, and afterward he accompanied Charles V. to Italy and Germany, travelled in Africa and Asia, and retired in 1530, when he became a priest. He collected a fine library of 20,000 volumes, which he bequeathed to the cathedral of Seville. A large number of the most valuable of these were found in October, 1886, mouldering in a cellar of Seville. He wrote &ldquo;Historia del Almirante Don Cristóbal Colon,&rdquo; which would have been lost but for a translation into Italian made by Alonso de Ulloa (Venice, 1571), and left another manuscript, &ldquo;Apuntamientos sobre la Demarcacion del Maluco y sus Islas,&rdquo; kept in the archives of Simancas. See &ldquo;Select Letters relating to the Four Voyages to the New World of Columbus,&rdquo; translated and edited by R. H. Major (London, Hakluyt society, 1847); &ldquo;Life and Voyages of Columbus,&rdquo; by Washington Irving (New York, 1828); &ldquo;The Spanish Conquest of America,&rdquo; by Sir Arthur Helps (London, 1858-'60); &ldquo;Notes on Columbus,&rdquo; by Henri Harrisse (printed privately, New York, 1865); &ldquo;Memorials and Footprints of Columbus,&rdquo; by Jas. Grant Wilson (New York, American geographical society, 1885).

COLVER, Nathaniel, clergyman, b. in Orwell, Vt., 10 May, 1794; d. in Chicago, 25 Dec., 1870. His father, a Baptist minister, removed, while Nathaniel was a child, to Champlain, in northern New York, and thence to West Stockbridge, Mass., where the son was converted and decided to enter the Baptist ministry. Though he had but slender opportunities of early education, he made himself a respectable scholar. After brief pastorates in various places he was called in 1839 to Boston, where he co-operated in organizing the church since famous as Tremont Temple. His ministry here was remarkable for its bold, uncompromising, and effective warfare upon slavery and intemperance, as well as for its directly spiritual results. On leaving Boston in 1852, Mr. Colver was pastor at South Abingdon, Mass., at Detroit, at Cincinnati, and finally, in 1861, at Chicago. While in Cincinnati he received from Denison university the degree of D. D. In Chicago he was invited to take the professorship of doctrinal theology in the theological seminary in process of organization in that city. In 1867-'70 he was president of the Freedman's institute in Richmond, Va. Dr. Colver bore a conspicuous part in the anti-masonic, anti-slavery, and temperance movements of his day. He published, besides occasional addresses, three lectures on Odd-fellowship (1844). See &ldquo;Memoir of Nathaniel Colver,&rdquo; by Justin A. Smith, D. D. (Chicago, 1873).

COLVILLE, Alexander, Lord, British naval officer, b. about 1710; d. 21 May, 1770. He was the eighth Baron Colville in the peerage of Scotland. He entered the navy, and attained in 1770 the rank of vice-admiral of the white. He commanded on the North American station, and in 1762 drove the French out of St. John, Newfoundland, which they had retaken a short time before.

COLVIN, Verplanck, topographical engineer, b. in Albany, N. Y., 4 Jan., 1847. He was educated at private schools, and then at the Albany academy, where he excelled in scientific branches. In 1864 he entered the law-office of his father in Albany, and subsequently was admitted to the bar, meanwhile continuing his interest in the sciences, especially chemistry. He delivered part of a free course of lectures given in the geological hall, and was led in 1865 to make his first expedition into the Adirondack wilderness. Until 1872 he continued to spend his summers in exploration, while his winters were occupied in the practice of his profession and in study. During the summer of 1869 he made the ascent of Mt. Marcy, and in 1870 the first ascent of Mt. Seward. In 1872 he applied to the legislature for aid, and in consequence the Adirondack survey was instituted, with himself as superintendent. His work during that year included the discovery of Lake Tear-of-the-Clouds, the most elevated lake spring and source of the Hudson river. Each year during the summer months he directs surveying parties engaged in field-work throughout the Adirondack region, and determinations of the altitudes of most of the important mountains have been made under his supervision. He was appointed in 1873 one of the commissioners of state parks to report upon the expediency of setting apart the whole Adirondack region as a state forest reserve, and subsequently exerted his influence toward the passage of a bill on this subject. In 1883 he was appointed superintendent of the New York state land survey. Mr. Colvin is a member of numerous scientific societies, and has been president of the department of physical science in the Albany institute. About 1881 he delivered at Hamilton college a series of lectures of geodesy, surveying, and topographical engineering. Besides occasional articles in the magazines, he has written a series of reports on the surveys, which are published by the state.

COLVOCORESSES, George Musalas, naval officer, b. in the island of Scio, Grecian archipelago, 22 Oct., 1816; d. in Bridgeport, Conn., 3 June, 1872. He was ransomed from the Turks after the massacre of the Greek population of the island in 1822, and sent by his father to the United States, where he was received into the family of Capt. Alden Partridge and educated at the military academy founded by that officer in Norwich, Vt. In 1832 he was appointed a midshipman, and in 1836-'7 attached to the frigate &ldquo;United States&rdquo; on the Mediterranean squadron. In 1838 he was commissioned passed midshipman, and accompanied Capt. Wilkes's exploring expedition to the southern seas, serving at various times on the &ldquo;Porpoise,&rdquo; &ldquo;Peacock,&rdquo; &ldquo; Vincennes,&rdquo; and &ldquo;Oregon,&rdquo; and taking part in the overland expedition in 1841 from Vancouver's island to San Francisco. He was commissioned lieutenant in 1843, served on the Pacific squadron in 1844-'6, the Mediterranean squadron in 1847-'9, on the coast of Africa in 1851-'2, at New York in 1853-'5, on the East India squadron in 1855-'8, during which he participated as executive officer of the &ldquo;Levant&rdquo; in the capture of the Barrier forts in Canton river, and at Portsmouth navy-yard in 1858-'60. He was made commander in 1861, and assigned in the store-ship &ldquo;Supply&rdquo; on the Atlantic coast in 1861-'3, during which he captured the blockade-runner &ldquo;Stephen Hart,&rdquo; laden with arms and military stores; to the sloop-of-war &ldquo;Saratoga,&rdquo; of the South Atlantic blockading squadron, in 1864; and the sloop-of-war &ldquo;St. Mary's,&rdquo; of the Pacific squadron, in 1865-'6. In 1867 he received his