Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VI.djvu/554

 546 ELLIOTT ble political speaker of the ultra radical type. Young Elliott received the education usually af- forded to boys of his condition, but at school was noted for little else than dulness and laziness. He was unable to master the rudiments of grammar or arithmetic, and often gratified an instinctive love for nature and solitude by stolen rambles in the meadows and woodlands. His father consequently set him to work in the foundery. He was beginning to fall into dissi- pated habits when the perusal of a treatise on botany revived his love of nature, and he be- came an industrious collector of botanical speci- mens. He also procured access to a small libra- ry of the old divines and poets, and in his 17th year produced his first published poem, " The Vernal Walk," which was followed by " Night," " WharnclhTe," " Love," and others. His pow- ers increased with each new work, and he at- tracted the notice of Southey, to whose kind offices he was accustomed to refer with affec- tion and gratitude. He had meanwhile worked steadily till his 23d year in the foundery, which his father had purchased on credit, and having married set up at Rotherham in the iron busi- ness on his own account, but was unsuccessful. At 30 years of age he became an earnest advo- cate of the laboring classes. . The corn laws in particular struck him as unjust, and upon his fail- ure in business he attributed his misfortunes to their influence. In 1821 he made another ven- ture as an iron merchant in Sheffield, with a borrowed capital of 100, and was soon em- barked in a lucrative business. He now com- menced his " Corn Law Rhymes," which were written with the sole purpose of procuring the repeal of the obnoxious laws. At first pub- lished in a local paper and afterward collected in a single volume, these poems brought Elliott into notice. " The Ranter," which succeeded, was a long poem in a similar vein. In 1829 appeared his " Village Patriarch," the best of his larger pieces. In 1833 he commenced a complete edition of his works, which appeared during the next two years, and for the first time made generally known many of the au- thor's poems not of an exclusively political character. Several other editions appeared in the course of his life, and to the last he contin- ued to write verses, chiefly for the periodical press, and occasionally spoke in support of his peculiar views. The commercial panic of 1837 entailed serious pecuniary losses upon him, but by careful management he was enabled in 1841 to retire from business with a competency and settle at a villa near Barnsley, where he passed the last years of his life in pleasant seclusion. Soon after his death was published " More Prose and Verse by the Corn Law Rhymer " (2 vols., London, 1850), and his " Autobiogra- phy," in the " Athenseum" (January, 1850). ELLIOTT, Jesse Duncan, an American naval officer, born in Maryland, July 14, 1782, died in Philadelphia, Dec. 18, 1845. He entered the service as a midshipman in April, 1804, and was promoted to a lieutenancy April 23, 1810. In 1812 he was attached to the com- mand of Commodore Isaac Ohauncey at Sack- ett's Harbor, and on the declaration of wai against Great Britain was sent by him to the upper lakes to purchase vessels, and make other preparations for the creation of a naval force in those waters. While he was at Black Rock, engaged in this service, two armed British brigs, the Detroit and Caledonia, an- chored, Oct. 7, 1812, near the opposite shore under the guns of Fort Erie. A boat expedi- tion was organized under Elliott's command, and the vessels were boarded and carried with but slight loss a little after midnight, Oct. 8. The Caledonia was safely brought over to the American side ; but the Detroit was compelled to drop down the river, passing the British batteries under a heavy fire, and afterward was burned by the Americans, most of her stores having first been removed. For this exploit Elliott was voted a sword by congress. In July, 1813, he was promoted to the rank of master commandant, and appointed to the Niagara, a brig of 20 guns, on Lake Erie. In Perry's engagement with the British squadron, Sept. 10, 1813, Elliott was second in command, and a gold medal was voted him by congress for his conduct on the occasion. In October he succeeded Perry in command on Lake Erie, and in 1815 he commanded the Ontario sloop of war, one of the squadron of Commodore Decatur employed against Algiers. He was promoted to the rank of captain, March 27, 1818, and till 1824 was engaged in selecting sites for dockyards, lighthouses, and fortifica- tions on the coast of North Carolina. From 1829 to 1833 he was in command of the West India squadron, and in the latter year of the Charlestown navy yard. Afterward he com- manded for several years the Mediterranean squadron. His conduct in this position did not meet the approval of the executive, and resulted in his trial by court martial in June, 1840, and suspension from duty for four years. In Octo- ber, 1843, the period of his suspension which then remained was remitted by the president, and he was appointed to the command of the Philadelphia navy yard. ELLIOTT. L Stephen, an American natural- ist, born in Beaufort, S. 0., Nov. 11, 1771, died in Charleston, March 28, 1830. He graduated at Yale college in 1791, and two years later was elected a member of the legislature of South Carolina, a position which he retained until the establishment of the " Bank of the State " in 1812, of which he was chosen presi- dent. He retained this office till his death. His leisure was devoted to literary and scientific pursuits, and he cultivated the study of botany with enthusiasm. In 1813 he was instrumental in founding the literary and philosophical so- cieties of South Carolina, of each of which he was president. He lectured gratuitously on his favorite science, and was for some time chief editor of the " Southern Review," to which he contributed a number of articles. In