tice of his profession, which he continued until shortly before his death. Col. Biddle was connect- ed with the Fairmount park art association, and, through his counsel, beautiful fountains and groups were placed in the park.
BINGHAM, Henry Harrison, congressman,
b. in Philadelphia, Pa., 10 July, 1841. He was
graduated at Jefferson college in 1862, became a
lieutenant in the 140th Pennsylvania volunteers,
was wounded at Gettysburg, Spottsylvania, and
Farmville, and in July, 1866, was mustered out as
judge advocate, with the rank of major and brevet
brigadier-general of volunteers. He was postmaster
at Philadelphia in 1867-'?2, but resigned to become
clerk of the courts of oyer and terminer and quar-
ter sessions of Philadelphia, to which office he was
re-elected in 1875, and served till 1878, when he
was chosen to congress as a Republican. He has
since occupied a seat in the latter body by re-elec-
tion. Gen. Bingham was a delegate-at-large from
Pennsylvania to the National Republican conven-
tion in 1872, and a delegate from the first district
to the conventions of 1876, 1884, and 1888.
BISHOP, Judson Wade, soldier, b. in Evans-
ville, Jefferson co., N. Y., 24 June, 1831. He re-
ceived his education at Predonia academy, N. Y.,
where his father was settled as pastor of the Bap-
tist church for several years, and later at Belleville,
Jefferson co. After serving as a clerk and book-
keeper, he taught for two winters, then studied
civil engineering, and in 1853 entered the office of
the Grand Trunk railway at Kingston, Ont. After
serving as an assistant engineer there and in Min-
nesota, he settled in Chatfield, Minn., as a survey-
or, publishing a map and pamphlet history of that
county. He also taught there, and then purchas-
ing the " Democrat " in 1859, which he published
until 1861, when he sold it and recruited a compa-
ny of volunteers. He was mustered as a captain
of the 2d Minnesota regiment on 26 June, 1861,
and served through the war in the west. He rose
to be colonel, 14 July, 1864, and was brevetted briga-
dier-general of volunteers on 7 June, 1865. Since
the war he has been engaged in building and op-
erating railroads in Minnesota. He resigned m
April, 1881, to engage in railroad construction.
BLODGETT, Henry Williams, jurist, b. in
Amherst, Mass., 21 July, 1821. His parents re-
moved, to Illinois about 1831. When seventeen
years of age Henry attended the Amherst acad-
emy one year, whence he returned to Illinois and
engaged in teaching and subsequently in land-
surveying until twenty -one years of age. He
studied law in Chicago with Jonathan Y. Scam-
mon and Norman B. Judd, was admitted to the
bar in 1845, and began practice in Waukegan, 111.,
where he still resides. In 1844 he voted the Anti-
slavery ticket, and he has since been an adherent
of the Anti-slavery and Republican parties. In 1852
he was elected to the general assembly of Illinois,
being the first avowed Anti-slavery member that
ever occupied a seat in that body, and in the fol-
lowing year was elected to the state senate. As a
legislator he was one of the ablest and most useful,
and was largely instrumental in shaping the legis-
lation of the commonwealth and in promoting the
development of the resources of Illinois. In 1855
and for several years subsequently he was associ-
ated with the legal department of the Chicago and
Northwestern railway, of which he was one of the
projectors. He was the pioneer in the building of
the Chicago and Milwaukee railroad, and was iden-
tified with it in the capacities of attorney, direct-
or, and president. Later he was solicitor of the
Michigan Southern, Fort Wayne, Rock Island, and
Northwestern roads, and he retired when the busi-
ness reached such proportions that it was impos-
sible for one man to attend to it. In 1870 he was
appointed by President Grant a judge of the U. S.
district court for the northern district of Illinois,
which office he still holds.
BLODGETT, Rufus, senator, b. in Dorchester,
N. H., 9 Oct., 1834. He studied in local schools
and academies, and at the age of eighteen was ap-
Srenticed to the Amoskeag locomotive works, at
[anchester, N. H., where he learned the trade of
a machinist. In 1866 he removed to New Jersey
and engaged in the railroad business. From 1874
till 1884 he was superintendent of the New Jersey
southern railroad, and in the latter year was ap-
pointed superintendent of the New York and Long
Branch railroad, which place he still holds. Sena-
tor Blodgett is also president of the Long Branch
city bank. He was a member of the New Jersey
legislature in 1878-'80, and was a delegate to the
Democratic national convention in 1880. In 1887
he was elected as a Democrat to the U. S. senate,
and took his seat on 4 March of that year.
BONNEY, Charles Carroll, reformer, b. in
Hamilton, N. Y., 4 Sept., 1831. He was educated
at Hamilton academy, settled in Peoria, 111., in
1850, and in 1852 was admitted to the bar. He
removed to Chicago in 1860, where he soon attained
a large practice. Mr. Bonney was elected presi-
dent of the National law and order league in New
York in 1885, and has since been annually re-elect-
ed to that office. He has been president of the
Illinois state bar association, and a member of the
American bar association. Among the reform
measures proposed by him are constitutional pro-
hibition of special legislation ; a national currency
under a national law ; national uniformity of com-
mercial paper ; an extension of equity practice to
bankruptcy and other law proceedings ; civil-ser-
vice pensions ; and state boards of labor and capi-
tal. Besides numerous pamphlets, addresses, and
essays on public questions, he has published " Rules
of Law for the Carriage and Delivery of Persons
and Property by Railway" (Chicago, 1864) and
" A Summary of the Law of Marine, Fire, and Life
Insurance" (1865), and edited " Poems by Alfred W.
Arrington, with a Sketch of his Character " (1869).
BRIGHTLY, Frederick Charles, lawyer, b. in Bungay, Suffolk, England, 26 Aug., 1812 ; d. in Germantown, Pa., 24 Jan., 1888. After serving as a midshipman under the East Indian company he came to this country in 1831, studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1839. Mr. Brightly retired from active practice about 1870, and devoted his time to legal authorship. His collection of about 5,000 volumes is one of the best private law libraries in this country. He printed a descriptive catalogue of his books, with critical notices of authors and subjects, for private circulation (Philadelphia, 1885). His legal works are " The Law of Costs in Pennsylvania " (1847) ; " Reports of Cases decided by the Judges of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania," with notes (1851) ; " The Equitable Jurisdiction of the Courts of Pennsylvania " (1855) ; " An Analytical Digest of the Laws of the United States, 1789-1869" (2 vols., 1865-'9); "A Digest of the Decisions of the Federal Courts " (2 vols., 1868-73); "The Bankrupt Law of the United States " (1871) ; " A Collection of Leading Cases on the Law of Elections in the United States " (1871) ; " Constitution of Pennsylvania, as Amended in the Year 1874," to which is appended the constitution of 1838 (1874) ; " A Digest of the Decisions of the Courts of the State of New York to January, 1884" (3 vols., New York, 1875-'84); and "A Digest of
