Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 4).djvu/226

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page needs to be proofread.
192
MANNING
MANNING

in 1881, and president the next year, of the Na- tional commercial bank of Albany, and was in- terested in the Susquehanna and Albany railroad. He became active in politics about 1872, was a member of the New York state Democratic con- ventions from 1874 till 1884, and of the Democratic state committee from the former date till 1885, being its secretary in 1879-'80, and chairman in 1881-4. He was a delegate to the National Demo- cratic conventions of 1876, 1880, and 1884, serving as chairman of that body in 1880, and of the New York delegation to the convention of 1884. He was appointed secretary of the treasury by Presi- dent Cleveland in March, 1885, and resigned in April, 1887. In October of the latter year he be- came president of the Bank of New York.


MANNING, Jacob Merrill, clergyman, b. in Greenwood, N. Y., 31 Dec, 1824; d. in Portland, Me., 29 Nov., 1882. He was graduated at Amherst in 1850, studied theology at Andover, and was or- dained in 1854 as pastor of a Congregational church at Medford, Mass. In 1857 he became assistant pastor of Old South church, Boston, Mass., and, succeeding to the pastorate in 1872, held the post imtil he resigned and became pastor emeritus. He was chaplain to the Massachusetts state senate in 1858-9, chaplain to the 43d Massachusetts regi- ment in 1862-3, a member of the Boston school board, and overseer of Harvard in 1860-6, trustee of the State library in 1865-'82, and lecturer at Andover theological seminary in 1866-'72. He was held in high repute as a public speaker, and until his pastoral duties compelled him to decline other engagements his services were in great demand in the lecture-field. Among his popular lectures was one on Samuel Adams, and among his orations the one that he delivered in May, 1861, on the raising of the National flag upon the steeple of the Old South church, and his eulogy on Henry Wilson at the State-house, Boston, in 1875. He published numerous sermons and addresses.


MANNING, James, educator, b. in Elizabeth, N. J., 22 Oct., 1738; d. in Providence, R. L, 29 July, 1791. He was the son of James and Grace Fitz Randolph Manning, who were constituent members of the Scotch Plains Bap- tist church. He was graduated at Princeton in 1762, with the second honors of his class. On 19 April, 1763, he was publicly ordained to the ministry. Having been chosen by the Philadelphia association a leader in the enterprise of establishing in Rhode Island a Baptist college "in

which," to use the

words of the historian, Isaac Backus, " education might be promoted and superior learning ob- tained, free from any sectarian tests," he at once set out on his mission. In the month of July, 1763, he arrived at Newport and submitted his plans to the deputy governor and other gentlemen of like views. The result was an application to the general assembly the month following for a charter, which was finally granted in February, 1764. Im- mediately after this Manning removed with his wife to the town of Warren and established a Latin- school, preaching statedly on the Sabbath. On 15 Nov. a Baptist church was organized, over which he was installed as pastor. This relation he sustained six years. In 1765, having been appointed presi- dent of the college by a formal vote of the corpora- tion, he began the work of instruction with a single pupil, William Rogers, who was afterward a distin- guished educator and divine. In 1767 the Warren association, which owes its origin to Manning and which is the mother of all similar associations in New England, held its first meeting with the Warren church. The first commencement of the college was held in the meeting-house on 7 Sept., 1769, and drew together a large concourse of people from all parts of the colony. In the spring of 1770 the college was removed to Providence, which was the occasion for Manning to sever his relations with the church which he had been instrumental in founding. The year following he accepted the invitation of the 1st Baptist church in Providence to become their pastor, and this relation he sus- tained for twenty years, discharging meanwhile, with signal ability and zeal, his duties as the presi- dent of the college and as an instructor of youth. In 1774 a remarkable revival of religion attended his preaching, which resulted in the erection of the present meeting-house. It was dedicated in May, 1775. From 7 Dec, 1776, until 27 May, 1782, " the seat of Muses became the habitation of Mars." College studies were suspended, and the edifice, now called University hall, was occupied by the soldiers for barracks and a hospital. In 1785 Manning received from the University of Pennsyl- vania the degree of D. D. In 1786 he represented Rhode Island in the congress of the Confederation. In this new relation he acquitted himself with honor, having the pen of a ready writer, and being thoroughly familiar with the discussions and con- troversies of the day. He was an active Federalist, and it was largely through his influence that Rhode Island eventually accepted the constitution and came into the Union. He was a promoter of public education, and chairman of the school com- mittee of the town. One of the last acts of his life was to draw up a report in favor of free schools, which forms the basis of the present school system of Providence. On Sunday morning, 24 July, 1791, while officiating at family prayers he was seized with a fit of apoplexy, from which he never re- covered. He was a man of majestic stature, of graceful person, and engaging manners. As a scholar and a divine he had in his day few equals. His reports, letters, and addresses, such as are pre- served, have been published in " Life, Times, and Correspondence of James Manning and the Early History of Brown University," bv Reuben A. Guild (Boston, 1864).


MANNING, John, soldier, b. in England; d. probably in New York, after 1686. He is thought by some" to be the same Capt. John Manning who was in Boston about 1650. and to have been of the family of William Planning, merchant, of Cambridge and Boston. His employment in New York came through the recommendation of Samuel Maverick, who, in a letter of 16 Sept., 1663, to the Earl of Clarendon, lord high chancellor of England, commended Manning as one "who hath many years been a commander under Maj.-Gen. Morgan, who hath given him a large and ample certificate, which he will shew you. ... He is well known and beloved in New England, and will be fit for any employment in the militia." He came to New York in 1664, and in the same year accompanied the expedition for the reduction of Fort Orange, where he attended and was a witness to the first