Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 4).djvu/733

Rh uted articles and translations to the " Crayon " and other periodicals. — Another son, Rapliaelle, artist, b. in Annapolis, Md.. 17 Feb., 1774; d. in Philadelphia, 25 March, 1825. He began painting portraits in 1804, but paid also much attention to the painting of still-lit'e subjects, in which branch of art he was very successful. His brother Rembrandt said of him : •' He may perhaps be considered the first, in point of time, who adopted this branch of painting in America." — Another son, Titian Ramsey, artist, b. in Philadelphia in 1800 ; d. there, 13 March, 1885, was much devoted to the study of natural history, and held office in the Philadelphia academy of natural sciences. He accompanied the South sea exploring expedition in 1838-'42, under Lieut. Charles Wilkes, as a natural- ist, and drew several of the plates in one of the volumes of reports on the expedition, that of John Cassin. on " Mammology and Ornithology " (Phila- delphia, 1858). In his artistic labors he appears also to have devoted himself entirely to the delineation of animal life. He executed most of the plates in the 1st and 4th volumes of Charles Lucien Bonaparte's "American Ornithology" (1825-'33). and exhibited water-color drawings of animals at the Pennsyl- vania academy of fine arts. From 1849 till 1872 he was an examiner in the patent-office at Wash- ington. He was the author of " Mammalia and Ornithology " (1848). Joseph Sabin says that the volume " was suppressed, and is of the greatest rarity." — A brother of Charles Willson, James, artist, b. in Annapolis in 1749; d. in Philadelphia, 24 May, 1831, served during the Revolution as an officer of the Continental line. He turned his at- tention principally to portrait-painting, executing many miniatures and portraits in oil, including a full-lengtii portrait of Washington, which has been engraved. One of his portraits of Washington is in the New York historical society, the other, painted in 1795, in Independence Hall, Philadel- phia. He painted also some landscapes, and even attempted historical composition. Among his larger pictures are '• A Rencontre between Col. Al- len McLane and Two British Horsemen" (1811) ; " View of the Battle of Princeton " ; and " A View of Belfield Farm, near Germantown " (1818). — James's son, James, b. in Philadelphia, 6 March, 1779 ; d. there, 27 Oct., 1876, engaged in banking, but devoted his leisure hours to the study of art, and became known as a marine and landscape painter. In 1813 he exhibited, at the Columbia so- ciety of artists, a view of High street bridge. His other works include a painting of an engagement between the privateer schooner •' Cornet," of Balti- more, and a Portuguese sloop-of-war ; " View of Germantown" (1820); "View of Water-Gap and Breaking Away of a Storm " (1824) ; and " Fair- mount Water- Works" (1824). — The first James's daughter, Anna Claypoole, artist, b. in Philadel- phia, 6 March, 1791 ; d. there, 25 Dec, 1878, also devoted herself at first to still-life subjects, but afterward followed miniature-painting. She ex- ecuted miniatures of Gen. Lallemand, .James Mon- roe, Andrew Jackson (1819), and Com. William Bainbridge. She married William Staughton, D. D., and subsequently Gen. William Duncan. — Another daughter. Sarah M., artist, b. in Phila- delphia, 19 May, 1800 ; d. there, 4 Feb., 1885, stud- ied under her father and uncle, and began to paint still-life subjects about 1816. Later she executed portraits of Com. William Bainbridge (1822), Henry A. Wise, Caleb Cushing, Dixon H. Lewis, and other public men. Lafayette accorded her four sittings in 1825. Her professional life was spent in Phila- delphia, Baltimore, Washington, and St. Louis. PEARCE, Charles Sprague, artist, b. in Bos- ton, Mass., 13 Oct., 1851. He went to Europe in the autumn of 1873, spent the winter in Egypt, and travelled in Algiers in 1874-'5. He was the pupil of Leon Bonnat. in Paris (1873-'5), and since that time he has resided mostly in France. Since 1876 he has exhibited frequently at the Paris salon, and also in New York, Boston, and Philadelphia. He has received medals and other honors at various times, notably a medal of the third class at the sa- lon, in 1883, the Belgian grand medal of honor in 1886, and the Temple gold medal of the Philadel- phia academv in 1885. His more important works include " Death of the First-Born of Egypt " (1877) ; " Pet of the Harem " (1878) ; " Le sacrifice d'Abra- ham " and " Decapitation of John the Baptist," of which the latter received honorable mention at the salon, a prize at the Philadelphia academv, and a medal in Boston (1881) ; " Rosina " (1882) ; " Pre- lude," which has been etched by Los Rios (1883); "Water-Carrier" and " Bebe et sa Soeur" (1883); " Prayer " and " Toilers of the Sea " (1884) ; " Peines de coeur " (1884); " Une bergere" (1886); and "St. Genevieve" (1887).

'PEARCE, Cromwell, soldier, b. in Willistown, Pa., 13 Aug., 1772 ; d. there, 2 April, 1852. He was brought up as a farmer, was a captain of militia in 1793-8, and the next year became 1st lieutenant in the 1st U. S. infantry. He returned to civil life on the disbanding of the army in 1800, was the first postmaster of West Chester, became brigadier-general of militia in 1807, and major- general in 1811. At the beginning of the war of 1812 he re-entered the service as colonel of the 6th United States infantry. He commanded his divis- ion after the fall of Gen. Montgomery Pike at York, and led his regiment at the capture of Fort George. He resigned from the army in 1815, be- came sheriff of Chester county. Pa., was a presi- dential elector in 1824, and in 1825-'39 was an associate justice of the county court.

PEARCE, Dntee Jerauld, congressman, b. in Prudence island, R. I., 10 April, 1789; d. in New- port, R. I., 9 May, 1849. He was graduated at Brown in 1808, studied law, and became an eminent member of the Newport bar. He was for many years in the state legislature, attorney-general of Rhode Island in 1819-'25, a presidential elector in . and in 1825-49 a member of congress, having been elected as a Democrat.

PEARCE, James Alfred, senator, b. in Alexandria. Va., 14 Dec, 1805 ; d. in Chestertown, Md., 20 Dec, 1862. He was graduated at Princeton in, studied law in Baltimore, and was admitted to the bar in 1824, after which he began to practise at Cambridge, Md. At the end of a year he went to Louisiana with his father and engaged in sugarplanting for three years. He then returned to Maryland and settled in Kent county, where he resumed the practice of his profession. He was elected to the Maryland house of delegates in 1831, in 1835 to congress as a Democrat, and he served, except during one term in 1839-'41, until 1843, when he was chosen to the U. S. senate, where he remained until his death. During his long service in the senate he was especially interested in the libi'ary of congress, the Smithsonian institution, and the coast survey. President Fillmore offered him a seat on the bench of the U. S. district court of Maryland, which he declined. During the same administration he was nominated and confirmed secretary of the interior, but this honor was also declined upon the ground that he could be of more use to his country in the senate. He took a deep interest in educational matters, and in 1832 was