Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 4).djvu/174

142 the city of New York in 1873. In the same year he was appointed assistant engineer in the department of docks in New York city. He served on a com- mittee of the American society of civil engineers that recommended a uniform system of tests for cement, and conducted during a period of several years a series of experiments, the results of which he digested in a treatise, entitled "Notes and Ex- periments on the Use and Testing of Portland Ce- ment," that received the Norman gold medal of the American society of civil engineers (New York and London, 1877: German translation, Leipsic, 1877).

MACLAY, William, senator, b. in New Garden, Chester co., Pa., 20 July, 1737; d. in Harrisburg, Pa., 16 April. 1804. In 1740 his father settled in Lurgan, Franklin co., Pa. He received a classical education, and served as a lieutenant during the French war, taking part in Gen. John Forbes's expedition against Port Duquesne in 1758, in which he did good service himself at Loj^alhannah ; also in Gen. Henry Bouquet's march to Fort Pitt and the combat at Bushy Run. When not in active service he pursued the study of law, and was ad- mitted to the bar in 1760. He assisted in survey- ing the officers' grant on the Susquehanna, in which he shared, as well as other lands. At the close of the war he visited England to consult the proprietors on business connected with the surveys, and after his return he acted as representative of the Penn family. In 1769 he married a daughter of John Harris {q. v.). In 1772, upon the organi- zation of Northumberland county, he was appointed prothonotary, and about this time assisted in lay- ing out the town of Sunbury. He took an active part in the Pennymite war, opposing the claims of the Susquehanna company, and advising Penn not to sell his rights in the Wyoming valley. Although an officer of the proprietary government, he was active in raising and equipping troops for the Con- tinental army, and marched with them to the seat of war, taking part in the battles of Trenton and Princeton. During the Revolution he was assist- ant commissary of purchases. He was sent to the assembly in 1781, and was subsequently a member of the executive council, judge of common pleas, and a commissioner to carry into effect an act re- specting the navigation of the Susquehanna river. In January, 1789, he was elected with Robert Morris to the U. S. senate, and drew the short term, which expired on 3 March, 1791. In the senate he advanced democratic principles, and led the oppo- sition to President Washington, objecting to his presence in the senate during the transaction of business, assailing the policy of the administration before him, and reprobating the state and cere- mony that were observed in the intercourse of the president with congress. He opposed the funding of the debt and the chartering of the U. S. bank, and was the leader of the movement that resulted in the formation of the Democratic party. On the expiration of his term the legislature elected James Ross, a Federalist, in his place. He then retired to his farm near Harrisburg, was a member of the state house of representatives in 1795, a presidential elector in 1795, a county judge in 1801-'3, and a member of the legislature again in 1803. While in the senate he took notes of the discus- sions in the open and secret sessions, which, with his observations on contemporaiw statesmen, was published by George W. Harris under the title of " Sketches of Debate in the First Senate of the United States, 1789-'91 " (Harrisburg).— His broth- er, Samuel, senator, b. in Lurgan, Pa., 7 June, 1741 ; d. in Northumberland county, Pa., 5 Oct., 1811, re- ceived a classical education, assisted his brother in surveying the officers' tracts in Buffalo valley, and settled there. During the Revolution he saw ac- tive service as lieutenant-colonel of the troops of Northumberland county. He was appointed an associate judge of that county in 1792, which office he resigned on his election to congress in 1795. On the expiration of his term in 1797 he entered the state senate, and in 1801 was chosen speaker. He was still speaker, on 14 Dec, 1802, when he was elected to the U. S. senate, and as such signed his own certificate. Still retaining his seat, he pre- sided over an impeachment trial, and continued to preside against the protests of the opposition, until he resigned the speakership on 16 March, 1803. He gave up his seat as state senator on 2 Sept., 1803, and entered the U. S. senate at the opening of the session, 17 Oct., 1803. He resigned on account of failing health on 4 Jan., 1809. — Samuel's son, William Plunkett, member of congress, b. in Buffalo valley, Pa., 23 Aug., 1774 ; d. in Milroy, Mifflin CO., Pa., 2 Sept.. 1842. was prothonotary of Mifflin county from 1808 till 1816, when he was elected to congress to fill a vacancy. He was re- elected at the regular election in 1816 and in 1818. In 1837 he was a delegate to the State constitu- tional convention, and declined signing the instru- ment that was framed because it withheld from colored men the right of suffrage.

MacLEAN, Sir Allan, British soldier, b. at Torloish, Scotland, about 1725; d. there in 1784. He began his military career in the service of Hol- land as lieutenant in a brigade of Scotch High- landers, and was in the assault and capture of Bergen - op - Zoom. He subsequently obtained a commission in the 60th or royal American regi- ment, of which he was for some time adjutant. He served as a captain in the expedition of Gen. Wolfe in 1759 for the conquest of Canada, and was afterward appointed to the command of the New York independent company, with which he was present at the battle of Ticonderoga, where he was severely wounded. He was again dangerously wounded at the action that immediately preceded the surrender of Niagara. At the end of the Cana- dian war he returned to England. On the revolt of the American colonies he was promoted to the rank of colonel. He and his men were mainly in- strumental in the defeat of Arnold before Quebec. The garrison consisted, besides 50 fusileers and 350 Highland emigrants, of 700 militia and seamen. Sir Guy Carleton being occupied with arrangements for' the general defence of the colony, the defence of the town was intrusted to Col. MacLean. Some of the faint-hearted and disaffected were now in- clined to open the gates to the enemy, but were held in check by MacLean, who guarded the gate with his Highlanders, forbade all communication with the besiegers, and fired upon their flag, an en- sign of rebellion, with the result that, after Mont- gomery was killed, Arnold abandoned the siege and left the country. Col. MacLean was subse- quently stationed at Niagara, and was in the battle of Eutaw Springs with his regiment. He was pro- moted brigadier-general after leaving this country.

McLEAN, Archibald, Canadian jurist, b. in St. Andrews in April, 1791 ; d. in Toronto in October, 1865. His father, Neil, a native of Mull, Scotland, served in the war of 1812, and was a member of the legislative council of Canada. The son was educated at Cornwall grammar-school, studied law in the office of the attorney-general at York, and before he was admitted to the bar served in the war of 1812 with the United States. in which he was severely wounded. He declined a commission in the regular army, but afterward-