of the most learned churchmen of South America, and, although he is thoroughly identified with the ultramontane party, his memory is venerated even by his political opponents in Chili.
VALDUREZO, Ignacio de (val-doo-ray'-tho),
Spanish missionary, b. in Catalonia in the first half
of the lGth century; d. in Peru toward the end of
that century. He labored for about thirty-five
years in the missions of the province of Cocha-
bamba, and learned to decipher the Quipos — neck-
laces of various colors intermingled with knots of
different, sizes — which were formerly used by the
Peruvians to record historical events. His manu-
script was unfortunately lost, and all that remains
is recorded in a letter from Valdurezo to a canon
of Charcas, Bartolome Cervantes. The manuscripts
of the latter fell afterward into the hands of An-
ello Oliva, who utilized them in his " Historia del
Reyno de Peru." Ferdinand Denis, in his " Etudes
sur les Quipos" (Paris, 1858), commends Friar
Valdurezo for his discovery.
VALE, Oilbert, author, b. in London, England,
in 1788 ; d. in Brooklyn, N. Y., 17 Aug., I860. He
was educated in his native city and was intended
for the church, but he abandoned preparation for
that profession, came to the United States in 1829,
and engaged in teaching, making a specialty of
navigation, and in lecturing, publishing, and liter-
ary pursuits in New York city and Brooklyn. For
several years he edited the " Citizen of the World "
and subsequently the " Beacon," a literary and sci-
entific journal. He also occupied himself with in-
vention, and patented a combined terrestrial globe
and celestial sphere to facilitate the teaching of
astronomy. Mr. Vale was a free-thinker, and his
writings are for the most part arguments for his
geculiar tenets. He published " Fanaticism, its
ource and Influence " (New York, 1835), and the
" Life of. Thomas Paine," including his letters to
Gen. Washington, which are suppressed in other
biographies of Paine (1841). — His daughter Euphemia Vale Blake, author, b. in Rye, Sussex,
England, 7 May, 1824, came to this country at an
early age, was educated privately, and since 1843
has been occupied in literary pursuits and in in-
ventions. She married Daniel S. Blake in 1863.
She has published "Teeth, Ether, and Chloro-
form " (Boston, 1847) ; " History of Newburyport,
Mass." (1854) ; and " Arctic Experiences," a history
of the "Polaris" expedition, with a summary of
all preceding expeditions (New York, 1874).
VALENCIA, Martin de (va-len'-theah), Spanish
missionary, b. in Valencia de Don Juan, kingdom of
Leon, about. 1466 ; d. in Ayotzingo, Mexico, 31 Aug.,
1533. He became a Franciscan friar at Mayorga,
and was early distinguished for his knowledge and
austerity. He was charged in 1514 with the refor-
mation of the convent of Santa Maria de Bonocal,
and established the new province of St. Gabriel,
of which he was appointed provincial in 1516.
When Hernan Cortes in 1523 asked for Francis-
can missionaries, the pope named Valencia to the
emperor as the most fit to establish successful mis-
sions in the New World. He went to New Spain in
1524 with twelve friars, founded there the prov-
ince of Santo Evangelio, learned the Indian dia-
lects, and after 1526 preached to the natives in
their language with success. He successively
founded convents at Mexico. Tezcoco, Vera Cruz,
Tlalmanalco, and other places, and justly deserves
the name of " first apostle of Mexico." He died
from exhaustion during a journey from Tehuan-
tepec to Mexico. Father Valencia's letters to the
councils of the Indies are published in "Cartas de
Indias " (Madrid, 1872), and his life was written by
Fray Francisco Ximenez under the title "Vida
de Fray Martin de Valencia" (Seville, 1535). His
manuscript works include " Cartas al Papa Adri-
ano VI." and " Cartas al Emperador Carlos V.,"
which, besides other historical documents that are
preserved in the archives of Simancas, are often
consulted by writers on early Mexican history.
His published works include " Carta al general del
Orden de San Francisco, Fray Matias Weisen, dan-
dole razon de los buenos sucesos de la conquista
espiritual de Mexico " (Seville, 1554), also in Italian
and Latin translations, and " Actas de la primera
junta apostolica celebrada en Mexico en 1524"
(Mexico, 1769).
VALENTIN, Louis (val-on-tang), French phy-
sician, b. in Soulanges, France, 14 Oct., 1758 ; d.
in Nancy, France, 11 Feb., 1829. He was gradu-
ated in medicine by the faculty of Nancy in 1787,
and in 1790 went to Santo Domingo as surgeon of
a regiment. He gave particular attention to the
diseases that were most prevalent in this colony
and the means employed to combat them. When
Cape Francais was burned in 1793, he lost all his
property, his library, manuscripts, and a rich cabi-
net of anatomy which he had just completed, and
escaped with great difficulty to the United States,
where he met his wife, whom he had believed to
be murdered. The French consul placed him in
charge of the hospitals in Virginia for the recep-
tion of French sailors, and he remained in the
United States until 1799. when he returned to
France and settled at Nancy. He was a volumi-
nous writer on medical subjects. Among his
works are "Memoire sur l'incompatibilite des dif-
ferents virus dans l'economie animale et sur leur
innocuite par rapport au danger de la petite ve-
role" (Cape Francais, 1792); "Memoire sur le
traitement et l'extirpation des tumeurs du cou,
etc." (Boston, 1792) ; " Coup d'ceil sur la culture
de quelques vegetaux exotiques . . . et sur quelques
decouvertes faites dans les Etats-Unis d'Amerique "
(Marseilles. 1808); "Coup d'oeil sur les differents
modes de traitor le tetanos en Amerique " (Paris,
1811); and "Notice sur l'opossum et sur quelques
animaux a bourses" (Marseilles, 1811).
VALENTINE, David Thomas, historian, b. in
East Chester, Westchester co., N. Y., 15 Sept.,
1801; d. in New York city, 25 Feb., 1869. He
was educated at White Plains academy, went to
New York at the age of sixteen, was employed by
a grocer for six years, and then received the ap-
pointment of clerk to the marine court. In 1831
he became deputy clerk to the common council,
and six years later succeeded to that office, to
which he was re-elected under each succeeding
administration till his death. In 1842, in pursu-
ance of a resolution of the state legislature, he
began the publication of a "Manual of the Cor-
poration and Common Council of New York," and
for twenty-five years he issued a volume annually,
each containing' historical and antiquarian matters
relating to the city, as well as pictures and views
illustrative of its history. He was also the author
of a "History of New York," treating of the prog-
ress of the metropolis from its early beginnings
(2 vols.. New York, 1853-0).
VALENTINE, Edward Virginias, sculptor, b. in Richmond, Va., 12 Nov., 1838. He was educated in Richmond, and when a mere boy studied anatomy at the medical college of that city. His first desire for art arose from a visit to the New York exhibition in 1851. After receiving such instruction in drawing and modelling as could be obtained in Richmond, he went to Europe in 1859 to study. Upon his return he opened a studio
