Page:The Biographical Dictionary of America, vol. 07.djvu/335

 MAY

MAY

MAY, Charles Augustus, soUlier, was born in Wasljington, D.C.. Aiig, 9, 1817; son of Dr. Frederick and Julia Matilda (Slocum) May; grandson of Col. John and Abigail (May) May; great-grandson of Eleazer and Dorothy (Davis) May, and a descendant of John May, mariner, Roxbury, Mass., 1C40. Ills father was a cele- brated physician in Washington, D.C., 1795-1847. Charles entered the U.S. army as 2d lieutenant of the 2d dragoons, June 8, 1836 ; was promoted 1st lieutenant, Dec. 15, 1837, and served in the Florida war, where, unassisted, he captured Philip, head chief of the Seminole Indians. He was promoted captain, Feb. 2, 1841, and served in the Mexican war as chief of cavalry under Gen. Zachary Taylor. He led a cavalry charge in tlie battle of Resaca de la Palma, against a battery that commanded the road, and personally cap- tured General Le Vega, second in command. He also commanded the cavalry in the battles of Palo Alto. Buena Vista and Monterey ; was brevetted major, May 8, 1846, for action in the battle of Palo Alto ; lieutenant-colonel. May 9, 1846, for Resaca de la Palma, and colonel, Feb. 23, 1847, for Buena Vista. He was married, Jan. 8, 1853, to Josephine, daughter of George Law (q.v.), of New York. He was promoted major of the 1st dragoons, March 3, 1855, and was transferred to the 2d dragoons, Oct. 23, 1855. He resigned from the U.S. army, April 20, 1861, removed to New York city, and was vice-president of the Eighth Avenue street railroad. He died in New York city, Dec. 24, 1864.

MAY, Edward Harrison, artist, was born in England in 1824 ; son of the Rev. Edward Harrison May, who came to New York city in 1834. and was a minister of the Dutch Reformed church. He was educated in the public schools of New York city, and studied civil engineering, which he aban- doned for art. He became a pupil of Daniel Huntington, and in 1851, of Couture, in Paris. He was a portrait painter at the beginning of his career, but later devoted himself to historical and genre paintings. His sister Caroline was a poet and author residing in New York, 1834-88. Mr. May received a medal for his services in the Franco-Prussian war, where he was captain of the American ambulance corps. He received a gold medal of the third class for Death of a Brigand (afterward owned by the Piiiladelphia Academy of Fine Art), at the Paris Salon of 1855, and Ijecame a member of the National Academy of Design, New York city, in 1876. He exhibited at the National Academy : Louis XIV. at Marly (1869); May and December (1876) ; and Terenina (1878). His historical paintings include : Cardinal Mazarin taking Leave of his Picture in the Louvre ; Michael Angela leaving the Vatican in Anger; Lady Jane Grey taking Leave of the Governor of

the Toiver ; Columbus making his Will ; King Lear and Cordelia ; Scene from Waverley ; and Francis 1. lamenting the death of his Stm. He exhibited in the Salon : portrait of M. R. Laboulaye and Amy Robsart et le Colporteur (1866) ; Ophelia and La Lecture (1868) ; portrait of Anstm Burlinganie (1869) ; Arviragus bearing the Body of Imogen (1870) ; portrait of Gen. John 3Ieridith Read (1872) ; Mary Magdalen at the Sepidcher (in the Metroix)litan Museum of Art) (1873) : Fin de la Lecture and Souvenir de la Commune (1874) ; Une Alsacienne (1876) ; and Antonia (1877). He died in Paris, France, May 17, 1887.

MAY, Henry, representative, was born in Washington, D.C., Feb. 13, 1816; son of Dr. Frederick and Julia Matilda (Slocum) May. He attended Columbian college, and was admitted to the bar in 1840, and to practice in the U.S. su- preme court soon after. He was married, Oct. 1, 1845, to Henrietta de 0)urey. He removed to Baltimore, Md., in 1850, and was a Democratic representative from Maryland in the 33d congress, 1853-55 ; was defeated for the 34th, and elected to the 37th congress, 1861-63. He op])osed seces- sion and advocated the peaceful separation of the two sections. He visited Baltimore with the sanction of President Lincoln to consult with the Confederate authorities in 1861, and on his re- turn to congress was charged with disloyalty and imprisoned in Fort Lafayette for several weeks. He was released on parole and served out his term. He died in Baltimore, Md., Sept. 25, 1866.

MAY, John, patriot, was born in Pomfret, Conn., Nov. 24, 1748; son of Eleazerand Dorothy (Davis) May ; grandson of John and Prudence

MARlETTA-|7ao

(Bridge) May, and of William andMarj- Davis, of Brookline, Mass. His first ancestor in America, Capt. John May, was an English mariner who came to New England in 1640 and settled in Rox- bury, Mass. He established himself in Boston as a merchant in 1773, and he was one of the Boston Tea Party. Dec. 16, 1773. He was mar- ried, Feb. 16, to Abigail, daughter of Samuel and