Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 2).djvu/137

DEARBORN, Benjamin, inventor, b. in Ports- mouth, N. H., in 1755 ; d. in Boston, 23 Feb., 1888. He served an apprenticeship as a printer, and afterward opened an academy- for girls. About 1790 he removed his school to Boston. In 1784, under the signature of " A Friend of Industry," he wrote an article for " The New Hampshire Ga- zette," in which he first suggested the employment of convict labor for profit. He was the inventor of the spring balance.

DEARBORN, Henry, soldier, b. in North Hampton, N. IL, 23 Feb., 1751: d. in Roxbury, Mass., 6 June, 1829. After studying medicine, he began its practice at Nottingham" Square in 1772. Having em- jDloyed his leisure in the study of the art of war, he set out on the day after the battle of Lexing- ton for Cambridge, at the head of sixty minute-men, reach- ing that place early the next day. On his return he was appointed captain in Stark's regiment, and subsequently took part in the bat- tle of Bunker Hill, where he covered

the retreat of the

American forces. In September he accompanied Arnold's expedition to Canada, but was for some time seriously ill. He recovered in time to assist in the attack on Quebec, 31 Dec, where he was made prisoner. He was released on parole in May, 1776, and exchanged in March, 1777, when lie was appointed major in Scammell's regiment. He fought in the battles of Stillwater, Saratoga, Mon- mouth, and Newtown, distinguishing himself at Monmouth by a successful charge. In 1781 he joined Washington's staff as deputy quartermaster- general, with the rank of colonel, and served at the siege of Yorktown. In June, 1784, he took up his residence at Monmouth, Me. He was chosen briga- dier-general of militia in 1787, and major-general in 1795. In 1789 he was appointed U. S. marshal for Maine. He was elected to the 3d congress as a democrat, and re-elected to the 4th, serving from 1793 till 1797. President Jefferson appointed him secretary of war, which office he occupied from 1801 till 1809. In the latter year President Madi- son gave him the collectorship of the port of Bos- ton, which place he filled until appointed senior major-general in the U. S. army, 27 Jan., 1812, and assigned to the command of the Northern Depart- ment. He succeeded in capturing York (now To- ronto) on 27 April, 1813. and Fort George on 27 May following. On July he was recalled, on the ostensible ground of impaired health, but really in consequence of being charged with political in- trigue, and placed in command of the city of New York. His request for a court of inquiry was not granted. He served from 7 May, 1822, till 30 June, 1824, as minister to Portugal, when he offered his resignation, which was accepted. He then settled at Roxbury, Mass., where he spent the remainder of his life, paying annual visits to his farm in Maine. In person he was large and commanding, frank in his manners, and remarkable for his integrity. He published an account of the battle of Bunker Hill, and wrote a journal of his expedition to Canada, imprisonment in Quebec, and other adventures. — His son, Henry Alexander Scammell, lawyer, b. in Exeter, N. H., 3 March, 1783 ; d. in Portland, Me., 29 July, 1851. He was graduated at William and Mary college in 1803, and studied law with Judge Story in Salem, Mass., where for a short time he practised. He succeeded his father in 1812 as col- lector of the port of Boston, filling that office until 1829. He superintended the forts at Portland, and was appointed brigadier-general of militia, com- manding the defences of Boston harbor, in 1812. He was a member of the State constitutional con- vention of 1820, of the state house of representa- tives m 1829, and of the state senate in 1830. He served in congress from 5 Dec. 1831, till 2 March, 1833, and acted as adjutant-general of Massachu- setts from 1834 till 1843, when he was removed for loaning the state arms to the state of Rhode Isl- land, to be used in suppressing the Dorr rebellion. He also served as mayor of Roxbury, Mass., in 1847-'51, being re-elected annually. He was a strenuous advocate of internal improvements, the construction of the Great Western railroad of Mas- sachusetts and the tunnelling of Hoosac mountain being largely due to his labors. He was fond of horticulture and landscape gardening, and the cemeteries of Roxbury and Mount Auburn owe much to his taste, industry, and skill. He con- stantly led a busy public life, and his literary activity was very great, although but few of his works have been published. Among these are "Memoir on the Black Sea, Turkey, and Egypt," with charts (3 vols., Boston, 1819) ; " Letters on the Internal Improvements and Commerce of the West" (Boston, 1839); and "History of Naviga- tion and Naval Architecture" (2 vols.). His manu- script remains include a " Diary " ; a " Life of Maj.- Gen. Dearborn " ; " Life of Com. Bainbridge " ; " Life of Jesus Christ " ; and " Writings on Horti- culture." See "Address on Henry Dearborn," by Daniel Goodwin (Chicago, 1884).

DEARBORN, Nathaniel, engraver, b. in 1786; d. in South Reading. Mass., 7 Nov., 1852. He was one of the earliest engravers on wood in Boston, and published " The American Text-Book for Mak- ing Letters " (Boston) ; " Boston Notions ; an Ac- count of ' That Village ' from 1630 to 1847 " (1848) ; " Reminiscences of Boston, and Guide through the City and Environs" (1851); and "Guide through Mount Auburn " (1857).

DEARING, James, soldier, b. in Campbell county, Va., 25 April, 1840 ; d. in Lynchburg in April, 1865. He was a great-grandson of Col. Charles Lynch, of Revolutionary fame, who gave his name to' the summary method of administering justice now known as "Lynch law," through his rough-and-ready way of treating the tories. He was graduated at Hanover, Va., academy, and was appointed a cadet in the U. S. military academy, but resigned in 1861, to join the Confederate army when Virginia passed the ordinance of secession. He was successively lieutenant of the Washington artillery of New Orleans, captain of Latham's battery, major and commander of Denny's artillery battalion, and colonel of a cavalry regiment from North Carolina, and was promoted to the rank of brigadier-general for gallantry at the battle of Plymouth. He participated in the principal engagements between the Army of Northern Virginia and the Army of the Potomac On the retreat of the Confederate forces from Petersburg to Appomattox Court-House, he was mortally wounded near Farmville in a singular encounter with Brig.-Gen. Theodore Read, of the National army. The two generals met, on 5 April, at the head of their forces, on opposite sides of the Appomattox, at High Bridge, and a duel with