Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 1).djvu/743

Rh COMEGYS, Joseph Parsons, senator, b. in Cherbourg, Del., 29 Dec, I8I0; d. in Dover, Del., 1 Feb., 1898. His ancestors, who were Hungarians, came to this country about 1670. His father, Cor- nelius P. Comegys, was governor of Delaware from 1837 till 1840. He was admitted to the bar in 1835, in 1843 and 1849 was chosen to the legisla- ture, and in 1852 appointed one of the committee of three to revise the statutes. He was appointed by the governor to fill the vacancy in the U. S. senate caused by the death of John M. Clayton, and served from 4 Dec, 1856, till 3 March, 1857. He was a delegate to the Philadelphia national union convention of 1866, and on 18 May, 1876, became chief justice of Delaware. The University of Pennsylvania gave him the degree of LL. D. in 1886. — His brother, Cornelius George, physician, b. in Cherbourg, 23 July, 1816; d. in Cincinnati, Ohio, 10 Feb., 1896, was educated at Dover acad- emy, Delaware. After embarking in business, he began the study of medicine, and received his di- ploma from the University of Pennsylvania in 1848. He went to Cincinnati in 1849, and in 1851 studied in London and Paris. He became professor of anatomy in the Cincinnati college of medicine in 1852, but resigned to accept the chair of the in- stitutes of medicine in the new Miami medical col- lege. This was united with the Medical college of Ohio five years later, and Dr. Comegys retained his chair till 1868, with the exception of the years 1860-'4. In 1857 he became lecturer on clinical medicine in the Cincinnati hospital, where he in- troduced important improvements. Dr. Comegys delivered an address before the alumni association of the University of Pennsylvania in 1875, in which he maintained that a healthy brain is necessary to a free will. He was in favor of reform in medical teaching, holding that bedside instruction in hos- pital wards should be given to advanced students, and that instruction given to large classes by means of lectures is inadequate. Dr. Comegys for many years was a director of the board of education, was active in developing the Cincinnati public library, secured the organization of the University of Cin- cinnati in 1869, and was one of the founders of the Cincinnati academy of medicine and its president. Dr. Comegys claims to have been the first to an- nounce the correct theory of counter-irritation. He was a member of various medical associations. Of his numerous medical papers, two have attracted much attention, that on " The Pathology and Treat- ing in the Treatment of Entero-Colitis " (1875), in which he is said to have introduced " one of the most life-saving improvements in modern therapeu- tics." He translated from the French Renouard's " History of Medicine " (Cincinnati, 1856).
 * ment of Phthisis" (1854) and that on "Cool Bath-

COMER, John. clergyman, b. in Boston, in August, 1704 ; d. at Old Rehoboth, Mass., 23 May, 17S4. He was apprenticed to a glover, but at the age of seventeen, through the influence of In- crease Mather, was released by his master, and soon afterward entered Harvard, studied there for two years, and removed to Yale. In 1721 he united with the Congregational church at Cam- bridge, but four years afterward became a Baptist and connected himself with Mr. Callender's church in Boston. In the same year he began to preach, and in 1726 was ordained co-pastor at Newport. He was dismissed from this charge in 1729, in consequence of his attempt to introduce the prac- tice of the laving on of hands in presenting newly baptized members to full fellowship in the church. In 1732 he became pastor of Old Rehoboth, ten miles from Providence. He left a diary in manu- script, which contains intei'esting information of the early history of the Baptists in America.

COMER, Thomas, actor, b. in Bath, England, 19 Dec, 1790; d. in Boston, 27 July, 1862. He acted at Covent Garden and Drury Lane theatres, and in 1827 came to the United States, and was successively musical director at the Tremont theatre, the Museum, and the Boston theatre. His forte was acting eccentric parts and Irish imper- sonations. He was skilled in musical composition.

COMFORT, George Fisk, educator, b. in Berk- shire, Tompkins co., N. Y., 20 Sept., 1833. He was graduated at Wesleyan university, Middletown, Conn., and became a teacher. He studied in Europe in 1860-'65. and from 1865 till 1868 was professor of languages at Alleghany college, Mead- ville, Pa. In 1872 he was appointed professor of assthetics and modern languages at Syracuse, N. Y., university. His publications include a series of text-books for the German language. In 1866 he was elected a member of the Institute archaso- logico, Rome, Paris, and Berlin.

COMLY, John, author, b. in Pennsylvania in 1774; d. in Ryberry, Pa., 17 Aug., 1850. He was a member of the Society of Friends, and is the author of " Comly's Speller," of which several millions have been printed. He also published a grammai', a reader, and a primer. See " Journal of the Life and Religious Labors of John Comly, of Ryberry " (Philadelphia, 1853).

COMMAGER, Henry S., soldier, b. about 1825; d. in Galveston, Texas, 5 Sept., 1867. He was a prominent Democratic politician in Toledo, Ohio, and in 1864 was an unsuccessful candidate for congress. He was a colonel of the 67th Ohio regiment during the civil war, and on 27 Feb., 1865, was brevetted brigadier-general of volunteers. For a short time before his death he was in the employ of the internal revenue service.

COMONFORT, Ygnacio, Mexican soldier, b. in Puebla, Mexico, 12 March, 1812 ; killed near San Luis Potosi, 13 Nov., 1863. He entered the Jesuit college in his native city in 1826, became a captain of cavalry in 1832, and soon after that attached himself to the liberal party, of which, from that time, he was a leader. He became prefect of the district of Tlapa in 1834, was elected in 1842 to the congress that was dissolved by Santa Anna, and in 1846 to the one that was dispersed by Gen. Pare- des. The revolution of August, 1846, followed, and Comonfort took a prominent part in it. He became third alcalde of the capital and prefect of western Mexico, but left these offices to engage in the war with the United States, and, after the cap- ture of Mexico, organized guerillas in the west for another campaign. He was a member of the Queretaro congress, which made peace with the United States, and was then chosen senator by his native state, and served till 1851. He was again elected to congress in 1852, and was a custom- house director till 1853, when Santa Anna, return- ing to power, dismissed him, and he joined Alvarez in raising an insurrection. After a visit to New York, where he obtained financial aid, Comonfort was instrumental in forcing Santa Anna to abdi- cate in 1855. Alvarez assumed the government, but retired on 11 Dec, and made Comonfort pro- visional president. The new president was vigor- ously opposed by the clergy, the army, and the conservatives, and on 19 Dec. the junta of Za- capoastla declared against him. In F"'ebraary, 1856, the conservatives assembled at Puebla a force variously estimated at from 5.000 to 15,000 men ; but Comonfort marched on the town, forced the rebels to surrender on 20 March, and on 81 March