Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 2).djvu/138

118 pistols ensued. Gen. Read was shot dead, but Gen. Dearing lingered until a few days after the surrender of Lee, when he died in the old City hotel at Lynchburg, Va.

DEAS, Charles, painter, b. in Philadelphia in 1818 ; died insane. His maternal grandfather was Ralph Izard, the South Carolina patriot. He showed an early taste for art, and studied under John Sanderson in his native city, and in the schools of the National academy of design, New York. In 1840 he visited the " far west " of that day, and spent several years at St. Louis in the successful practice of his profession. He was a man of decided ability; but mental derangement cut short his career many years before his death. Among his more important pictures that have be- come widely known through engravings are " The Turkey Shoot," " Walking the Chalk," " Long Jake," " The Wounded Pawnee," " Indian Guide," " A Group of Sioux," " Hunters on the Prairie," and " The Last Shot." His " Council of the Sliaw- nees at North Bend " portrays an incident in the life of Gen. George Rogers Clarke.

DE AYOLAS, Juan. See Ayolas.

DE BAR, Benedict, actor, b. in London, Eng- land, 5 Nov., 1813; d. in St. Louis, Mo., 14 Aug., 1877. He made his debut at the Theatre Royal, Margate, England, in 18;J3, and came to the United States in 1834, appearing the following year at the St. Charles theatre. New Orleans, as Sir Benjamin Backbite in the " School for Scandal." In 1837 he opened the old National theatre in New York city, and in 1838 played at the old St. Louis theatre, afterward appearing in various cities of the west. In 1840 he played successively in New York and Lon- don, and in the same year returned to New York, where he played at the Bowery theatre. In 1842 he became stage-manager for Hamblin at the Bowery, in 1849 purchased the Chatham theatre. New York, retaining it for three years, and afterward went on a four years' starring tour, playing in the principal cities of the United States. In 1853 he became pro- prietor of the St. Charles theatre. New Orleans, and in 1855 of the St. Louis theatre, leasing it in 1873, when he bought a large interest in the Grand opera house of that city. After the death of Hackett the dramatic stage lacked a great Falstaff until Mr. De Bar undertook its representation, making a specialty of this character, which others had adopted and soon relinquished. His appearance in Brooklyn in this character, after his success in the west and. south, was a dramatic event of note. He acquired a large fortune, being successful both as an actor and manager. — His wife, Florence, b. in Philadelphia in 1828, made her drbut in 1839 as a danseuse at the "Walnut street theatre, Philadel- phia. Her maiden name was Vallee. She travelled with Farmy Ellsler, and at the old Park theatre in 1848 played the " French Spy." She retired from the stage in New Orleans in December, 1857.

DE BEGNIS, Giuseppe, opera-singer, b. in Lugo, Italy, in 1795; d. in New York city in August, 1849. He began his m.usical stttdies at the age of seven years, and sang soprano till he was nearly fifteen, when his voice broke. He then studied for a comedian, and later resumed lessons as a baritone vocalist. He made his first appearance as an opera- tic buffo singer at Modena, in 1813, with sufficient success to decide his continuance as a performer on the lyric stage. In 1816 he married the noted prima-donna and famous beauty, Signorina Ronzi. They sang throughout Italy with great success, and in 1819 made their first appearance at the Italian opera in Paris, remaining three seasons. In 1821 they performed in London, and thereafter in the various capital cities of Europe, in concerts and operas. About 1845 De Begnis came to the United States, appearing frequently in New York city in concerts and operas with only moderate success. His voice had lost its freshness, and his style seemed antiquated. He was still notable as one of the purest and most natural of Italian buffo singers; but that kind of vocalist was not appreciated in this country. In the old Rossinian comic operas the flexibility of his voice and his rapid pronuncia- tion were altogether remarkable. His countenance was severely marked by small-pox ; but in his make-up for performance he gave no evidence of facial disfigurement. Disappointed in his recep- tion by the American public, he longed to return to the scenes of his early success ; but the horrors of sea-sickness and hazards of the voyage prevented. He died of cholera, not without means, but neg- lected and almost forgotten.

DE BERDT, Dennis, colonial agent, b. early in the 18th century ; d. in England, about 1771. He was a London merchant, with extensive com- mercial connections in this country. About No- vember, 1766, when tlie colonial legislature of Massachusetts dismissed Richard Jackson from its service, the house elected the honest and aged Dennis de Berdt as its own particular agent. From this time Hutchinson, who had made pretence of being a friend to colonial liberty, dated the revolt of the American colonies, and his correspondence and advice conformed to the opinion. Samuel Adams divined the evil designs, now so near their execution, and instructed De Berdt to oppose the establishment of a military force in America, as needless for protection and dangerous to liberty. " Certainly," said he, " the best way for Great Brit- ain to make her colonies a real and lasting benefit is to give them all consistent indulgence in trade, and to remove any occasion of their suspecting that their liberties are in danger. While any act of parliament is in force which has the least appear- ance of a design to raise a revenue out of them, their jealousy will be awake." The closing of the affairs of Mr. De Berdt's firm in England, which was found to be irretrievably bankrupt, was under- taken by Joseph Reed, a young colonial visitor to England, who had practised law in the New Jersey courts, and later had held, as his first political appointment, the office of deputy secretary for the province of New Jersey. Pie had visited England in 1763-5, and had met the family of Mr. De Berdt. In May, 1770, he married Esther de Berdt. Dr. Franklin was chosen to succeed Dennis de Berdt as colonial agent at the time of his death.

DEBERRY, Edmund, politician, b. in Mount Gilead, N. C, 14 Aug., 1787; d. there, 12 Dec, 1859. He received a public-school education and engaged in agricultural pursuits. He was a member of the state legislature, with occasional intermissions, from ISOl! t ill 1N28, and was elected to congress as a whig, serving from 1829 till 1831. He was defeated when a candidate for re-election, but was elected again in 1833, and for each succeeding term till 1845, and was again in congress from 1849 till 1851.

DE BHAQUIÈRE, Peter Boyle, Canadian statesman, b. in Dublin, 27 April, 1784 ; d. in Yorkville (now a part of Toronto), 23 Oct., 1860. He was the youngest son of John, Lord de Bhaquiere, of Ardkill, county Londonderry, Ireland. He entered the navy when quite young, and served as a midshipman at the battle of Camperdown. He left the navy after a brief period of service, and in 1837 emigrated to Canada. From 1838 till his death he was a member of the legislative council. On the remodelling of Toronto university, he was appointed