Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography/Weidemeyer, John William

WEIDEMEYER, John William, author, b. in Fredericksburg, Va., 26 April, 1819. His father was an officer in the life-guards of Jerome Bonapart, king of Westphalia, with whom at an early age he came to New York city. Among the son's first teachers was Alexander T. Stewart, and he completed his education at the Columbia college grammar-school. For several years he taught at various seminaries in Ohio, but subsequently settled in New York city, where he entered on a business career. He made collections of lepidoptera, and discovered several important species, among which was the Limenitis Weidemeyerii of the Adirondack mountains. His large collection was purchased by the museum in Ratisbon, Germany. In connection with the study of entomology, he published “Catalogue of North-American Butterflies” (Philadelphia, 1864). He contributed to the “Christian Inquirer” and the “Atlantic Monthly,” and prepared political articles for various journals. In 1841 he wrote a play entitled “The Vagabonds,” which was produced at the Franklin theatre in New York city and the Arch street theatre in Philadelphia, and he has in preparation “Cæsar and Cleopatra,” an acting drama. Mr. Weidemeyer has also published “Real and Ideal: a Collection of Metrical Compositions by John W. Montclair” (Philadelphia, 1865); “Themes and Translations” (New York, 1867); “American Fish, and how to catch Them” (1885); and “From Alpha to Omega” (1889).