Page:The Biographical Dictionary of America, vol. 01.djvu/309

 BIDDLE.

BIDDLE.

ing the Union army in 1861 as colonel of the 13th regiment Pennsylvania reserve corps, and while in the field he was elected by the Democrats a repre- sentative to the 37th Congress, to fill a vacancy caused by the resignation of E. Joy Morris, serving from Dec. 2, 1863, to March 3, 1863. He was an unsuccessful candidate for re-election to the 38th Congress. He afterwards gave much of his atten- tion to journalism, editing and managing the Philadelphia Age. He is the author of " The Case of Major Andrd " (1868), written in defence of General Washington, which attracted favorable comment. He died at Philadelphia, Pa., Sept. 28, 1873.

BIDDLE, Clement, soldier, was born in Phila- delphia, Pa., May 10, 1740. -He was a member of the Society of Friends, and in 1764 was leader of a company of Quakers, who joined the militia in order to assist friendly Indians in resisting the famous ' ' Paxton Boys. ' ' Mr. Biddle was a signer of the non-importation agreement in 1765, and was identified with all the i^atriotic movements of the time, helping to form the revolutionary state constitution of 1776. Before the outbreak of the revolutionary war he helped to organize, and commanded, a company of Quakers, and in June, 1776, joined the " flying camp," an organi- zation of ten thousand men, authorized by Con- gress, and later was made its deputy quarter- master. As such he received the swords of the Hessian prisoners captured at the battle of Tren- ton. He took part in the engagements at Prince- ton, Germantown, Brandywine and Monmouth, and was with Washington's army at Valley Forge. In 1780 he resigned from the army, but was still prominent in the afliairs of the infant republic, aiding in the formation of the Federal constitution of 1787. The same year General Washington appointed him to the office of United States marshal of Pennsylvania. In 1781 he was made quartermaster-general of the Pennsylvania troops, and was active in suppressing the whiskey insurrection of 1794. He died in his native city, July 14, 1814.

BIDDLE, Clement Cornell, soldier, was born in Philadelphia, Oct. 24, 1784; son of Clement Biddle, the Quaker soldier. In his youth he served for a time in the navy. Later he studied law, was admitted to the bar and engaged in prac- tice. In 1807 he was commissioned by President Jefferson captain of dragoons in the army then being organized in anticipation of trouble with Great Britain incident to the Chesapeake outrage of that year. Great Britain dis vowed the attack and Captain Biddle returned home. In 1812, as captain of the " State Fencibles," a company of volunteers which he had organized, he took part in several engagements, and was later apijointed colonel of the 1st Pennsylvania infantry. He

was a diligent student of economics, and issued an annotated edition of J. B. Say's "Political Economy " shortly after the war of 1812, besides editing Prinsep's translation of the same work. He was present at the free-trade convention held at Philadelphia in 1831, and was at that time influential in shaping the financial policy of the government. He died Aug. 21, 1855.

BIDDLE, Craig, jurist, was born in Philadel- phia, Jan. 10, 1823 ; the youngest son of Nicholas Biddle, financier, and maternal grandson of John Craig. He was educated at Princeton college, where he was graduated in 1841, and was admit- ted to the Philadelphia bar Dec. 2, 1844. Taking an active interest in politics as an adherent of the Whig party, he was elected to the Pennsyl- vania house of representatives for the years 1849 and 1850. He was afterwards clerk of the com- mon council of Philadelphia. At the outbreak of the civil war he was commissioned major on the staff of General Patterson, served through the three months' campaign in the Shenandoah Valley, and was then transferred to the staff of Governor Curtin. Upon the election of Judge Paxon to the supreme bench he was appointed, in January, 1875, to fill the vacant chair in the com- mon pleas. In the succeeding June he was nomi- nated as the Republican candidate for the full term, and received the higliest majority on the ticket. At the conclusion of his term of office he was renominated by both parties, and unani- mously elected in November, 1885. He was for ten years president of the Philadelphia agricul- tural society, and owned the fine old country seat in Andalusia, that had been in the family for five generations. Judge Biddle made his opinions noted for brevity and clearness. Not a few of his decisions have defined the law upon questions of much intricacy and doubt. The degree of LL.D. was conferred upon him by the college of New Jersey in 1891.

BIDDLE, Edward, delegate, was born in Phila- delpliia, Pa., in 1739. He served in tlie French and Indian war as lieutenant and captain, 1756-63 ; studied law ; was admitted to the bar, and en- gaged in practice at Reading, Pa. He was a mem- ber of the Pennsylvania assembh% and was elected a delegate to the Continental congress, serving 1774-75. He died in Baltimore, Md.. Sept. 5, 1779.

BIDDLE, Horace P., jurist, was born in Fair- field county, Ohio. March 24, 1811. He received an elementary English education and acquired a fair knowledge of the European and several of the Eastern languages. He studied law, and was admitted to the Oliio and United States courts. He then " travelled the circuit " in Ohio and in 1839 opened an office in Logansport. Ind. He served as presiding judge of the circuit court dui-- ing nineteen years, as supreme judge during six