Page:The Biographical Dictionary of America, vol. 08.djvu/262

 PEARSON

PEARSONS

Henry Bromfield of Harvard, Mass. The hono- rary degree of LL.D. was conferred on him b}" Yale and by the College of New Jersey in 1802. He edited Bishop Wilson's " Sacra Privata ; " and is the autlior of a Hebrew grauiuiar. and lectures. He .li.^l at Greenland, N.H.. Sept. 12. 1836.

PEARSON, George Frederick, naval officer, was born in New Hanipsliire, Feb. 6, 1796. He was appointed to the U.S. navj- as a midshipman, March 11, 1S15 ; was promoted lieutenant, Jan. 13. 18'25 ; commanded the schooner Shai'k at Norfolk. Va., in 1839, and was stationed at the U. S. navy yard, Portsmouth, N.H., 1839-41. He was promoted commander, Sept. 8, 1841, com- manded the Falinoiitli at Norfolk, Va., 1853-53, and was promoted captain, Sept. 14, 1855. He commanded the steamer Powhatan in the East Indies, 1858-60, was placed on the retired list, Dec. 21, 1861, but served as commandant of the U.S. navy yard at Portsmouth, N.H., 1861-67. He was promoted commodore on the retired list, July 16. 1862. and rear-admiral, July 25, 1866. He "died in Portsmouth. N.H., June 30, 1867.

PEARSON, Jonathan, educator, was born in Ciiichester. N.H., Feb. 23, 1813; son of Caleb Pearson, a fifer in the Revolutionary army, and a descendant of John Pearson, a carpenter, who emigrated from England in 1643, and settled at Rowley. Mass. He was graduated at Union col- lege, N.Y.. A.B., 1835, A.M., 1838; was a tutor there. 1836-39 ; adjunct professor of chemistry and natural history, 1839-50 ; full professor, 1850-57 ; professor of natural history, 1857-73, and of agriculture and botany, being also lib- rarian, 1873-87. He was treasurer of the col- lege, 1854-83. He devoted his leisure to historical and genealogical research, translated the records of Albany and Sclienectady from Mohawk Dutch into English, and is the author of : Early Records of the Countij of AUxiny ( 1869) ; Genealogy of the First Settlers of Albany (1872) ; Genealogies of the First Settlers of Schenectady (1S7S); History of the Reformed Protestant Dutch Church of Schenectady (1^80) ; History of the Schenectady Patent (1883). H.- died in Schenectady. N.Y., June 20, 1887.

PEARSON, Joseph, representative, was born in Rowan county, N.C., about 1776 ; son of Rich- mond Pearson, who removed from Dinwiddie county. Va., to Rowan county, N.C., where JoS'^ph was educated for the law. He practised in Salisbury, N.C. ; was a member of the house of commons of North Carolina, 1804-05, and a Federalist representative in the 11th, 12th, and 13th congresses, 1809-15. He fought a duel while a member of the 11th congress with Representa- tive John George Jackson (q.v.) of Virginia, and was severely wounded on the second fire. He was married three times: first, to a Miss Linn, secondly, to Ellen, daughter of R. Y. Brent of

Washington, D.C., and thirdly, to Elizabeth Worthington of Georgetown, N.C. He died at Salisbury, N.C, Oct. 27, 1834.

PEARSON, Richmond, representative, was born at Richmon.l Hill, N.C, Jan. 26, 1852 ; son of Judge Richmond Mumford (q.v.) and Margaret (Williams) Pearson. He was graduated at the Col- lege of New Jersey, A.B., 1872, A.M. , 1875. and was admitted to the bar of North Carolina in 1874. He served as U.S. consul at Belgium, 1874-77 ; was a representative in the North Carolina legislature in 1885 and in 1887, and an originator of the coalition which in 1894 overwhelmed the Democratic party in his state. He was married in 1882 to Gabrielle daughter of James Thomas of Richmond, Va. He was a Pro- tectionist and Republican representative from the ninth congressional district in the 54th, 55th and 56th congresses, 1895-1901, where he served as a member of the committee on foreign affairs and of the sub-committee, which drafted the house declaration of war against Spain, 1898. On Dec. 10, 1901, he was appointed U.S. consul at Geneva, Italy.

PEARSON, Richmond Mumford, jurist, was born in Rowan county, N.C, June 28, 1805 ; son of Richmond (a student at the University of North Carolina, 1799) and Eliza (Mumford) Pearson, and grandson of Richmond Pearson, a native of Dinwiddie county, Va., who settled in Rowan count}' in early life, served in the Revolu- tionary war, and was afterward a merchant and planter. Richmond Mumford Pearson was pre- pared for college at Statesville, N.C, by John Mushat, and was graduated at the University of North Carolina, A.B., 1823, A.M., 1826. After studying law under Judge Archibald Henderson he was admitted to the bar in 1826. He was married in 1832 to Margaret, daughter of Col. John Williams (q.v.) of Knoxville, Tenn. He was a representative in the general assembly, 1829-32 ; an unsuccessful candidate for represen- tative in the 24th congress in 1834 ; judge of the superior court of North Carolina, 1826-48 ; of the supreme court, 1848-58, and chief-justice, as successor to Chief-Justice Frederick Nash, 1858- 78. For several years he conducted a large law school at Richmond Hill, N.C. He died at Winston. N.C, Jan. 6. 1878.

PEARSONS, Daniel Kimball, philanthropist, was born in Bradford, Vt., April 14, 1820 ; son of John and Hannah (Putnam) Pearsons; grand- son of John Putnam, and a descendant of Gen. Israel Putnam. He was a pupil at the public school, 1826-36 ; a teacher, 1836-41 ; was graduated from the medical college at Woodstock, Vt., M.D., in 1842, and practised in Chicopee, Mass., 1849-53. He was married in August, 1847. to Marietta, daughter of Giles S. Chapiu of Chico-