Page:The Biographical Dictionary of America, vol. 03.djvu/260

 I)K WITT

DKXTER

nary, Cincinnati. Oliio. 1882-88: that of apolo- j^etics anil missions in McLV»rniick tlieologiral .seminary. L'hifUKo. 18S8-!fJ. ami in ISll'J assumed the Arrliiliald AU-xamk-r t-hair of church liistory in Princeton theological seminary. He received the degree of D.D. from the College of New Jer- sey in 1877 and that of LL.D. from Lafayette in 188G. He is the author of ^ermf>ns on the Cliri-s- tian Life (1885).

DE WITT, Simeon, chancellor, was born in Ulst.r county. N.V.. Dec. 25. 175G; son of Dr.

Andrew and (Vernoy) Dewitt. He was

grailuateil from Queens (afterward Rutgers) college in 1776. and served in the Continental army as assistant geographer, 1778-80, and cliief of General Washington's geographical staff, 1780- 8^}. He was state surveyor-general of New York. 1784-1834; declined an appointment as sur- veyor-general of the United States, May 20, 1796 ; was a commissioner on boundaries, 1783, 1785 and 1790; capitol commissioner, 1804; canal com- missioner, 1810; a Clinton presidential elector, IHV2: regent of the University of the state of New York. 1798-1834; vice-chancellor, 1817-29, and chancellor. 1825-34. He was a member of the American philosophical society as early as 1790. and in 1793 was an original member of the Society for the promotion of agriculture, arts and manufactures, of which he was elected presi- dent in 1813. He was also vice-president of the Albany institute for many years. He was mar- ried to Susan (1778-1824), daughter of the Rev. Dr. William Linn, and a poet of some note. His publications include: Elements of Perspective (1813), and various maps and charts. See his Life and Service hyT. Romeyn Beck, M.D. (1835). He died in Ithaca, N.Y., Dec. 3, 1834.

DE WITT, Thomas, clergyman, was born at Kingston. N.Y., .Sept. 13, 1791. He was graduated at Union college in 1808 and at the Theological seminary of the Reformed Dutch church, New Bnmswick, N.J., in 1812. He was pastor of the combined congregations of Hopewell and New Hacken.sack, N.Y., 1812-29, and of the Collegiate Dutch cliurch. New York city, 1829-74. He was elected a trustee of Rutgers college in 1840, and of Qjlurnbia ct^Uege in 1858; president of the New York hi.storical sfxiiety in 1872, and a member of numerous religioas societias. He received the degree of D.D. from Rutgers in 1828. He died in New York city, May is. 1H74.

DE WITT, William Radcliffe, clergyman and librarian, was lx»m in Clinton, Dutchess county, N.Y., Feb. 25, 1792; ^m of John and Katherine (Van Vliet) DeWitt of Newburgh, N.Y., and a descendant of Tjerck Claa.se DeWitt, one of the early Dutch settlers of Ulster county, N.Y. He was brought up in his father's store in Salem, N.Y., as a merchaut, and entered Union college

in the clas-s of 1816, but left college to volunteer as a soldier in the war of 1812, taking jxirt in the expedition of Commodore McDonough on Lake Champlain. After the close of the war he con- tinued his theological studies, begun at Salem, N.Y., under Dr. Proudfit, in New York under Dr. Mason. He received his A.B. degree from Union in 1816, and was ordained a Presbyterian minister in 1818. He was pastor of the church in Harris- burg. Pa.. 1818-67. He was state librarian of Pennsylvania, 18.52-67, and a promoter Ol the l)ublic school system of the state. He was mar- ried to Mary, daughter of William and Eleanor (Maclay) Wallace. He received the degree of D.D. from Union in 1819 and from the University of Pennsylvania in 1838. He died in Harrisburg, Pa., Dec. 23, 1867.

DE WOLF, James, senator, was born in Bris- tol, R.I., March 18. 1764; son of Mark Anthony and Abigail (Potter) De Wolf. During the Revo- lutionary war he shipped as a sailor on a priva- teer, and before reaching his majority was master of a vessel. He soon acquired a large fortune and returning to his native place he engaged in ex- tensive commercial ventures, principally with Cuba and other West India islands. He also accumulated large sums of money in the slave trade. At the outbreak of the war of 1812 he sent out the private armed brig-of-war, Yankee, which in three years captured nearly $5,000,000 worth of British property. In 1812 he built the Arkwright mills in Coventry, R.I., and carried them on with increasing success. He represented Bristol in the general as.srfmbly for nearly thirty years. In 1821 he was elected a U.S. senator, and served until 1825 when he resigned his seat to attend to liis private affairs. He was married to a daughter of William Bradford. U.S. senator. He (lied in New York city. Dec. 21, 1837.

DEXTER, Franklin, lawyer, was born in Charlestown, Ma.ss.. Nov. 5, 1793; son of the Hon. Samuel and Catharine (Gordon) Dexter. His father was secretary of the treasury under Presi- dent John Adams. He was graduated at Harvard in 1812, studied law under the Hon. Sanmel Hub- bard, and was admitted to the bar in 1815. He was a representative in the state legislature in 1825, 1826 and 1840, and a state senator in 1835. He was a member of the select committee ap- pointed in 1836 to revise the statutes of the state ; was U.S. district attorney, 1841-45, under appoint- ment of President Tyler, and was again apjKjinted in 1849 by President Taylor. He defended the murderers of Captain White of Salem, Mass., in 1830, Daniel Web.ster appearing for the prosecu- tion. He was married in 1819 to Catherine Eliza- beth, daughter of the Hon.W^illiam Pre.scott He received the degree of LL.D. from Harvard in 1857. He died in Beverly, Mass., Aug. 14, 1857.