Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 2).djvu/93

Rh vented his cap spinning-frame, and also a lioblnn and flyer. About 1830 he removed to Paterson, N. J., where he induced the firm of Godwin, Rog- ers & Co. to manufacture his spinners, and this led to a large business, which in time embraced other forms of machinery. Mr. Danforth acquired an interest in the firm, which became Charles Dan- forth & Co., and later a stock company with the title of the Danforth Locomotive and Machine Com- pany, of which he was president. He amassed a large fortune, and at the time of his death was con- sidered more familiar with the details of cotton- spinning and manufacturing macliinery for that purpose than any other person in tlie United States.

DANFORTH, George Franklin, jurist, b. in Boston, Mass., 5 July, 1819. He was graduated at Union in 1840, and, after studying law, began prac- tice in Rochester, N. Y., where he was eminently successful, and soon rose to the front rank of the profession. In 1876 he was the republican candi- date for judge of the court of appeals of the state of New York, but was defeated by Robert Earl. Two years later he was again nominated for a simi- lar office, and after being elected took his seat on the bench. 1 Jan., 1879.

DANFORTH, Joshua Noble, clergyman, b. in Pittsfield, Mass., 1 April, 1798; d. in New Castle, Del., 14 Nov., 1861. He was graduated at Williams in 1818, and spent two years at the Princeton theo- logical seminary. After being ordained by the New Brunswick presbytery, on 30 Nov., 1825, he was installed pastor of the church in New Castle, Del., where he remained until 1828, when he ac- cepted a call to Washington. In 1832-'4 he was agent of the American colonization society, from 1834 till 1838 pastor of the Congregational church jn Lee, Mass., and then for fifteen years in charge of the 2d Presbyterian church in Alexandria, Va. In 1860 he again accepted an agency for the Amer- ican colonization society. Dr. Danforth received in 1855 the degree of D. D. from Delaware college. He contributed largely to the religious and secular press, and wrote " Gleanings and Groupings from a Pastor's Portfolio" (New ^'ork, 1852).

DANFORTH, Moseley Isaac, engraver, b. in Hartford, Conn., 7 Dec, 1800; d. in New York city, 19 Jan., 1862. He became a pupil of the Hart- ford graphic company in 1818, where he acquired a knowledge of bank-note engraving, and three years later settled in New Haven. Here he exe- cuted a plate after Raphael Morghen's engraving of the " Parce somnum rumpere," which was so well done that the ptiblisher refrained from print- ing it for years, intending to dispose of the proofs as genuine Morghens. Subsequently he came to New York and studied drawing, meanwhile con- tinuing the practice of his art. He was one of the founders of the New York drawing association in 1825, and in January, 1826, of the National acade- my of design. His large, full-length engraving of " Lafayette " was completed at this time, and se- cured him a cordial welcome by the artists of Lon- don on his arrival in England in 1827. For ten years he resided in London, studying in the Royal academy, where his drawings from the Elgin mar- bles were much admired, and enjoying the friend- ship of Thomas Lawrence, Charles R. Leslie, Stewart Newton, and David Wilkie. Several of his best-known engravings were made during this period, including the " Sentry-Box " after Leslie, portraits of Washington Irving and Sir Walter Scott by the same artist, and " Don Quixote," although most of his work while in London seems to have been given to smaller plates for books. On his return to New York he engraved vignettes for bank-notes, and subsequently became partner in a bank-note en- graving firm, which in 1858 was merged in the American bank-note company, of which corpora- tion he was vice-president at the time of his death. His work was characterized by extraordinary finish and exquisite delicacy of tint.

DANFORTH, Thomas, colonial governor, b. in Framlingham, Suffolk, England, in 1622 ; d. in Cambridge, Mass., 5 Nov., 1699. He was the eldest son of Nicholas Danforth, and came with his father and brother, Samuel, to New England in 1634. Soon after his arrival in this country he acquired great influence in the management of public affairs. Bancroft speaks of him as the probable author of the report on natural and chartered rights, made by Simon Bradstreet, Increase Mather, John Norton, and others, in 1661. From 1659 till 1678 he was an assistant under the Massachusetts government, becoming in 1679 deputy governor. In the latter year he was elected president of the province of Maine, then independent of the colony of Massachusetts. He opened his court at York, and granted several parcels of land. The offices of deputy governor and president were held by him until the arrival of Sir Edmund Andros in 1688. Meanwhile he had also been made a judge of the superior court, and in 1681, with Daniel Gookin, Elisha Cooke, and others, opposed the acts of trade and asserted the charter rights of the country; During the witchcraft delusion in 1692 he showed his correctness of judgment by the firmness with which he condemned the proceedings of the court. — His brother, Samuel, clergyman, b. in Framlingham, Suffolk, England, in Septem- ber, 1626; d. in Roxbury, Mass., 19 Nov., 1674, was graduated in 1643 at Harvard, where he was at once appointed a tutor and the second fellow. In 1641 he was invited by the Rev. Thomas Welde to become — with the Rev. John Eliot, whose numer- ous missionary engagements interfered with his ministerial labors — colleague pastor of the church in Roxbury. The call was accepted, and he was ordained on 24 Sept., 1650, and continued with this congregation vuitil his death. His sermons were elaborate, judicial, and methodical. He showed great interest in astronomy, publishing a number of almanacs, and also " An Astronomical Description of the Comet of 1664," in which he maintained that a comet was a heavenly body moving in accordance with divine laws, and that the appearance was indicative of approaching misfortunes. His other publications are "An Election Sermon " (1670) and " The Cry of Sodom Inquired into, upon occasion of the Arraignment and Condemnation of Benjamin Goad for his Pro- digious Villanies " (1674). — John, son of Samuel, clergyman, b. in Roxbui-y, Mass., 8 Nov., 1660; d. in Dorchester, 26 May, 1730, was graduated at Harvard in 1677, and was for some time a fellow in that university. On 28 June, 1682, he was or- dained as pastor of the Congregational society in Dorchester, and he continued with this charge until his death, receiving as his colleague the Rev. Jonathan Bowman in 1729. Mr. Danforth was a man of great learning, possessed an uncommon ac- quaintance with mathematics, and had a taste for poetry. He published a " Sermon at the Departure of the Rev. Joseph Lord and his Church for Dor- chester, S. C." (1697) ; " The Right Christian Tem- per in every Condition, endeavored (as the Lord vouchsafed to assist) to be set forth and recom- mended" (1702); "The Vile Profanations of Pros- perity by the Degenerate among the People of God"; "'Fast Sermon at Boston" (1703); "The Blackness of Sins against Light, or Men's offering