Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 2).djvu/316

294 there, and vice-president of the International con- gress of education held in Havre. Prance. He re- ceived the degree of Ph. D. from Rutgers in 1872, and that of LL. D. from Dartmouth in 1876. Gen. Eaton is a member of many learned associa- tions, and has published numerous addresses and reports on education and the public affairs with which he has been connected.

EATON, John Henry, politician, b. in Tennessee in 1790; d. in Washington, D. C., 17 Nov., 1856. He received a thorough education, studied law, and was admitted to the bar, beginning to practise in Nashville, Tenn. He was elected to the U. S. senate as a Democrat, and served till his resignation in 1829. He was a personal friend of Andrew Jackson, and was appointed by him secretary of war, holding the office from 1829 till 1831. Three years later he was made governor of the territory of Florida, and held the office till 1836, when he was appointed U. S. minister to Spain, remaining there till 1840. He published &ldquo;Life of Andrew Jackson&rdquo; (Philadelphia, 1824). &mdash; His wife, Margaret L. O'Neill, b. in 1796; d. in Washington, D. C., 8 Nov., 1879, was the daughter of William O'Neill, an Irish hotel-keeper in Washington. After the death of her first husband, John B. Timberlake, a purser in the U. S. navy, she married Mr. Eaton in 1829. She possessed great beauty and fascination of manner united to a persistent will and high ambition. The appointment of Mr. Eaton to the cabinet gave her a social position that she had long desired, but, owing to reports unfavorable to her reputation, she was refused recognition on equal terms by the families of the other members of the cabinet. The feud in society caused by this involved the president, who warmly supported his &ldquo;little friend Peg,&rdquo; as he was accustomed to call her. At this time the estrangement between President Jackson and Vice-President Calhoun had begun, and a belief was awakened in the mind of the former that the latter had shrewdly fomented the general excitement, and it was said took an active part in promoting the crisis. Finally the president demanded of his secretaries the recognition of the social status of Mrs. Eaton, and was refused by all of them excepting Mr. Van Buren. As a compromise it was suggested that her public status should be conceded, while each lady should act as she chose in regard to private recognition. Gen. Jackson wrote a very plain-spoken note on the subject to Vice-President Calhoun, but only elicited from him the diplomatic reply that it was a &ldquo;ladies' quarrel,&rdquo; with which men could not successfully interfere, adding that &ldquo;the laws of the ladies were like the laws of the Medes and Persians, and admitted neither of argument nor of amendment.&rdquo; The quarrel culminated in a general disruption of the cabinet in 1831. Mrs. Eaton was said to have shone with brilliancy in the court of Isabella in Spain, and was a social favorite in Paris and London. In 1840 she returned to Washington, where she resided quietly till the death of Mr. Eaton. She was left with a large estate, and the custody of five grandchildren. In 1857 she married an Italian, from whom she was separated after losing much of her property.

EATON, Joseph Oriel, artist, b. in Licking county, Ohio, 8 Feb., 1829 ; d. in Yonkers, N. Y., 7 Feb., 1875. He was an effective genre and por- trait painter, both in oil and water-colors. He was an associate of the National academy, and a member of the Society of painters in water-colors, and of the Artists' fund society. The works that he exhibited at the National academy are " Land- scape View on the Hudson" (1868): "Moral In- struction" (1869) ; portraits of R. S. Gifford (1869) and of Rev. George II. Ilepworth (1870); "Dawn- ing Maternity " and " The Last Chapter " (1871) ; "The Greek Water-Carrier " (1872); and "The Lady Godiva." Among his water-colors are " Vis- ion of the Cross " (1869) ; " Little Nell and her Grandfather " (1871) ; and " The Two Pets " (1874). In 1873 he travelled in Europe. His " Looking through the Kaleidoscope " and a portrait of him- self were exhibited after his death. His most suc- cessful subjects in portrait-painting were children.

EATON, Samuel John Mills, clergyman, b. in Fairview, Erie co.. Pa.. 15 April, 1820 ; d. in Frank- lin, Pa., 16 July, lS«i). He was graduated at Jef- ferson in 1845, studied theology, and entered the Presbyterian ministry in 1848. From that year till 1882 he was pastor in Franklin, Pa. He has held the offices of stated clerk of the presbytery of Erie since 1853 ; permanent clerk of synod of Alle- gheny from 1859 till 1870 ; stated clerk of synod of Erie from 1870 till 1881 ; trustee of Washington and Jefferson since 1879; and director of Western theological seminary since 1880. In 1871 he visited Egypt, Palestine, Greece, and Turkey. His pub- lications are "Petroleum" (Philadelphia, 1866); "History of the Presbytery of Erie" (New York, 1868) ; " History of Venango County, Pa." (Frank- lin, 1876) ; " Lakeside " (Pittsburg, 1880) ; " Memo- rial of Cvrus Dickson, D. D." (New York, 1883) ; "Jerusalem" (1884); "Palestine" (1885); and " Memorial of Robert Lamberton " (Franklin, 1886). The degree of D. I), was conferred upon him by Washington and Jefferson in 1869.

EATON, Theophilus, governor of New Haven, b. in Stony Stratford, Oxfordshire, England, about 1591 ; d. in New Haven, Conn., 7 Jan., 1658. He was the son of a clergyman, and was educated for mercantile life. He was sent by the king of Eng- land as an agent to the court of Denmark, where he remained several years, and on his return to London became a merchant of high reputation. In 1637 he accompanied John Davenport's party to New England (see Davenport, John), and on his arrival in Massachusetts was chosen to be a magis- trate. The Massachusetts planters made strong efforts to retain the party, who were gentlemen of wealth and character. The general court offered them whatever place they might choose, and the inhabitants of Newbury agreed to give up that town to them, but they determined to found a distinct colony. Accordingly, in the fall of 1637, Eaton, with a few friends, carefully explored the Connecti- cut coast, and finally selected a place called Quin- nipiac, where in March, 1638, the colony was planted. In November, Eaton was one of those who contract- ed with the Indians for the sale of lands including what are now seven townships, the price being thir- teen English coats. On 4 June, 1639, he was one of the "seven pillars " selected to form a govern- ment for the colony. He was chosen its first gov- ernor, and continued in the office till his death. Gov. Eaton was one of the commissioners that formed the " United colonies of New England " in May, 1643, and in 1646 he proposed to the Dutch governor, Kieft, to settle all differences with him by arbitration. On his arrival in New Haven, Eaton attempted to carry on his old mercantile pursuits, but soon abandoned them for agriculture. In person he was handsome and of commanding figure, and, althongli strict and severe in, religious matters, he was affable and courteous. — His brother, Samuel, clergyman, b. in England about 1597 ; d. in Denton, Lancashire, England, 9 June, 1665, was educated at Magdalen college, Cambridge, receiv- ing the degree of B. A. in 1624, and that of M. A. in 1628. Shortly after leaving the university he