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he was state senator under the first constitution of New York, being regularly appointed by that body for the southern district, then wholly within the British lines, so that no elections could be held. From 1784 till 1788 he was duly elected to the same office from the same district. In 1787 and 1789 he was chosen a member of the council of appointment. In the presidential elections of 1792, 1800, and 1804 he was chosen one of the presidential elect- ors, and in 1801 he sat for Suffolk county in the Constitutional convention of that year. He was an early and warm supporter of Jefferson. His edu- cation being only that of the country schools of his youth, he was not a speaker nor orator, nor an accom- plished writer. But in the work of the dif- ferent bodies in which he served he was

noted for his assiduity,

sound advice, and unflagging labor and thorough knowledge of the business before them. He was eminently a prac- tical man, and his firmness and resolution were very great. Although somewhat unpolished in manner, he at the same time possessed a natural gravity and dignity which made itself felt. After the war he was appointed major-general of the militia on Long Island, and in his youth he was a captain. Jiut his military services were confined to heading a detachment of militia that was sud- denly called to repel a boat invasion from a Brit- ish ship at the outset of the war. Except at the beginning, for a short time, he received nothing from his farm during the war, as it was within the British lines, and appropriated to the use of Con- necticut refugees as " rebel property." He was, therefore, often during the war in great straits, having nothing but his pay as a delegate in con- gress. At its close he bought a very large tract of confiscated land in Oneida county, to which, in 1804, he finally removed with his children, and where he resided till his death. He was married twice, first to Hannah Jones, of Southampton, who died in 1781, and secondly to Joanna Strong, of Setauket, bv each of whom he left issue.

FLUSSER, Charles W., naval officer, b. in Annapolis, Md., in 1833 ; d. near Plymouth, N. C, 18 April, 1864. He removed to Kentucky when a child, and was appointed a midshipman in the navy, 19 July, 1847. His first cruise was made in the " Cumberland." He was promoted to lieutenant, 16 Sept., 1855, and in 1857 became assistant pro- fessor at the U. S. naval academy. He was in the brig " Dolphin " in 18o9-'60, and during his suc- ceeding leave of absence the civil war began. He refused the offer of a high command in the Con- federate service, applied for active duty, and was assigned to the command, of the gun-boat " Com- modore Perry," with which vessel he took part in the attack by Com. Goldsborough that preceded the capture of Roanoke Island on 7 Feb., 1862. In October he took part in the shelling of Franklin, Va., and afterward commanded the " Perry " in the North Carolina waters. He was killed while in command of the gun-boat " Miami " in battle with the iron-clad " Albemarle " in Roanoke river.

FLYNN, Edmund James. Canadian statesman, b. in Perce, Lower Canada, 16 Nov., 1847. He was educated at the seminary of Quebec, and at Laval university, where he was graduated in June, 1873. He was called to the bar in September of that year, and in 1874 was appointed professor of Roman law in Laval university, which chair he still fills. He was elected to the provincial parliament in 1878, and was a member of the executive council and commissioner of crown lands in the Chapleau government from 31 Oct., 1879, till 31 July, 1882. He was commissioner of railways from Feljruarv, 1884, till July, 1886, and is now (1887) solicitor- general. He received the degree of LL. D. from Laval university in 1878.

FOBES, Perez, educator, b. in Bridgewater, Mass., 21 Sept., 1742 ; d. 23 Feb., 1812. He was graduated at Harvard in 1762, became a teacher, studied theology, and was ordained in November, 1766, as pastor of the Congregational church in Raynham, Mass. He was a zealous patriot, and in 1777 volunteered as chaplain in the Revolu- tionary army, notwithstanding his feeble health. In 1786 Dr. Fobes was chosen vice-president of Brown university, and shortly afterward was elect- ed to the professorship of natural philosophy. In 1795 he was elected a fellow of the university, which office he held until his death. In the fol- lowing year he was called to the supervision of Bristol academy, which he retained so long as his health permitted. He was a thorough scholar, and had a rare talent for communicating knowl- edge. Brown gave him the degree of LL. D. in 1792. Dr. Fobes published "Topographical De- scription of Raynham, with its History " (in Massa- chusetts historical collections, 1794) ; " Scripture Catechism " (1804 ; abridged ed., 1809) ; and ser- mons, including two before the legislatures of Massachusetts (1775) and Rhode Island (1795).

FOCHER, Jean (fo-shay'), Flemish monk, b. in Ghent in 1501 ; d. in the city of Mexico, 30 Sept., 1572. He studied in his native city and in Leyden, was graduated as doctor in canonical and common law, and in 1526 entered the order of St. Francis, going in 1531 to Mexico to offer his ser- vices as a missionary. His erudition became soon apparent to his superiors, who sent him as professor to their newly established college of Santiago de Tlaltelolco, where he instructed the sons of the native emperors and caciques who had been sent by order of Charles V. to this college. He soon became the oracle of the Mexican prelates and men of letters, and his sense of justice was so inflexible that once, when his decision on a point of law went against the dictate of the superior of his convent, he preferred undergoing a disciplinary chastisement rather than change his decision. At his death nothing but his Bible and body of law were found in his cell, and such was his reputation as an authority on literary and canonical points that one of the most illustrious clergymen of Mexico, Alonso de la Veracruz, exclaimed, on hearing of his death, " Now that Father Focher is dead we shall all be in utter darkness." Focher wrote numerous works, part of which were sent to Spain, and many of them lost; part exist m manuscript in the Biblioteea Nacional of Mexico. A few of the most noteworty are "Itinerarium catholicum proficicientibus ad infideles convertendos" (Mexico; reprinted, Seville, 1574); "Arte de la Lengua Mexicana" (MS. in Biblioteea Nacional of Mexico) ; " De Fratre professo ab Ordine ejecto, matrimonium contrahere volente " (MS. in the library of the Franciscan convent of Tezcoco); "Responsa ad Fr. Michaelem de Zarate super dubia