Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 4).djvu/535

Rh tain two expeditions against the Indians during the Cayuse war of 1848, and the Yakima war in 1855. In 1853-'5 he was U. S. marshal for Oregon. He was appointed superintendent of Indian atfairs for Oregon and Washington territories in 1857, and was elected U. S. senator for the term from 1801 till 1867, serving on the committees on military and Indian affairs, a special committee that was appointed to visit the Indian tribes of the west, and those on commerce and Revolutionary claims. He was a delegate to the Philadelphia union con- vention of 1806, and subsequently was appointed IT. S. minister to Austria, but was not confirmed. While engaged in farming in Oregon he was elected to congress as a Democrat to fill a vacancy, serving from 1 Dec, 1873, till 3 March, 1875.

NESMITH, John, manufacturer, b. in London- derry, N. H., o Aug., 1793; d. in Lowell, Mass., 15 Oct., 1869. After serving an apprenticeship in a country store lie entered into business with his brother Thomas, and, removing to New York, be- came a successful merchant. In 1831 he settled in Lowell, Mass., and invested largely in real estate, purchasing the Gedney estate in Belvidere with its large mansion, the Old Yellow House, which was erected in 1750, and is still in possession of his fam- ily. He then laid out several streets, giving his name to one of them, and his purchase, being made soon after the formation of the Merrimac manufac- turing company, secured him much wealth. He was a large owner in the Merrimac woollen-mills com- pany, and made a large sum by obtaining the sup- ply of water in Winnipiseogee and Squam lakes as reservoirs for the Lowell mills in dry seasons. He secured the site for the city of Lawrence, and also the control of water-power there. Mr. Nesmith invented a machine for making wire-fences, and another for making shawl-fringe. He held various political offices in Lowell, and contributed largely to the pecuniary support of the anti-slavery move- ment. He served as an elector on the Lincoln tickets of 1860 and 1864, was lieutenant-governor of Massachusetts in 1862, declined a re-election in 1863, and was appointed collector of internal revenue for his district in 1863, holding this office until a few days before his death. He provided in his will for the foundation of a " Nesmith Fund " for tlie support, education, and maintenance of the indigent blind of New Hampshire, and also bequeathed money for a public park in Franklin, N. H.

NESMOND, Georges Henry Emile de (nes-mond), Flemish explorer, b. in Oudenarde in 1793; d. in Paris in 1852. He served in the French army during the last years of the reign of Napoleon I., and afterward was professor of mathematics and geology in Mons, Louvain, and Paris. In 1840 he was sent to explore Central America, where he remained for several years. He made a particular study of volcanoes, remained several months in San Salvador, studied the geological formation of the district of La Union in the Bay of Fonseca, and later went to Mexico. He published '"Voyage scientifique dans I'Amerique Centrale " (2 vols., Paris, 1847) ; " Etudes sur les couches geologiques des terrains du district de la Union dans la Baie de Fonseca " (2 vols., 1849) ; and " Etudes sur les volcans de I'Amerique Centrale " (3 vols., 1850).

NESMOND, Jean Baptiste du Buc de (nes-mong). West Indian administrator, b. in Trois Ilets in 1717; d. in Paris in 1795. After finishing his studies in Paris he entered the colonial admin- istration, where he held several important offices; presided in 1761 at the foundation of a board of agriculture in Fort de France, and in the same year was elected deputy of the colonists. A paper on colonial administration that he presented to the king on his arrival in Versailles received high approbation ; he was chosen a director of the Company of the Indies, and in 1763 president of the administration of the West Indies, which post he held till his resignation in 1770. His papers on colonial administration attracted attention, and contributed much toward the adoption of the protective colonial policy that was in force in the French possessions till the reign of Napoleon III. Madame Necker in her " Melanges " mentions Buc de Nesmond as one of the ablest and most witty men of the eighteenth century. — His son, Louis Francois. West Indian administrator, b. in Trois Ilets in 1779; d. in Paris, 12 Dec, 1827, served several years in France, but returned to Martinique at the beginning of the revolution, was elected president of the colonial assembly, and rendered great service in quelling several insurrections. The monarchist army mean- while defeated the patriots, and marching to St. Pierre threatened to burn the city in case of resist- ance, but Nesmond saved the city by his firmness. He assisted afterward in the pacification of the colony, fought gallantly against the English, and through his influence obtained from Admiral Coch- rane in 1806 a convention that left the administra- tion of the colony to the French. Louis XVHI. appointed him colonial intendant in 1814, and he held that office for thirteen years, encouraging agricultui'e. promoting commerce and industry, and, in opposition to his father's teachings, advocating a policy of free trade with the United States. In 1827 he was elected to the chamber of deputies, but he died soon after his arrival in Paris.

NETTLETON, Asahel, clergyman, b. in North Killingworth, Conn., 21 April, 1783; d. in East Windsor, Conn., 16 May, 1844. He was graduated at Yale in 1809, studied theology, was licensed in 1811, and ordained as an evangelist in 1817. His preaching was so effective that he relinquished his intention of becoming a missionary, and from 1812 till 1822 served as a revivalist in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New York. In 1827 he went to Virginia for his health, returning in 1829, and preached in New York and Connecticut until 1831. He then went to Great Britain, and soon after his return in 1832 was appointed professor of pastoral duty in the newly organized seminary at East Windsor, Conn., and, although he did not accept this office, he settled there aiid lectured occasionally to the students. He received the degree of D. D. from Hampden Sidney and Jefferson colleges. Pa., in 1839. Dr. Nettleton's sermons were chiefly ex- temporaneous, and in his later years he opposed the doctrines of the New Haven school of theology. He compiled a book entitled " Village Hymns " (New York, 1824). His " Remains and Sermons " were edited by Rev. Bennet Tyler, D. D. (Hartford, 1845), who also published a " Memoir " (1844), which was reprinted with additions by Rev. Andrew A. Bonar vuider the title of " Nettleton and His Labors " (Edinburgh, 1854).

NETZAHUALCOYOTL (net-sah-wal-co'-yot-tle), king of Acolhuacan or Texcoco, Mexico, b. in Texcoco in 1403; d. there in 1470. He was a son of Ixtlixochitl (q. v.), sixth king of Acolhuacan, and Matlazahuatzin, daughter of King Huitzilihuitl, and was educated by the wisest men of Texcoco. When he was scarcely fifteen years old, he was with his father on a hunting expedition, when their estates were invaded by Tetzotzomoc, king of Atzcapotzalco, and his father was murdered, while he escaped by hiding in the branches of a tree. Later, through protection of his uncle, Chimalpopoca, he obtained permission to return to Texcoco, where he