Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 4).djvu/181

Rh when he became county judge and surrogate, held both offices till their separation in 1883, when he was elected surrogate.

McMASTER, John Bach, historian, b. in Brooklyn, N. Y., 29 June, 1852. His father, a native of New York, was a banker and planter at New Orleans at the beginning of the civil war. The son was educated in the public schools, and graduated at the College of the city of New York in 1872. He taught grammar in that institution for a year, spent several months in the study of civil engineering, and in the autumn of 1873 devoted himself to the work of writing his &ldquo;History of the People of the United States,&rdquo; for which he had been gathering material since 1870. He was appointed instructor in civil engineering at Princeton in 1877, and in 1883 became professor of American history in the University of Pennsylvania. The first volume of his &ldquo;History of the People of the United States from the Revolution to the Civil War&rdquo; (New York, 1883) achieved an immediate success. His other writings include numerous magazine articles; four volumes of his history (1885-1900); and &ldquo;Life of Benjamin Franklin&rdquo; in the &ldquo;Men of Letters&rdquo; series (Boston, 1887).

McMASTER, William, Canadian merchant, b. in Tyrone, Ireland, 24 Dec, 1811 ; d. in Toronto, 23 Sept., 1887. He came to Canada in 1833, en- tered the wholesale mercantile establishment of Robert Cathcart, in Toronto, and afterward en- gaged in business on his own account. Mr. Mc- Master was a member of the legislative council of Canada, for the Midland division, from 1862 till 1867, when he was called to the senate by royal proclamation. He was noted for his liberality in behalf of the educational and religious institutions of the Baptist denomination, to which he belonged. He was a liberal supporter of the Canadian liter- ary institute at Woodstock, to whose building fund alone he contributed $12,000 : erected and furnished, at an expense of over $100,000, McMaster Hall, the new Baptist college in Toronto ; and, with his wife, gave over $60,000 toward the building of the Jarvis street Baptist church. Toronto. He was in- strumental in establishing the Superannuated min- isters' society of the Baptist church, was for many years treasurer of the Upper Canada Bible society and among its most generous subscribers, and was chairman of the board of trustees of the Baptist college. He was also a member of the senate of the University of Toronto, chairman of the Canada board of the Great Western railway, president of the Canadian Bank of Commerce, and was con- nected with other institutions. While speaking in McMaster Hall, he fainted, and remained uncon- scious till his death on the following morning.

McMlCHAEL, Morton, journalist, b. m Bur- lington, N. J., 2 Oct., 1807; d. in Philadelphia, Pa., 6 Jan., 1879. He was educated in the schools of his native town and at the University of Penn- sylvania, read law, and in 1827 was admitted to the Philadelphia bar. He became editor of the " Sat- urday Evening Post" in 1826, from 1831 to 1836 was editor-in-chief of the " Saturday Courier," and during the latter year, with others, began the pub- lication of the "Saturday News." In 1844 he as- sociated himself with Joseph C. Neal in the editor- ship of the " Saturday Gazette," and in 1847 he acquired an interest in the "North American." which journal was, during that year, consolidated with the " United States Gazette," and under this union the publication was thereafter known as the " North American and United States Gazette." He was sole proprietor of this journal from 1854 till his death, and under his management and edi- torship it grew to be one of the best-known jour- nals in the country. While a young man he served several years as an alderman of Philadelphia, from 1843 till 1846 he was sheriff of the county, from 1866 till 1869 mayor of the city, in 1867, on the or- ganization of the park commission, was chosen president of that body, which post he held till his death, and in 1873 he was appointed a delegate at large to the fourth Constitutional convention of Pennsylvania. He was frequently invited to ad- dress public audiences on great occasions, and achieved note as an orator. Of his speeches a critic has written : " Prepared or unprepared, they were always finished models." A bronze statue of him. in Fairmount park, bears the inscription, " An honored and beloved citizen of Philadelphia." — His third son, William, lawyer, b. in Philadelphia, 4 March. 1841 ; d. in New York city, 20 April, 1893, was graduated at University of Penn- sylvania, and had begun law studies when he enlist- ed as a private under President Lincoln's first call for troops. He was afterward promoted to captain and aide-de-camp, then major, and later brevetted colonel, acting under Gen. Grant, Gen. Rosecrans, and Gen. Thomas. After serving through the war he resumed his law studies, and was admitted to the Philadelphia bar in 1865. He was appointed solicitor of internal revenue of the treasury depart- ment soon after Gen. Grant's first election to the presidency, and resigned the office in 1871 to be- come U. S. assistant attorney-general. That office he held until 1877, when he was appointed U. S. district attorney for the eastern district of Pennsyl- vania, but he resigned in 1885 to enter into private practice. He was appointed by President Garfield a member of the U. S. board of Indian commis- sioners. In 1882 he was a candidate for congress- man-at-large on the Independent Republican tick- et. He was always an active participant in public affairs, and in 1858 he became a member of the bar of New York city. He inherited in a large de- gree the oratorical gifts of his father. Among his addresses is a eulogy on Gen. George H. Thomas at a memorial meeting at the Academy of Music, and an oration at the unveiling of the Lincoln monument in Fairmount park. — Morton's fourth son, Clayton, journalist, b. in Philadelphia, Pa., 30 June, 1844, was educated in private schools, en- listed in the army in April, 1861, and was commissioned 2d lieutenant in the U. S. army on 5 Aug. He resigned, 27 Sept., 1865, with the brevet rank of major in the regular army. After leaving the army he began journalistic work in connection with his father's newspaper, and a few years before the latter's death succeeded him in its editorship, in which post he has since continued. In 1872 he was appointed commissioner to the International exposition at Vienna, and in December, 1882, became U. S. marshal for the District of Columbia. He resigned, 4 March, 1885, but his resignation was not accepted by President Cleveland until 3 Dec.

McMICKEN, Gilbert, Canadian member of parliament, b. in London in 1813 ; d. 6 March, 1890. He came to Canada in 1832, was for many years a resident of the Niagara district, and held several municipal offices there. He represented Welland county in the legislative assembly of Canada from 1857 till 1861, was stipendiary magistrate for Canada West during the civil war in the United States, and was specially thanked by Lord Monk for the efficient discharge of his duties. During the Fenian excitement he was commissioner of police for the Dominion, and contributed to the repulse of the raiders in 1870. After his removal to Manitoba he performed a similar service in con-