Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 4).djvu/525

Rh Alice B.) Neal possessed much genial humor, which he devoted to the description of a pecul- iar class of small spendthrifts, inferior pretend- ers to fashion, bores, and loafers. A quaint vein of speculation ran through his humoi-ous dia- logues. His first character sketches were pub- lished in the " Pennsylvanian " under the title of the " City Worthies." and were subsequently col- lected in book-form as " Charcoal Sketches " (Philadelphia, 1837), and republished in London under the auspices of Charles Dickens. They were followed by " Peter Ploddy and other Oddi- ties " (1844), and a second series of " Charcoal Sketches." published by his widow (1849).

NEALE, Leonard, archbishop, b. in Port To- bacco, Md.. 15 Oct., 1746 ; d. in Georgetown. D. C, 15 June, 1817. He belonged to an old Roman Catholic family that settled in Maryland early in the 17th century. He was educated in the Col- lege of St. Omer, France, and afterward at Bruges and Liege, Belgium, became a member of the So- ciety of Jesus, and after his ordination taught in colleges and officiated as pastor in different places in Europe. He was teaching in the Jesuit college of Bruges when that institution was seized by the Austro- Belgian government, and he was expelled with the other Jesuits. He then went to England, where he had charge of a small congregation, but after several years he sailed in 1779 for Demerara, where he worked zealously among the natives and settlers. At length his health was almost ruined by the inclemency of the climate and the severity of his labors. He left Demerara in January. 1783. and after a perilous voyage, in which he fell into the hands of British cruisers, he reached the United States in Aprd. In June he attended a meeting of the clergy of Maryland at Whitemarsh and took an active part in its deliberations. He was sta- tioned at St. Thomas's Manor among his relatives till 1793, when he went to Philadelphia to attend the victims of the yellow-fever epidemic, although he was in delicate health. He was incessant in his attentions to the sick and dying, and on the reappearance of the pestilence in 1797-"8 he re- sumed his former exertions until he was prostrated by the disease. While he was in Philadelphia he was appointed vicar - general for the noitheru states. In" 1799 he was made president of George- town college, which had been founded a few years before by the Jesuits of Maryland. His experi- ence in European colleges was of great service to this institution, which made rapid strides under his management. He had intended to found a sisterhood in Philadelphia, but of the three ladies who placed themselves under his direction two died of yellow fever. He invited Miss Lalor, the survivor, to open a school in Georgetown under his direction, which was the beginning of what is now the oldest Roman Catholic female academy within the limits of the thirteen original states. By his exertions other ladies joined Miss Lalor, and the community was organized as the order of Visitation Nuns, but it did not receive the formal sanction of the pope until 1818. He was conse- crated bishop of Gortyna in jxirtibus i7ifidelium, 7 Dec, 1800, and made coadjutor of the primate of the United States. He attended a council of bishops in Baltimore in 1810, and his iniluence was felt in the rules drawn up by that body for the administration of the dioceses. Bishop Neale succeeded to the archbishopric of Baltimore in 1815. and in 1816 received the pallium.

NEALE, Rollin Heber, clergyman, b. in South- ington, Conn., 23 Feb., 1808 ; d. in Boston. Mass., 19 Sept., 1879. He was graduated at Columbian college, Washington, D. C. in 1830, and at Newton theological seminary in 1833. While pursuing his studies at Newton he was ordained to the ministry, and in 1834 became pastor of the 1st Baptist church in Needhara, Mass. In 1837 he was called to the pastorate of the 1st Baptist church in Boston, and he continued in that relation for nearly forty years. He was one of the most eloquent and successful preachers of his day. The degree of D. D. was con- ferred on him by Brown in 1850 and by Harvard in 1857. Of the latter he was for many years one of the overseers. He published " The Burning Bush " and many sermons and addresses. See a memorial discourse by William Hague (Boston, 1880).

NEBINGER, Andrew, physician, b. in Philadelphia, Pa., 12 Dec, 1819 ; d. there, 12 April, 1886. He was educated in private schools, and at the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania, where he was graduated in 1850. Previous- ly he had engaged in the drug business for several years. He attained to a large practice, was one of the incorporators of Philadelphia county medical society, and in 1880 president of the state society. During the civil war he was surgeon-in-charge of the Cooper-shop volunteer hospital and dispensary. He was assisted by his brothers, and their attentions to the thousands of soldiers that passed through the city on their way to the front or on their re- turn made them well known. Dr. Nebinger re- tired from practice in 1870 and gave his attention to his duties in connection with the board of edu- cation, of which he had been a member since 1868, and to the management of several charitable insti- tutions. To one of these. St. Agnes's hospital, he left a large bequest. He was the author of various medical papers and addresses to societies. See a pamphlet memoir by Dr. J. H. Grove (Philadelphia, 1886). — His brother," George Washington, physician, b. in Philadelphia. 23 July, 1824 ; d. there, 8 March, 1868, first studied pharmacy, and afterward was graduated in medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in 1862. He acquired an extensive practice, during the civil war served for a time as a volunteer surgeon, and after the battle of Antietam had charge of all the hospitals about Hagerstown. It is said that when it was feared that Lee would advance after the battle of Antietam, Dr. Nebinger was the only volunteer surgeon that remained at his post. He was a delegate to several state and national Democratic conventions, and was a presidential elector in 1856. In 1858 he ran for congress, as a Douglas Democrat, against Thomas B. Florence, a Buchanan Democrat, but was not successful. He was comptroller of public schools for many years, and was for nine years one of the directors of Girard college. See Nebinger Memorial " (Philadelphia, 1883). — Another brother, Robert (1828-'88), also became a physician, and aided his brothers in the management of the Coop- er-shop hospital, of which he was the pharmacist. The three brothers were unmarried, and were men of fine personal appearance.

NECKERE, Leo Raymond de, R. C. bishop, b. in Weveighem, Belgium, in 1800 ; d. in New Orleans in 1833. He studied classics in the College of Roulers, West Flanders, and philosophy in the Seminary of Ghent. In 1817 he volunteered for the Louisiana mission with other members of the Lazarist order, which he had joined. He remained some months the guest of Charles Carroll, of CarroUton. and then proceeded west. He studied theology in the Seminary of Bardstown, Ky., and in 1820 entered the Seminary of the Barrens, which was conducted by the Lazarists. In 1822 he was raised to the priesthood before the canonical age,