Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1889, volume 6).djvu/158

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134
TOPP
TORBERT

Madrid. During his administration he took vigor- ous measures against the insurgents in Cuba, and obtained, in April, 1869, supplementary credits for that purpose. He was a stanch supporter of the candidacy of Montpensier, left the cabinet in No- vember, 1869, to become vice - president of the cortes, was again secretary of the navy, 10 Jan., 1870. and secretary for the colonies in Sagasta's cabinet in December, 1871. Under Serrano's re- gency he was provisional president of the cabinet till 3 June, 1872, secretary of the navy and war till the suspension of constitutional guarantees, 24 June, 1872, and during the republic retired from service. After the virtual fall of the republic he held again, from 3 Jan. till 12 May, 1874, the port- folio of the navy under Serrano, and accompanied him to the seat of war, taking part in the relief of Bilbao, 25-27 March, 1874, where he was severely wounded. After the accession of Alfonso XII., 12 Dec, 1874, he retired to private life.


TOPP, Alexander, Canadian clergyman, b. near Elgin, Morayshire, Scotland, in 1815 ; d. in Toronto, Canada, 6 Oct., 1879. He was educated at Elgin academy and King's college, Aberdeen, and was licensed to preach in 1836. He was pastor of Elgin church in 1836-'52; of Roxburgh church, Edin- burgh, in 1852-'8; and in 1858 took charge of Knox church, Toronto, Canada, where he remained until his death. In 1868 he was elected moderator of the general assembly, was one of the chief agents in consummating the union of the Presbyterian churches in Canada in 1875, and was again elected moderator of the general assembly in 1876. In 1877 he attended the Pan-Presbyterian council at Edin- burgh. In 1870 he received the degree of D. D. from the University of Aberdeen.


TOPPAN, Robert Noxon, author, b. in Phila- delphia, Pa., 17 Oct., 1836. He was graduated at Harvard in 1858 and at Columbia law-school in 1861, and became a practising lawyer, afterward removing to Cambridge, Mass. He is a member of various historical and antiquarian societies, served on the international coinage committee of the American social science association, and was a delegate in 1878 to the International congress for the nullification of weights, measures, and money. He has translated Theodore Simon Jouffroy's " Ethics " (New York, 1862), and is the author of " Historical Succession of Monetary Metallic Stand- ards," a pamphlet (1877) ; li Some Modern Monetary Questions," a pamphlet (Philadelphia, 1881) ; " His- torical Summary of Metallic Money" (Boston, 1884) ; and " Biographical Sketches of Old New- bury" (Newburyport, 1885).


TORAL, Francisco de, Mexican R. C. bishop, b. in Ubeda, Spain, in 1502 ; d. in Mexico, 20 April, 1571. He received his education at Seville, and when nineteen years old became a Franciscan friar. In 1525 he went to Santo Domingo, and later he was sent to New Spain, where he learned Aztec and the difficult Totonaca language, and became pro- fessor of Indian dialects in the convent of his or- der at Mexico. After years of labor he invented a new method of teaching the Indian dialects, and afforded aid to the conquerors. Later he was sent to Yucatan, where he founded large and prosper- ous missions and gained the confidence of the Indians to such an extent that he became their legislator. He was appointed in 1549 superior of the convent of Tecamachalco, assisted in the gen- eral assembly of the Franciscan order at Salamanca in 1558, returning to Mexico in the following year with thirty-six new missionaries, and was appointed provincial of the province of Tlaxcala. Early in 1562 he was made first bishop of Yucatan, and being consecrated at Mexico, 15 Aug., 1562, fixed his residence at Merida. During the following years he did much to improve and organize his diocese, founded benevolent institutions for the benefit of the Indians, and built at Merida a cathedral, a seminary, and a hospital. In 1565 he assisted at Mexico in the synod of the Mexican bishops under Archbishop Montufar. He died suddenly in Mexi- co during a journey that he undertook' to confer with the archbishop. Toral's works include " Arte y Vocabulario de la lengua Totonaca" (Salamanca, 1553) and " Tratado de la lengua Mexicana " (1554). The " Cartas de Indias," a recent state publication, contains letters and memoirs of Bishop Toral.


TORBERT, Alfred Thomas Archimedes, soldier, b. in Georgetown, Del., 1 July. 1833 ; d. at sea, 30 Sept., 1880. He was graduated at the U. S. military academy in 1855, assigned to the 5th in- fantry, served on frontier duty during the next five years in Texas and Florida, on the Utah expedition, and in Tew Mexico, be- ing promoted 1st lieutenant, 25 Feb., 1861. In April, 1861, he was sent to mus- ter in New Jer- sey volunteers, and was made colonel, on 16 Sept., of the 1st New Jersey regi- ment. On 25 Sept., 1861, he was promoted to

captain in the

5th U. S. infantry. Col. Torbert served through the peninsula campaign, was given a brigade in the 6th corps on 28 Aug., 1862, and fought in the battle of Manassas on the two following days. He also took part in the Maryland campaign, and was wounded at the battle of Crampton's Gap, 14 Sept., where he made a brilliant bayonet charge. He was commissioned brigadier-general of volunteers on 29 Nov., 1862, and was at Gettys- burg. He fought his last battle in the infantry at Rappahannock station, 7 Nov., 1863, and in April, 1864, was placed in command of the 1st division of cavalry of the Army of the Potomac, participating in the skirmishes at Milford station and North Anna river. He commanded at Hano- vertown, and then participated in the cavalry bat- tle at Hawes's shop, 28 May, 1864, for which he was brevetted lieutenant-colonel, U. S. army. He also repelled the enemy at Matadequin creek, 30 May, and drove them close to Cold Harbor. He took that place on the 31st with cavalry alone, after a severe fight, before the arrival of the infant- ry, and held it the next day against repeated as- saults. He was now ordered by Gen. Sheridan, with another division, to make a raid to Charlottesville, had the advance, and commanded at Trevillian station on 11 June. On 8 Aug., 1864, Gen. Torbert was made chief of cavalry of the middle military division, and given command of three divisions when Gen. Sheridan took command of the Army of the Shenandoah. When Sheridan was closely pressed at Winchester, Torbert was specially active with the cavalry and aided in putting the enemy to flight, for which he was brevetted colonel on 19 Sept., 1864. He had been brevetted major-general of volunteers on the previous 9 Sept. Returning