Page:The Biographical Dictionary of America, vol. 01.djvu/134

ARCHDALEARGALL ARCHDALE, John, colonial governor, was born in England, son of Thomas Archdale, of Bucks county. His first visit to America was to New England in 1664 as agent for Governor Gorges of Maine, who had married his sister Mary. His second visit, in 1686, was to North Carolina, where for two years he acted as a commissioner for his brother-in-law. In 1695 Lord Ashley was sent by the English proprietors to govern North Carolina, the people there being in a turbulent condition, but he declined, and John Archdale was chosen in his place. Hewatt says: "He was a man of considerable knowledge and discretion, a Quaker, and a proprietor; great trust was reposed in him, and much was expected from his negotiations." He arrived in 1695, and restored harmony among the colonists; cut public roads and water passages; encouraged the cultivation of rice and regulated their policy and traffic with the Indians. He also concluded a treaty between two Indian tribes allied respectively to the Spanish and British governments. He returned to England in 1696, having named Joseph Blake as his successor, and was elected to Parliament in 1698, but being a Quaker could not take the prescribed oath, so was not allowed to take his seat. He published "A New Description of the Fertile and Pleasant Province of South Carolina (1707). ARCHER, Branch T., pioneer, was born in Farquhar county, Va., Dec. 13, 1790. He became a physician, practising successfully in Virginia. He also served his native state several years as a representative in the legislature. In 1831 he went to Texas, where he took an active interest in the politics of that revolutionary period. In 1835 a convention of the American settlers was called for the consideration of Texas independence, over which Archer presided, and he was selected, with Stephen Austin and N. H. Wharton, commissioner to Washington to obtain aid from the United States government. He became a very prominent figure in Texas politics, being a member of the first Texan congress, speaker of the house of representatives of the republic, and its secretary of war from 1839 to 1842. He died in Brazoria county, Tex., Sept. 22, 1856. ARCHER, Stevenson, representative, was born in Hartford county, Md., Feb. 28, 1827; son of Stevenson and Pamelia (Hays) Archer; grandson of Dr. John and Catherine (Harris) Archer; and a descendant of Thomas Archer and Elizabeth Stevenson, who settled in Hartford county, Md., early in the 17th century, having come from Londonderry, Ireland. His father, Stevenson, was graduated from the College of New Jersey in 1805, became a lawyer in Hartford county, Md., was a judge of the court of appeals, a representative from Maryland in the 12th, 13th, 14th and 16th congresses; a U. S. judge for Mississippi territory; and at the time of his death, in 1848, was chief-justice of the Maryland court of appeals. His grandfather, Dr. John Archer (1741-1810), was graduated from Nassau Hall, New Jersey, in 1760, in medicine from the College of Philadelphia, and was a representative in the 7th, 8th and 9th congresses, 1801-'07. Stevenson, Jr., was graduated at the College of New Jersey in 1846, and became a lawyer at Belair, Md. He was a representative in the state legislature in 1854 and in the 40th, 41st, 42d and 43d congresses, 1867-'75. He died at Belair, Md. Aug. 2, 1898. ARCHER, William S., senator, was born in Amelia county, Va., March 5, 1789; son of Maj. John Archer, an officer in the Revolutionary war; and grandson of Col. William Archer, who died on a British prison ship. William S. was educated in the grammar schools of Virginia, graduated from William and Mary college in 1806, was admitted to the bar, and practised in Amelia county, 1810-55. He was a representative in the state legislature, 1812-'19; in the 16th-23d congresses, 1819-'35, and U.S. senator, 1841-'47. He died in Amelia county, Va., March 28, 1855. ARENTS, Albert, metallurgist, was born in Clausthal, Germany, March 14, 1840. After receiving a thorough education in the mining schools of Germany and at the University of Berlin, he came to the United States, and filled several responsible places as superintendent of mines, of metallurgical mills, and of smelting works in the mineral sections of the far west. In 1882 he was elected a member of the American institute of mining engineers, for which he prepared a number of valuable technical papers. His inventions include the Arents roasting furnace, the Eureka lead furnace, and the siphon tap for use on lead furnaces. ARGALL, Sir Samuel, deputy governor of Virginia, was born in England in 1572. He came to America as early as 1609 on a trading and fishing expedition. The following year he conducted Lord Delaware to Virginia, and while in America established trade with the Indians. In 1612 his abduction of Pocahontas occurred. This has been erroneously looked upon as one of Argall's many acts of treachery and baseness. Powhatan, the Indian chief and father of Pocahontas, held in captivity a number of Englishmen whom Argall proposed to liberate by securing Pocahontas as a means of exchange. He went to her uncle, Pastancy, who, in consideration of a copper kettle, agreed to assist him in beguiling the young Indian girl to Argall's ship. The stratagem succeeded, and the English prisoners were released. Pocahontas was well treated, and declared her wish to "dwell with the English, who loved her best." In the latter part of 1613 he went with a vessel of fourteen guns, — under