Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 2).djvu/164

144 DENVER, James Wilson, politician, b. in Winchester, Va., 28 May, 1817; d. in Washington, 9 Aug., 1892. He emigrated in childhood with his parents to Ohio, removed to Missouri in 1841, where he studied law, and was admitted to the bar. He was appointed captain of tiie 12th infantry in March, 1847, and served in the war with Mexico till its close in July, 1848. Removing to Cali- fornia in 1850, he was appointed a member of a relief committee to protect emigrants, and was chosen a state senator in 1852. While a member of this body in 1852, he had a controversy with Edward Gilbert, ex-meraber of congress, in regard to some legislation, which resulted in a challenge from Gilbert, that was accepted by Denver. Rifles were the weapons, and Gilbert was killed by the second shot. In 1853 Mr. Denver was appointed secretary of state of California, and from 1855 till 1857 served in congress. He was appointed by President Buchanan commissioner of Indian affairs, but resigned, and was made governor of Kansas. Resigning this post in 1858, he was reappointed commissioner of Indian affairs, which office he held till March, 1859. In 1861 he entered the National service, was made brigadier-general, served in the western states, and resigned in March, 1863. After- ward he settled in Washington, D. C, to practise his profession as an attorney. John W. Forney, in his " Anecdotes of Public Men," says : " Gen. Denver, while in congress, as chairman of the coha- mittee on the Pacific railroad, in 1854—'5, presented in a conclusive manner the facts demonstrating the practicability of that great enterprise. The capital of Colorado was named in his honor.

DE PALM, Joseph Henry Louis, baron, diplomatist, b. in Augsburg, Germany, 10 Mav, 1809 ; d. in "Sew York, 21 May, 1876. His father was Colonel and Adjutant-General Baron Johan de Palm, prince of the Roman empire, and his mother the Countess Freyen von Seibolsdorf of Thunefeldt. The Baron de Palm was for a long time in the German diplomatic service, and was also chamberlain to the king of Bavaria. In 1862 he came to the United States and spent some time among the Indians in the northwest, and subsequently he resided in New York, where, a short time before his death, he joined the Theosophical society, to which he left his property. In accordance with his own wishes, his body was burned.

DE PAUW, John, lawyer, b. in Kentucky; d. in Indiana in 1838. His father, Charles, a native of Ghent, French Flanders, accompanied Lafayette to America, and fought in the war of the Revolu- tion. When the son had reached manhood he re- moved from Kentucky to Washington county, Ind., and, as agent for the county, surveyed, plotted, and sold the lots in Salem. He was by profession an attorney-at-law, became a judge, and was also a general of militia. — His son, Washin§:ton Charles, manufacturer, b. in Salem, Ind., 4 Jan., 1822 ; d. in Chicago, Ill., 5 May, 1887, by the death of his father was thrown entirely on his own re- sources at the age of sixteen. When nineteen years of age he entered the office of the county clerk, and became subsequently clerk of circuit, probate, and common pleas courts, resigning in February, 1856. He afterward engaged in milling, and dealt extensively in grain. He declined the nominations for lieutenant-governor and governor of Indiana. After ten years' study, and the expenditure of $500,000, Mr. De Pauw succeeded in making plate- glass equal to any in the world, and thereafter engaged in its manufacture in New Albany. Ind. He became wealthy, and used his means freely to enlarge the city of New Albany. He established and largely endowed De Pauw university. Green- castle, Ind.", to which he also bequeathed $i,500,000, De Pauw female college, at New Albany, and also expended large sums in building churches and en- dowing benevolent institutions throughout Indiana and the adjoining states. He gave largely for the support of superannuated clergymen of the Meth- odist church. During the last ten years of his life his benefactions amounted to more than |500,000.

DEPEW, Chauncey Mitchell, lawyer, b. in Peekskill, N. Y., 23 April, 1834. He is of French Huguenot descent, and was born in the old home- stead that has been in the possession of his family for over 200 years. He was graduated at Yale in 1856. studied law, was admitted to the bar, and be- gan his active work at an exciting period in our political life. He served in the New York assembly in 1861-'2, and dur- ing the second ses- sion was chairman of the ways and means committee, and also acted as speaker of the as- sembly during a portion of the time. He can- vassed the state for Mr. Lincoln in 1860, and has taken part in al- most every sub- sequent political contest. In 1863 he was elected secretary of state, but declined a re-election in 1865. He has held various other offices, including those of tax commissioner of New York city and minister to Japan, which he resigned very soon, to devote himself to his profession. In 1866 he was appointed attorney for the New York and Harlem railroad company, and wdien the Hudson river road was consolidated with the New York central, in 1869, Mr. Depew was again made the general counsel of the consolidated company. He was candidate for lieutenant-governor of the state on the Liberal Republican ticket in 1872, but was defeated. In 1874 he was the choice of the legislature for regent of the State university, and was also one of the commissioners to build the capitol at Albany. During the memorable contest in the assembly, after the resignation of Senators Conkling and Piatt from the U. S. senate, and in the election of the successor to Mr. Piatt, Mr. Depew was a candi- date for eighty-two days, receiving over two thirds of the republican vote, but retired from the cori- test, that the election of Warner Miller might be assured. On the reorganization of the manage- ment of the New York central railroad in 1883, Mr. Depew was made second vice-president, and on the death of James Rutter, 14 June, 1885, was elected to the presidency. He is also president of the West Shore railroad company. Mr. Dejaew's successful directorship of railroads is largely due to the fact that he is master of all the details per- taining to the road and its policy, and zealously supervises its interests. He is president of the Union league club of New York, and of the Yale alumni association of that city. He has been suc- cessful as a lecturer, while his ability as an after- dinner speaker has won his most popular reputa- tion. Among his more notable public addresses are those on the unveiling of the statue of Alexan-