Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1892, volume 3).djvu/188

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
160
HEISS
HELIAS D'HUMONDE

cellorsville and Gettysburg. He was relieved in October, 1863, and in January of the following year was put in command of the Northern Department, embracing Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois. For some time before August, 1865, he was on court-martial duty. In March of that year he was brevetted major-general in the regular army, and in September resumed command of the 17th infantry, in New York harbor and in Texas. On 22 Feb., 1869, he was retired with the rank of colonel, and on 29 April, by special act of congress, was placed on the retired list, with the rank of major-general, to date from 22 Feb. His public career ended with his retirement from the army.


HEISS, Michael, archbishop, b. in Pfahldorf, Bavaria, 12 April, 1818; d. in La Crosse, Wis., 26 March, 1890. He was a student in the University of Munich from 1835 till 1839, in the law and afterward in theology. He then entered the theological seminary in Eichstadt and was ordained priest by Cardinal Reisach, 18 Oct., 1840, although he had not yet attained the canonical age. A visit of Archbishop Purcell, of Cincinnati, first suggested to him the idea of laboring in the United States. He arrived in New York, 17 Dec., 1842, and in 1843 became pastor of the Church of the Mother of God, in Covington, Ky. In 1844 his friend, Dr. Henni, was appointed bishop of Milwaukee, and on the invitation of this prelate he went to Wisconsin, where, besides acting as secretary to the bishop, he engaged in missionary work. In 1846 he founded the Church of St. Mary in Milwaukee, the first Roman Catholic parochial church and the first church built of brick in that city. He was in Europe for his health in 1850-'2, and on his return opened an ecclesiastical school in his own house. Afterward the Seminary of St. Francis de Sales was founded on the shores of Lake Michigan, and Father Heiss was appointed its first rector. About this time he became noted as a theological writer. When the diocese of La Crosse, on the Mississippi, was founded, he was named for the new see, and was consecrated bishop, 6 Sept., 1868. The diocese of Bishop Heiss extended over that part of Wisconsin north and west of Wisconsin river as far as the Mississippi. Under his administration several Roman Catholic churches were erected, the new cathedral was built, the Sisters of St. Francis were established in La Crosse, and an episcopal residence was built at his own expense. Twenty-five parochial schools and two asylums were opened. St. John's college was founded at Prairie du Chien, and other schools were built. During the twelve years when he had charge of the diocese, the number of churches had increased from forty to eighty-six. In 1880 he was nominated coadjutor to Archbishop Henni, of Milwaukee, with right of succession, and he was created Archbishop of Adrianople in partibus infidelium, 14 March of that year. He became metropolitan of Milwaukee in September, 1881. Archbishop Heiss took an active part as theologian in the Baltimore council of 1849, in that of St. Louis in 1855, and in the plenary council of Baltimore of 1866. He was one of the chief members of the Vatican council of 1869-'70, and also a member of one of the four great commissions, each of which consisted of twelve bishops, who represented all parts of the world. His theological works, which include “Ueber die vier Evangelien,” and “Ueber die Ehe,” were published in Milwaukee.


HEISTER, Leopold Philip de, soldier, b. in 1707; d. in Hesse-Cassel, 19 Nov., 1777. He was a crippled veteran of many campaigns when he was selected to command the Hessian troops that were hired by the British government for service against the American colonies. He landed on Long Island near New Utrecht with two full Hessian brigades on 25 Aug., 1776, three days after the arrival of Gen. William Howe with the British troops. The tedious passage of thirteen weeks from Spithead had tried him sorely; “his patience and tobacco had become exhausted. He called for hock, and swallowed large potations to the health of his friends.” Soon after debarking, the invading army prepared for marching, the Hessians under De Heister forming the centre, or main body. They cannonaded the works at Flatbush pass, and De Heister ordered Count Donop to storm the redoubt, while he pressed forward with his troops. “Our Hessians and our brave Highlanders gave no quarter,” wrote a British officer, “and it was a fine sight to see with what alacrity they despatched the rebels with their bayonets, after we surrounded them so they could not resist.” Heister also commanded the Hessians at White Plains, 28 Oct., 1776.


HEITZMAN, Charles, physician, b. in Vinkovcze, Hungary, 2 Oct., 1836. His father, Martin Heitzman, was a surgeon in the Austrian army. The son was educated in the University of Pesth and in that of Vienna, where he was graduated in 1859. He then lectured on morbid anatomy in the Vienna university, and in 1874 came to New York, where he established a laboratory for microscopical research. His specialty is dermatology, and he was vice-president of the American dermatological society, besides being a member of other medical associations. His publications include “Chirurgische, Pathologie und Therapie” (2 vols., 1864-'8); “Descriptive and Topographical Anatomy of Man in 600 Illustrations” (2 vols., 3d ed., 1886); and papers on “Kenntniss der Dünndarmzotten” and “Untersuchungen über das Protoplasma,” in the “Transactions of the Imperial Academy of Sciences” (Vienna, 1867-73). His chief work is “Microscopic Morphology of the Animal Body” (1873).


HELFENSTEIN, John Conrad Albert, clergyman, b. in Moszbach, Germany, 16 Feb., 1748; d. in Germantown, Pa., 17 May, 1790. He studied theology at Heidelberg, and was appointed by the synod of Holland missionary to America, with Rev. John H. Helffrich and Rev. John G. Gebhard. Soon after his arrival in New York, 14 Jan., 1772, he took charge of a congregation in Germantown, and was one of the fathers of the German Reformed church in this country. In 1775 he accepted a call to Lancaster, Pa., where he frequently preached to the Hessian prisoners. He returned to Germantown in 1779, and remained there till his death. Several small volumes of his sermons have been published.


HELIAS D'HUMONDE, Ferdinand Mary, clergyman, b. in Ghent, Belgium, 3 Aug., 1796; d. in Toas, Cole co., Mo., 11 Aug., 1874. He belonged to a noble Belgian family, and his brother was prime-minister of that kingdom for several years. Ferdinand entered the Society of Jesus in 1817, and at the close of his novitiate was appointed professor and prefect of studies in the high-school of Brieg, Switzerland. After several years he was summoned to Rome to act as assistant secretary to the father-general of the order, and subsequently was assigned to the American mission. He arrived in the United States, 19 May, 1833, and was immediately appointed master of novices in the Jesuit college, Frederick, Md. Shortly afterward he organized at St. Louis a German congregation, which, through his labors, became one of the largest in the country. He also built St. Joseph's church for the use of the German Catholics. In