Page:The Biographical Dictionary of America, vol. 09.djvu/28

 RALPH

RALPH

voted himself entirely to evangelistic work in the United States and Canada, conducting services in Philadelphia, Baltimore, Richmond, New Or- leans, Louisville, Sandusky, Boston and New York. He took charge of Holy Trinity church. New York city, for three months during the absence of Dr. Stephen H. Tyng, Jr., and while there hud full charge of the meetings in Dr. Tyng's gospel tent, corner of 34th Street and Broadway. In 1S78 he returned to England, and married Emily Alma, daughter of Frederick Green of 38 Princess Gardens, London. From England he was called to be assistant rector of the Catiiedral of St. James, Toronto, Canada, where he remained until 1883, in which year he succeeded Dr. "Williams as rector of St. George's church, New York, taking up his i-esidence, Jan. 1. 1883. All seats in the clmrch were declared free, the cliurch was opened for private devotion at all hours of the day. dailj^ services were held and frequent services on Sunday, and a large choir, chiefly volunteex's, was placed in the chancel, alterations in the clmrch being made to admit of this change. Tiie staff of the church became one of the most efficient in the country, consisting of four clergy, five deaconesses and two secretaries. The Sunday school grew to a membership of 2000. In 1903 the communicants of St. Geoi-ge's numbered over 8.000, the number of societies and classes thirty-nine, the money raised during twenty years of rectorship $2,254,543. The mem- bership of the church was unique; living in tene- ments houses, 5400; in boarding houaes, 1001; in flats, apartments, hotels, 938; in private houses, 589; out of town, 127; unclassified, 235; total: 8290. The honorary degree of D.D. was conferred by Trinity in 1887. He was baccalau- reate preacher at Harvard, Columbia and Chi- cago. He is the author of: Sermons Preached at St. George's (1887); A Good Friday Meditation (1901) The Reasonableness of Faith (1902) and many sermons.

RALPH, Julian, author and journalist, was born in New York city, May 27, 1853; son of Dr. Joseph Edward and Selina (Mahoney) Ralph. He was graduated from the public schools, ap- prenticed in the printing office of the Standard at Red Bank, N. J., in 1868; at once began writing short stories and humorous articles, and in 1870 became local editor of the paper. He founded the Leader at Red Bank, 1871, became acting editor of the Webster, Mass., Times in 1872, re- turned to New York to become a reporter on the World under William Henry Hurlbert in 1872, reported for the Daily Graphic, 1872-75, and was continuously on the staff of the New York Sun, 187.5-95. He was married. May 15, 1870, to Isabella, daughter of Thomas H. and Frances C. Mount of Chapel Hill, N.J. He started Chatter,

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a literary weekly, in 1889, and after its failure in 1900, made many important journeys for Har- per's Magazine. He devoted himself to the United States and Canada, 1891-93, to Asia, 1894- 97, and through Russia to the border of Persia in 1897. He was Lon- don correspondent of the New York Jour- nal in 1896-97, an^J reported the Turko- Gret'k war; became London correspond- ent of the New York Herald and the Brook- lyn £a(/?e, and in 1899 a member of the staff of the London Daily Mail, for which he spent a year in the British-Boer war. At the command of Lord Roberts, command- ing the British forces, he and Rudyard Kipling, Percival Landon and H. E. Gwynne established 77(6 Friend, the first daily newspaper ever pub- lished for the information and entertainment of an army. It was establisiied at Bloemfon- tein, in the then Orange Free State. In 1889 he was elected a member of the Royal Geograpli- ical society, and in 1900 he received the honorary degree A.M. from Middlebury college, Vermont. He returned to America in 1902, and in Decem- ber was appointed Eastern representative of the Louisiana Purchase exposition of 1904. He is the author of: Cuba (1882); Long Island of To-day and The Sun's German Barber (1884); On Can- ada's Frontier (1892); Our Great West and Chicago and the World's Fair (1893); Along the Boivstring (1894); Dixie (1895); People We Pasa (1895); Alone in China (1896); An Angel in a Web (1896); .4 Prince of Georgia (1897); Towards Pretoria (1900); At Pretoria, called in America, An American With Lord Roberts (1901); TT'ar's Brighter Side (1901); Tlte Millionairess (1902). He died in New York city, Jan. 20. 1903.

RALPH, Lester, painter and illustrator, was born in New York city, July 19, 1876; son of Julian and Isabella (Mount) Ralpli. He attendeil the Brooklyn High school and Adelphi academy; studied in tiie Art Students' League, and tht-n spent three years as a student in Paris and Rome, 1896-99. He illustrated scenes in the Turko-Greek war for Harper's Magazine, and in the Britisli- Boer war for the London Black and White. He made a number of paintings of South African war scenes after his return to London, where he es- tablished his residence until 1902, when he re- turned to America and took up illustrating for the leading magazines.