Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 2).djvu/465

Rh consecrated, 2 Jan., 1842. in the cathedral of Pam- plona, Colombia. He made many improvements during the eight years of his episcopacy.

FERNOW, Berthold, author, b. in Inowraclaw, province of Posen, Prussia, 28 Nov., 1837. He was the son of Edward Fernow, a royal councillor, and Bertha de Jachman, sister of the vice-admiral of that name. He was educated at the royal gymnasium of Our Lady at Magdeburg, Saxony, and at a similar institution at Bromberg, Posen, in 1858. He then emigrated to the United States, served during the civil war as lieutenant of the 3d U. S. colored troops, and subsequently as topographical engineer. For a time he was one of the state librarians, keeper of the historical records at Albany, N. Y., and the editor of the 12th, 13th, and 14th volumes of &ldquo;Documents Relating to the Colonial History of New York&rdquo; (Albany, 1877-'85); &ldquo;State Archives&rdquo; (vol. i., 1887); and &ldquo;Albany and its Place in the History of the United States&rdquo; (1887). Mr. Fernow has also contributed to Wilson's &ldquo;History of New York&rdquo; (4 vols., 1892-'3), and edited &ldquo;Records of New Amsterdam&rdquo; (7 vols., 1897-'8).

FERRAND, Marie Louis, Baron and Count, governor of Santo Domingo, b. in Besangon, France, 12 Oct., 1753; d. in Palo Hincado, Santo Domingo, 7 Nov., 1808. After finishing his mili- tary studies he joined his brother, who was pharma- cist-in-chief of the French army, then on its way to the United States under the command of Ro- chambeau. As a volunteer, he fouglit through the war of American independence, and became a member of the Society of the Cincinnati. On his return to Francie he entered a regiment of dra- goons. In 1792 he was promoted to a lieutenancy, and in 1793 was made captain. Shortly afterward he was arrested and imprisoned as a royalist, but was liberated and made brigadier-general, serving with distinction in the army of the west. After the peace of Amiens in 1802, he was made gov- ernor of Valenciennes. When Bonaparte resolved to reconquer Santo Domingo, the Spanish part of which had just been ceded to France, Ferrand re- quested to be allowed to join the expedition. Af- ter a four months' campaign the French army under Gen. Leclerc had succeeded in completely conquering the island, when the arrest of Tous- saint L'Ouverture caused the insurrection to break out afresh. Gen. Leclerc died of the yellow fever after a few hours' illness, and the French, demoral- ized by disease and divided by the quarrels of their generals, were fleeing before the negroes under Dessalines. Gen. Ferrand tried to defend the French part of the island with his brigade, but was forced to retire to the city of Santo Domingo, the command of which was unanimously offered to him. Dessalines, at the head of an army of 22,000 men, soon invested the city, but after sev- eral bloody combats Ferrand obliged him to raise the siege, 18 March, 1803, and" for three days pursued the wreck of his army. Ferrand, hold- ing thenceforward undisputed possession of the Spanish part of the island, devoted himself to improving the condition of the unfortunate Span- ish colonists. He was made by Napoleon in 1804 lieutenant-general, and then captain-general, of the island, and had full authority to carry out all his plans for reform. He abolished the sys- tem of tithes and ecclesiastical rents which un- til then had been collected for the profit of the state, and by this means encouraged the reclaiming of uncultivated lands. He also fitted out numer- ous privateers for the purpose of preying on Eng- lish commerce. He was also created suceessively baron, count of the empire, and grand commander of the legion of honor. At this time news arrived of great political changes in Spain. The governor of Porto Rico first enlightened Ferrand on this point by a declaration of war. The latter, depre- cating the useless shedding of blood, tried to per- suade the Spaniard that it was to their mutual in- terest to live in peace, and to avoid espousing the dissensions of the mother countries. The gov- ernor of Porto Rico, however, pi-oceeded to incite an insurrection at Barahonda in October, 1808, and Ferrand was forced to take arms in defence. His array at this time was reduced by disease to about 900 men. He despatched two successive detach- ments of 125 men each to put down the rebellion, and in the mean time decided to meet the troops just disembarked by the governor of Porto Rico. This movement was strongly opposed by the in- habitants of Santo Domingo, who feared for his safety, but he persisted, and met the enemy, 7 Nov., 1808, at Palo Hincado, with but 500 men to oppose to their 3,000. The first attack was favorable to Ferrand, but an assault of the ene- my's cavalry turned both wings of the French corps, and a complete rout ensued. The greater part of the French were killed, and Ferrand, who was on the point of falling into the hands of the enemy, shot himself in despair. His head was cut off on the battle-field and borne in triumph on a pike. Later the Spanish government repudiated this treatment, and paid suitable honors to the re- mains of the French general. The death of Fer- rand was a mortal blow to the prosperity of Santo Domingo. It never again enjoyed a government so capable and at the same time so beneficent. The body of Ferrand was taken to France by his aide-de-camp, Lieut.-Col. Gilbert Guillermin, who in 1815 was one of the seventeen survivors of the 42,000 men that Gen. Leclerc took with him to Santo Domingo in 1802. See Gilbert Guillermin's " Precis historique des derniers evenements de la partie de Test de St. Dominique" (Paris, 1811).

FERREIRA, Alexandre Rodrigues (fer-ray - e-rah), Brazilian traveller, b. in Bahia, Brazil, 27 April, 175(j; d. in Lisbon, Portugal, 23 April, 1815. He studied at Coimbra, where he became professor of natural history in 1770. In 1778 he was ap- pointed by the Portuguese government to make researches into the geography and natural history of the region known under the general name of Ama- zonia. He went to Lisbon, where his instructions awaited him, but his departure was delayed five years, on account of various missions in which the government employed him. The Academy of sci- ences of Lislion admitted him to membership on 22 March, 1780. Having completed his prepara- tions, Ferreira embarked at Lisbon, and landed at Santa Maria de Belem on 17 Oct., 1783. He began his labors by the exploration of the island of Ma- rajo or Joannes, and returned to the main-land in 1784 to follow up the great tributaries of the Ama- zon. He subsequently penetrated into territories that had been completely unknown, and traversed the Sierra de Cuamuru, the Matto-Grosso, the dis- trict of Cuyaba, and many other regions to which names had not been given on the imperfect maps of the time. He also made the Indian race a study from a physiological and ethnographical point of view. Discussions had arisen between the cabinets of Lisbon and Madrid concerning the boundary-line of their respective possessions in South America, and Ferreira received orders to decide the question. He spent nine years — from 1783 till 1792 — in his in- vestigations, and, after re-establishing the original boundary, continued his labors, suffering the great- est hardships. He returned to Belem in July,