Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 2).djvu/475

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FIELD
FIELD
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secured without delay from the local legislature of the island. Mr. Field thenceforth devoted his time entirely for the next thirteen years to the ac- complishment of this purpose. He visited Eng- land more than twoseore times, soliciting financial aid, and at the formation of the Atlantic telegraph company subscribed in his own name for one fourth of its capital stock. After several unsuc- cessful eiforts were made to lay the cable, commu- nication was finally established in 1858. For a few weeks messages were sent from one continent to the other, and then the cable ceased to act. During the civil war it was found impossible to proceed further with the enterprise. Meanwhile Mr. Field attended in 1864 the opening of the Suez canal as the representative of the New York chamber of commerce, and public interest in the telegraph scheme was kept alive in Europe and America by his eiforts. He made repeated visits to England, and delivered addresses on the subject on both sides of the Atlantic. Finally, in 1865, active measures were renewed, and the steamship "Great Eastern" began the paying out of the cable. After 1.200 miles had been laid the cable ])arted and the vessel returned to England. In 1866 another expedition started with a new cable, and on 27 July telegraphic communication was es- tablished between the two continents, and has not since been interrupted. Congress voted unani- mously to present Mr. Field with a gold medal and the thanks of the nation, while the prime min- ister of England declared that only the fact that he was a citizen of another country prevented his re- ceiving high hon- ors from the Brit- ish government. John Bright pro- nounced him "the Columbus of mod- ern times, who, by his cable, had moored the New World alongside of the Old." The Paris exposition universelle of 1867 gave him the grand medal, the highest prize it had to be- stow. He also re-

ceived the thanks

of the city of New York, with the freedom of the city and a gold snuff-box, the thanks of the Cham- ber of commerce of New York, with a gold medal, the thanks of the state of Wisconsin, with a gold medal, the thanks of the American chamber of commerce of Liverpool, with a gold medal, a deco- ration from Victor Emmanuel, king of Italy, an entire service of silver from the late George Pea- body, and many other marks of appreciation of his great services from different parts of the world. He became interested in 1876 in the development of the system of elevated railways in New York city, and has devoted much time and capital to their successful establishment. In 1880-'l he made a tour around the world, accompanied by his wife, and since his return has obtained concessions frorn the Sandwich islands for the laying of a cable be- tween San Francisco and those islands, with a view toward its ultimate extension across the Pacific ocean. — Another son, Henry Martyn, clergyman, b. in Stockbridge, Mass., 3 April. 1822, was "gradu- ated at Williams in 1838, studied theology in East Windsor and New Haven, Conn., until 1842, and then became pastor of a Presbyterian church in St. Louis, Mo., where he remained for five years. In 1847-8 he travelled in Europe, and was in Paris during the revolution in February of the latter year, and also in Italy during the similar scenes a few weeks later. His observations and experiences in Rome were published in a pamphlet entitled " The Good and the Bad in the Roman Catholic Church." On his return to the United States he became acquainted with the families of Irish pa- triots living in New York, and was led to study the history of Ireland during the latter part of the 18th century. In consequence he published " The Irish Confederates, a History of the Rebellion of 1798" (New York, 1851). He was pastor of the church in West Springfield, Mass., in 1851-'4, and then removed to New York to become one of the editors of " The Evangelist," of which he was sub- sequently proprietor. He has published " Summer Pictures from Copenhagen to Venice " (New York, 1859) ; " History of the Atlantic Telegraph " (1866) ; " From the Lakes of Killarney to the Golden Horn " (1876): "From Egvpt to Japan" (1878); "On the Desert" (1883); "Among the Holy Hills" (1883); "The Greek Islands and Turk-ey after the War" (1885); and "Blood thicker than Water: a Few Days among oui' Southern Brethren" (1886).


FIELD, Henry Martyn, physician, b. in Brigh- ton, Mass., 3 Oct., 1837. lie was graduated at Har- vard in 1859, and at the College of physicians and surgeons in New York in 1862. After serving for more than a year in the U. S. army as acting as- sistant surgeon, he settled in New York, where he practised for four years. In 1867 he removed to Newton, Mass., and there acquired a large general practice, making a specialty of female diseases. He was elected professor of therapeutics in Dart- mouth medical college in 1872. ' Dr. Field was one of the corporators of the Boston gynecological so- ciety. His papers on his specialty are published in transactions of various societies.


FIELD, James Gaven, lawyer, b. in Walnut, Culpeper co., Va., 24 Feb., 1826. His ancestors, were identical with those of the Fields of New York. He attended for a time a classical school, and became a teacher. In 1848 he went to Cali- fornia, and in 1850 was elected one of the secre- taries of the convention that framed the first con- stitution of that state. In the same year he re- turned to Virginia, and in 1852 was admitted to the bar. He was attorney for the commonwealth in his native county from 1860 till 1865. During the civil war he was engaged in the Confederate service, and lost a leg at the battle of Slaughter's Mountain. Since the war he has been attorney- general of the state. Gen. Field is a Baptist, being a zealous and liberal promoter of all the enterprises in which that denomination is engaged.


FIELD, Joseph M., actor, b. in London, England, in 1810; d. in Mobile, Ala., 30 Jan., 1856. His parents were Irish exiles, who brought him to the United States at an early age. He was educated in New York city, and studied law. At the age of twenty-six he married, and in 1843 made his first appearance as an actor in one of the minor New York theatres. The drama soon became his regular profession, and for years he travelled and performed in most of the large cities of the Union. In 1852 he became manager of a theatre in St. Louis, Mo., where he dramatized and produced many local plays, and established the "Reveille," a daily newspaper, of which he was one of the editors and chief proprietor. In St. Louis he wrote many humorous sketches for his brother's New