Page:The Biographical Dictionary of America, vol. 03.djvu/401

 EATON

EATON

under a charter or patent and Nicholas Easton was president from May, 1650, to August, 1651, and again from May, 1654, to Sept. 12, 1654. From May, 1670, to May, 1671, he was deputy governor, and was governor under the rojal charter from May, 1673, to May, 1674. Governor Easton was a member of the Society of Friends. He died at Newport, R.I., Aug. 15, 1675.

EATON, Amos, botanist, was born in Chat- ham, N.Y., May 17, 1776; son of Capt. Abel and Azuba (Hurd) Eaton; grandson of Nathaniel and Esther (Perry) Eaton; and great-grandson of Thomas and Lydia (Gay) Eaton. His father was a farmer, and his cousin, William Eaton, two years his senior and afterward the cele- brated general and U.S. naval agent, was a college gradu- ate. This fact in- duced Amos's parents to give their son an equal start in life. He had delivered a Fourth of July ora- tion in his native town when fourteen y£, ^ ^ -y= — years old, was a skil-

and was advanced in natural philosophy. He was graduated at Williams college in 1799 and established himself as a lawyer in Cat- skill, N.Y., in 1802. He was diverted from his law practice by his appointment as surveyor and agent for the Livingstons in the manage- ment of their estates in Columbia and Dutchess counties, N.Y. This gave him leisvire for study and he became advanced in botany, chemistry and mineralogy. He was popular as a lecturer on these sciences and besides speaking in the various cities in New York and New England and before the state legislature of New York at the request of General Clinton in 1818, he was appointed lecturer before the classes of Williams college, 1817, and professor of chemistry, natural history and natural philosophy in the Castleton, Vt., medical college in 1820. He was employed by Stephen Van Rensselaer in 1820 to make a geological and agricultural survey of the line of counties between Albany and the Niagara Falls and in 1824, when the Rensselaer school (after- ward the Rensselaer polytechnic institute) was projected by his patron, he was selected as its first principal and senior professor, holding the office, 1824-42. He was thrice married: first in 1803 to Sally, daughter of Eleazer and Tryphena (Beebe) Cady, and sister of Judge Daniel Cady ; second, Oct. 20. 1816. to Anne, daughter of Lewis and Lydia (Woodin"* Bradley: and third, Aug. 5,

1827, to Alice, daughter of Benjamin and Alice (Smith) Johnson. He received his A.M. degree from Williams in 1802. A list of his books in- cludes: An Without Science (1800) ; An Elementary Treatise on Botany (1810) ; Manual of Botany (1817) ; Botanical Dictionary (1817) ; Index to the Geology of the Northern States (1818) ; Geological and Agricultural Survey of the County of Albany, N. Y. (1820) ; Botanical Exercises (1820) ; Chemical Note- hook (1821) ; Chemical Instruction (1822) ; Cuvier's Grand Division (1822) ; Zoological Syllabus and Notebook (1822) ; Geological Nomenclature of North America (1822) ; Geological and Agricultural Survey of the District adjoining the Erie Canal (1824) ; Phil- osoj)hical Instruction (1824) ; Geological Text-Books (1830) ; and Directions for Surveying and Engineer- ing (1838). He died in Troy, N.Y., May 6, 1842.

EATON, Amos Beebe, soldier, was born in Catskill, N.Y., May 12, 1806; son of Amos and Sally (Cady) Eaton. He was graduated at the U.S. military academy in 1826 and as lieutenant took part in the Seminole w^ar in Florida and Alabama, 1827-28. He was mari'ied, April 21, 1831, to Elizabeth, daughter of Calvin and Phoebe (Ely) Selden. He was with General Taylor's army of occupation in the war with Mexico as captain and received his brevet as major for ' ' gallant and meritorious conduct ' ' at Buena Vista. In the civil war he was purchasing com- missary in New York city, 1861-64, and commis- sary-general of subsistence, Washington, D.C., 1864-65. He was promoted lieutenant-colonel, colonel and brigadier-general, was brevetted ma- jor-general in 1865 for efiicient services in the commissary department during the civil war, and was retired in 1874. He died in New Haven, Conn., Feb. 21, 1877.

EATON, Asa, clergyman, was born in Plais- tow, N.H., July 25, 1778. He was graduated at Harvard in 1803. While pursuing his theological studies he was lay reader in Christ church, Boston, 1803-05. He was ordained a priest in Trinity church. New York citj, in July, 1805, by Bishop Moore and retui-ned to Boston as rector of Christ church. He was also for a time rector of Christ church, Cambridge, Mass. His voice failed in 1829 and he resigned his positions and engaged in city mission work till 1837, when he became connected with St. Mary's school, Bur- lington, N.J. In 1841 he returned to Boston where he resumed mission work and was also in charge of Trinity church, Bridgewater, Mass., at the time of his death. He was secre- tary of the board of directors of the American edvicational society. He received the degree of A. M. from Brown university in 1818 and that of S.T.D. from Columbia in 1838. He published: History of Christ Church, Boston (1828). He died in Boston, Mass., March 24, 1858.