Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 2).djvu/277

Rh " oxy-earbureted light," which has been success- fully used for lighting mines and large public places. Du Motay came to New York early in 1879, and was consulting engineer and chemist of the Municipal gas company till his death. While in this country he patented small rotary motors, improvements in steam condensers (1879), and a new method of artificial refrigeration (1880). He left in manuscript a philosophical drama, "The Expiation of Faust."

DUNBAR, Duncan, clergyman, b. in the north- ern highlands of Scotland about 1791 ; d. in New York city, 28 -Tiily, 1864. When about twenty years old he removed to Aberdeen and engaged in business, occasionally preaching as a layman. He settled in the province of New Brunswick in 1817, where he became a Baptist, and was immersed in the harbor of St. John, 31 Oct., 1818. He was soon afterward ordained, removed to the United States in December, 1823, and held pastorates in Phila- delphia and elsewhere. Most of his ministry was spent in the McDougal street Baptist church in New York city. He was for twenty years a member of the board of managers of the American and foreign Bible society. See his life by his son-in-law. "Rev. Jeremiah Chaplin (New York, 1878).

DUNBAR, Moses, soldier, b. in Plymouth, Conn.; d. in Hartford, Conn., 19 March, 1777. He was a resident of Bristol (or, as some say, of Water- Ijury), and was convicted by the superior court in January, 1777, of holding a captain's commission under Sir William Howe, and of enlisting men for the British army. While under sentence of death he knocked down the sentries and escaped, but was apprehended, and on the day appointed, after listen- ing to a sermon at the jail, from Rev. Abraham Jarvis, of Middletown, was hanged in presence of " a prodigious concourse of people." It is charged by Thomas Jones, in his " History of New York," that there was no existing law in the colony mak- ing Dunbar's offence punishable with death, and that he was condemned under an ex-post-facto law. His young wife is said to have been treated inhumanly, being compelled to ride in the cart with her husband to his execution, and afterward expelled from Middletown, where she had taken refuge in a loyalist family. Four exj)resses were sent to Howe by Dunbar's friends urging him to stop the execution by threatening retaliation, but he was inditferent to their appeals.

DUNBAR, Thomas, British soldier, d. in 1767. He became colonel of the 48th foot. 29 April, 1752, was stationed in Nova Scotia, and joined Brad- dock's expedition against Fort Duquesne. Brad- dock, by Washington's advice, pressed on with 1,200 chosen men on 19 June, 1755, leaving Dun- bar behind with the residue of the army. After the defeat of 9 July, Dunbar destroyed his remain- ing artillery, burned stores and baggage worth £100,000, pretending that it was done by Braddock's orders, and ignominiously retreated. Dunbar was made lieutenant-governor of Gibraltar in 1756, and promoted to lieutenant-general, 18 Dec, 1760.

DUNBAR, Sir William, pioneer, b. in Scot- land, about 1740 ; d. in Natchez, Miss., in 1810. He was educated at Glasgow and London, where his love for mathematics and astronomy gained him the friendship of Sir William Ilerschel. He came to Philadelphia for his health and in charge of a mercantile venture in 1771, afterward went to Pittsburg, and in 1773 formed a partnership with John Ross, a Scottish merchant of Philadelphia, for the purpose of opening a plantation in the British province of West Florida. He settled near Baton Rouge, La., and, after many fluctuations of fortune, finally removed to Natchez, where he cul- tivated a plantation called the "Forest." He held important trusts under the Federal government, was a correspondent of Thomas Jefferson, Herschel, and Rittenhouse, and contributed numerous valu- able papers to the transactions of the American philosophical society of Philadelphia, of which he was a member.

DUNCAN, James, soldier, b. in Cornwall, N, Y., in September, 1810; d. in Mobile, Ala., 3 July, 1849. He was graduated at the U. S. military academy in 1834, and became 2d lieutenant in the 3d artillery. After serving a year on garrison duty in Savannah, Ga., he became assistant professor of mathematics at the military academy. This office he relinquished to engage in the Florida war, and was wounded at Ouithlacoochie. He became 1st lieutenant in November, 1836, and thereafter served on frontier and garrison duty till 1845. In April, 1846, he was made captain, and subsequently par- ticipated in the battles of Palo Alto, Resaca de la Palma, Monterey, Cerro Gordo, Churubusco, and Molino del Rey ; the assault of Chapultepec, and the capture of Mexico, receiving the brevets of major, lieutenant-colonel, and colonel. From 1849 till his death he was inspector-general, with the rank of colonel.

DUNCAN, James Armstrong, clergyman, b. in Norfolk, Va., 14 April, 1830; d. in Ashland, Va., 23 Sept., 1877. His father, David Duncan, was a graduate of the University of Glasgow, emi- grated" to the United States, and for forty years was professor of ancient languages in Randolph- Macon college, Va., and at Oxford, S. C. James was graduated at Randolph-Macon in 1849, and joined the Virginia conference of the Methodist church. During the civil war he was pastor of the Broad street church in Richmond, Va., and throughout this period preserved a conservative attitude, never permitting politics to enter into his religious dis- cussions, and endeavoring in every way, after the- struggle, to promote good feeling between the sec- tions. From 1868 until his death he was president of Randolph-Macon college. Dr. Duncan was a leader in the councils of his church. For many years he was editor of " The Richmond Christian Advocate." — His brother, William Wallace, cler- gyman, b. in Ashland, Va., 20 Dec, 1839, was grad- uated at Randolph-Macon college in 1858, joined the Virginia conference the next year, and held several important charges. During the civil war he was a chaplain in the Confederate army. In 1875 Mr. Duncan was transferred to the South Carolina conference, and elected professor of men- tal and moral philosophy in Wofford college. He was a member of the general conferences of 1878, 1882, and 1886, and a delegate to the oecumenical council in London in 1881. The degree of D. D. was conferred on him in 1882 by Emory college, Ga., and by Central college, Mo. In May, 1886, he was elected bishop of the Methodist Episcopal chureii south. He resides in Spartanburgh, S. C.

DUNCAN, James Henry, lawyer, b. in Haverhill, Mass., 5 Dec, 1793 ; d. there, 8 Feb., 1869. He was graduated at Phillips Exeter academy and at Harvard in 1812. After studying law with Leverett Saltonstall in Salem, he was, in 1815, admitted to the Essex bar, and began to practise in Haverhill. He was a member of the Massachusetts-state legislature in 1827-8, 1837-8, and in 1857, and of "the governor's council in 1839-'40. From 1828 till 1831 he was a state senator, and then was elected as a Whig to congress, serving from 3 Dec, 1849, till 3 March, 1853. • For many years he was chairman of the board of managers of the Araeri-