Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 4).djvu/339

Rh der the constitution chief justice, which post he held at the time of his death. His judicial opinions, in the Pennsylvania state reports, from 1^73 till 1887, are distintj^uished by learning, sound judgment, and clear and forcible language.

MEREDITH, Samuel, financier, b. in Phila- delphia in 1740 ; d. in Belmont, his seat in Luzerne county. Pa., 10 March, 1817. His father, Rees (1705-'77), was a native of Radnorshire, Wales, and one of the most influential colonists of his day. Chancing to meet Washington at the coffee- house in Philadelphia when the latter was an un- known youth, he entered into conversation with him, and, being pleased with his demeanor, he in- vited him to his house and was afterward his warm friend. The son became a member of the Penn- sylvania colonial legislature. He entered the ser- vice as major of the 3d Pennsylvania battalion in 1775, was engaged actively in various battles, and was made brigadier-general for gallant services. He and his brother-in-law, George Clymer, the signer, each gave £10,000 in silver to carry on the war. Gen. Meredith was exiled from Philadelphia on its occupation by the British. He was a member of the old congress in 1787-'8, and was first treasurer of the United States from 1789 till 1801, when he resigned in order to look after his personal estates. On entering upon the office of treasurer, he advanced $20,000, and subsequently $120,000, to the government, and he was never reimbursed.

MEREDITH, Solomon, soldier, b. in Guilford county, N. C, 29 May, 1810 ; d. in Cambridge City, Ind., 21 Oct., 1875. At the age of nineteen he went to Wayne county, Ind., and by manual labor earned enough to give himself an education. In 1840 he removed to Cambridge City. He was chosen sheriff of his county in 1834 and 1836, thrice elected to the legislature in 1846-'8, and in 1849 became U. S. marshal for the district of In- diana. In 1854 he was again chosen to the legis- lature. In July, 1861, he became colonel of the 19th Indiana regiment, which saw its first service in Virginia, and lost half its effective force at Gainesville, where Col. Meredith was wounded. He was promoted brigadier-general of volunteers on 6 Oct., 1862, and commanded what was known throughout the war as the iron brigade. Under his leadership this brigade forced a crossing of the Rappahannock in April, 1863, receiving special thanks in general orders, took part in the battle of Chancellorsville, and opened the battle of Get- tysburg, where Gen. Meredith was wounded again and disabled till November, 1863. He was ordered to the command of Cairo, 111., early in 1864, and in September to a similar post in Paducah, Ky., which he retained till the close of the war. On 14 Aug.. 1865, he was brevetted major-general of volunteers. In 1867-'9 he was surveyor-general of Montana, and he then retired to " Oakland farm " near Cambridge City, Ind., where he devoted him- self to raising fine stock, and dispensed a gener- ous hospitality. He was also a pioneer in im- proved methods of agriculture. Gen. Meredith was six feet six inches in height, of commanding presence, and a ready speaker. He was active in securing the passage of the present Indiana school laws, and as financial agent of the Indiana cen- tral railroad did much for the success of that enterprise. His three sons were all in the Na- tional array during the civil war, and two lost their lives in the service.

MEREDITH, Sir William Collis, Canadian jurist, b. in Dublin, 23 May, 1812; d. in Quebec, 26 Feb., 1894. He was the sou of the rector of Ardtrea, County Tyrone. He studied law, emigrated to Canada, and was called to the bar of Montreal in 1836, becoming queen's counsel in 1844. He was also a judge of the superior court for the province of Quebec from 1849 till 1859, and of the court of queen's bench for the same province from 1859 till 1866. He was chief justice of the superior court from 1866 till 1884, when he retired. He received the degree of D. C. L. from Lennoxville university, province of Quebec, in 1854, and that of LL. D. from Laval university in 1880. He was knighted in 1886.

MEREDITH, William Morris, cabinet officer, b. in Philadelphia, Pa., 8 June, 1799; d. there, 17 Aug., 1873. He was graduated at the Univer- sity of Pennsylvania in 1812, studied law, and about 1820 began practice. He was in the legislature in 1824-'8, president of the select council of Philadelphia in 1834-'49, and a member of the State constitutional con- vention of 1837. He became secretary of the U. S. treasurv in 1849, and held office until the death of President Taylor. He was attorney- general of Pennsylvania and president of the State constitutional convention in 1873. As a lawyer, Mr. Meredith occupied for many years the foremost rank in his native state, and was constantly engaged in impor- tant cases in the supreme court of Pennsylvania, and that of the United States. As a ready and able legal debater, he had few superiors in this country.— His brother, SiiUivan Amory, soldier, b. in Philadelphia, Pa., 5 July, 1816 ; d. in Buffalo, N. Y., 27 Dec, 1874, was educated at William and Mary. He twice visited China, and in 1848 went to California. When the civil war began he was in business in Philadelphia. On 25 April, 1861, he was commissioned colonel of the 10th Pennsyl- vania regiment, and superintended the drilling, equipment, and forwarding of over 30,000 troops. He took part in Patterson's campaign in the Shen- andoah valley, and on his return organized and was commissioned colonel of the 56th regiment. In the winter of 1861-'2 he garrisoned Fort Al- bany. The following April he was assigned to McDowell's corps, with which he served up to the second battle of Bull Run, where he was severely wounded. For his gallantry in this engagement he was promoted to brigadier-general of volun- teers, 29 Aug., 1862. When partly recovered, he was appointed commissioner for the exchange of prisoners. In 1864 he was ordered to St. Louis, and served under Gen. Rosecrans until 24 Aug., 1865, when he was mustered out. Gen. Meredith contributed a series of letters to the Buffalo " Com- mercial Advertiser" in 1868, controverting the statements of the Confederate commissioner Rob- ert Ould, in charging upon Gen. Grant a responsi- bility for the barbarities of the Confederate au- thorities to captured National soldiers.

MEREDITH, William Ralph, Canadian legislator, b. in Westminster, Ont., 31 March, 1840, He was educated at London, Out., grammar-school, and at the law department of the University