energy. He began a college at Wheeling in 1866, and opened several academies. lie was present at the Vatican council in 1869-'70, and addressed that body on some of the most important questions be- fore it. He opposed the definition of the dogma of papal infallibility, but submitted to the decision of the council, declaring that his opposition did not arise from disbelief in its truth, but from the fact that he believed its definition at the time in- opportune. At the beginning of the administra- tion of Bishop Whelan the diocese of Wheeling contained two churches and two priests, and was without Roman Catholic schools or institutions of any kind. At his death there were 48 churches, 40 stations where religious services were held, and 29 priests. It contained six academies for girls, four convents, a hospital, an orphan asylum, and a college. The Roman Catholic population had in- creased from less than 1,000 to 18,000.
WHELPLEY, Samuel, clergyman, b. in Stockbridge, Mass., in 1766 ; d. in New York city, 14 July, 1817. His parents removed to a farm in Stockbridge from Wilton, Conn. The son studied theology under Dr. Stephen West, was ordained to the Baptist ministry in 1792, and preached in Stockbridge and West Stockbridge till he took charge of an independent church in Green River, N. J. In 1798-1809 he was at the head of an academy in Morristown, N. J., and in 1806 he was received into the ministry of the Presbyterian church. In 1809 he opened a school in Newark, N. J., but in the latter part of the year failing health forced him to go to Savannah, Ga., where he supported himself by teaching. He returned to Newark in 1811, and in 1814 went to New York, where he had charge of a school for a short time, till his health failed utterly. Mr. Whelpley was the author of " Compend of History from the Earliest Times " (Philadelphia, 1808 ; new ed., 2 vols., New York, 1855); "Letters on Capital Punishment and War," addressed to Gov. Caleb Strong (1816) ; and " The Triangle : a Series of Numbers upon Three Theological Points enforced from Various Pulpits in New York," a defence of the so-called New England theology (New York, 1817), besides single sermons, orations, and addresses. He also wrote occasional poems, including an ode on the death of
George Washington, which was sung in Morris-
town at a commemorative service. — His son, Philip Melancthon, clergyman, b. in Stockbridge, Mass.,
22 Dec, 1792 ; d. on Schooley's mountain, N. J.,
17 July, 1824, was pastor of the 1st Presbyterian
church in New York city from 1815 till his death.
He acquired reputation as a pulpit orator, and pub-
lished several occasional sermons. — Philip Melancthon's son, James Davenport, physician, b. in New
York city, 23 Jan., 1817; d. in Boston, Mass., 15
April, 1872. was graduated at Yale in 1837, and
entered the service of the geological survey of
Pennsylvania under Henry D. Rogers, where he
continued for two years. He was graduated at
the medical department of Yale in 1842, and remained in New Haven until 1846, engaging in the
study of science and in literary pursuits. Dr.
Whelpley then settled in Brooklyn, N. Y., where
he began to practise medicine ; but failing health
soon compelled him to relinquish that profession.
In 1847 he removed to New York city, where
he became editor and one of the owners of the
" American Whig Review," to which he had been
a contributor since 1845. While thus engaged he
formed, about 1849. a project of establishing a
commercial colony in Honduras, and in furtherance of this enterprise spent two years in San
Francisco, purchasing and editing one of the daily
papers there. His arrangements were disturbed
by the presence of the filibuster, William Walker,
and on going to Honduras he was detained by
Walker for nearly a year and impressed into the
service as a surgeon, during which time he suffered
great privation. Finally he escaped to San Fran-
cisco, whence he returned early in 1857 to the east
and again devoted himself to literary and scientific
pursuits. He was a member of the American
academy of arts and sciences, to whose transac-
tions and to the " American Journal of Science "
he contributed papers, principally on physics and
metallurgy, giving the results of his researches.
The most important of these is " Idea of an Atom
suggested by the Phenomena of Weight and Tem-
perature" (1845), in which he anticipated Michael
Faraday's ideas as set forth in his " Thoughts on
Ray Visions " (1846) ; and he was also the author
of " Letters on Philosophical Induction " and " Let-
ters on Philosophical Analogy," which discuss fun-
damental principles in scientific methods.
WHIPPLE, Abraham, naval officer, b. in
Providence, R. I., 16 Sept., 1733 ; d. in Marietta,
Ohio, 29 May, 1819. Early in life he commanded
a vessel in the West Indian trade, but during the
old French war in 1759-'60 he became captain of
the privateer " Gamecock," and captured twenty-
three French vessels in a single cruise. In June,
1772, he commanded the volunteers that took and
burned the British revenue-schooner " Gaspe " in
Narragansett bay. This was the first popular
uprising in this country against a British armed
vessel. In June, 1775, Rhode Island fitted out two
armed vessels, of which Whipple was put in com-
mand, with the title of commodore. A few days
later he chased a tender of the British sloop " Rose "
off the Conanicut shore, capturing her after sharp
firing. In this engagement Whipple fired the first
gun of the Revolution on the water. He was ap-
pointed captain of the "Columbus" on 22 Dec,
1775, and afterward of the schooner "Providence,"
which captured more British prizes than any other
American vessel ; but she was finally taken, and
Whipple was placed in command of a new frigate
of the same name, in which, when Narragansett bay
was blockaded by the British in 1778, he forced his
way, in a dark and stormy night, through the ene-
my's fleet by pouring broadsides into it and sinking
one of their tenders. At that time he was bound
for France with important despatches that related
to a treaty between the United States and that
government, and after a successful voyage he re-
turned in safety to Boston. In July, 1779, while
commanding the " Providence " as senior officer,
and with two other ships, he attacked a fleet of
English merchantmen that were under convoy of
a ship-of-the-line and some smaller cruisers. He
captured eight prizes, and sent them to Boston.
The value of these ships exceeded $1,000,000. In
1780 he went to Charleston, S. C, in an endeavor
to relieve the city, which at that time was besieged
by the British ; but he was captured and held a
prisoner until the close of the war. He subse-
quently became a farmer at Cranston, R. I., but in
1788 he connected himself with the Ohio company,
and settled at Marietta.
WHIPPLE, Amiel Weeks, soldier, b. in Greenwich, Mass., in 1818 ; d. in Washington, D. C, 7 May, 1863. He studied at Amherst, was graduated at the U. S. military academy in 1841, was engaged immediately afterward in the hydro- graphic survey of Patapsco river, and in 1842 in surveying the approaches to New Orleans and the harbor of Portsmouth, N. H. In 1844 he was detailed as assistant astronomer upon the north-
