Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 1).djvu/646

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CHRISTY
CHURCH

it " Code Henri." A revolution broke out against Christophe, whose stern rule was not liked by the negroes, after the death of Petion in 1818; and even his body-guard was implicated, and on 8 Oct., 1820, the principal military chiefs declared in favor of the dethronement of Christophe. Irri- tated at this, and unwilling to surrender to the revolutionists, but knowing that his case was des- perate, he shot himself, in his fortified palace of Sans Souci. — His eldest son, Ferdinand, had been sent as a hostage to France by Gen. Leclerc, and died there in a hospital. — His second son, Jacques Victor, was murdered by the insurgents a few days after his father's death. — His widow was pro- tected by Boyer, the new ruler, and allowed a large sum. She went to Europe, and. after travelling in England and Germany, settled in Pisa.


CHRISTY, Edwin P., minstrel, b. in 1815 ; d. in New York city, 21 May, 1862. He organized the original " Christy's Minstrels " in Buffalo, N. Y., in 1842, and was afterward their manager. He took the troupe to London, met with great success both here and there, and retired with a fortune in 1854. He jumped from a second-story window in New York, when temporarily insane, and the in- juries so received caused his death. — George N. Christy, whose real name was George Harrington, b. in Palmyra, N. Y., 6 Nov., 1827 ; d. in New York city, 12 May, 1868, made his first appearance in Buffalo in 1839, under E. P. Christy's manage- ment. After the organization of the Christy min- strels he was the star of the troupe, and was the original " Lucy Long " and " Cachuca." E. P. Christy's sons," E. Byron (1838-'66) and William A. (1839-'62), were also members of the troupe.


CHRISTY, William, lawyer, b. in Georgetown, Ky., 6 Dec, 1791. He began practice in 1811, served under Harrison in the war of 1812, and be- came a merchant in New Orleans. He resumed his law practice before 1826, and in the presiden- tial campaign of 1840 was a ready and frequent speaker in behalf of Gen. Harrison. He published a " Digest of the Decisions of the Supreme Court of Louisiana " (1826).


CHRYSLER, Morgan Henry, soldier, b. in Ghent, Columbia co., N. Y., 80 Sept., 1826. He received a common-school education in his native town, and has been a farmer nearly all his life. He enlisted as a private soldier in the 30th New York volunteers on 17 April, 1861, was promoted to captain on 7 May, to major on 11 March, 1862, and to lieutenant-colonel on 80 Aug., serving in the Army of the Potomac. He was mustered out in 1863, went home, and in fifty-five days raised, by his own efforts, the 2d New York veteran cav- alry, 1,176 men, three quarters of them being vet- erans from the old " Iron Brigade." He was com- missioned its colonel on 5 Dec, 1868, and till 8 Nov., 1865, served in the Army of the Gulf, com- manding all the troops in northern Alabama, with headquarters at Talladega, and opening communi- cation with Selma and Montgomery. He was present at the capture of Mobile, with its surround- ing defences, was brevetted brigadier-general, 23 Jan., 1864, and made brigadier-general of volun- teers and brevet major-general on 13 March, 1865.


CHUBBUCK, Samnel Winchester, b. in Vermont in 1800 ; d. in Utica, N. Y., 28 Jime, 1875. At an early age he removed to Eaton, Madison co., N. Y., and went to Utica about 1845, where he established a shop for the manufacture of telegraph instruments. He made, it is said, the first telegraphic instrument ever manufactured. One of his inventions was that by which the paper on the reel could be used forty times. The circuit-closer attachment to the key, and the famous "pony" sounder, were also invented by him. He was a collector of coins and scientific instruments, and at one time had a coin collection valued at $30,000.


CHURCH, Albert Ensign, author, b. in Salis- bury, Conn., 17 Dec. 1807 ; d. in West Point, N. Y., 30 March, 1878. He was graduated at the U. S. military academy in 1828, and was commissioned second lieutenant in the artillery. He served as assistant professor of mathematics at the mili- tary academy from 31 Aug., 1828, till 28 Aug., 1881, was in garrison at Fort Wolcott, R. I., 1832, and at Fort Independence, Mass., in 1832-'3. He was appointed assistant professor of mathematics at West Point, 24 Nov., 1833, and served in this capacity until 1 June, 1837, when he became act- ing professor of mathematics, and in March, 1888, professor, i-etaining the chair till his death. The degree of LL. D. was conferred upon him by Yale in 1852. His works are " Elements of Differential and Integral Calculus" (1842; new ed., contain- ing the " Elements of the Calculus of Variations," 1851) ; " Elements of Analytical Geometry " (1851) ; " Elements of Analytical Trigonoraetiy " (1857) ; and " Elements of Descriptive Geometry (1865).


CHURCH, Benjamin, soldier, b. in Duxbury, Mass., in 1639 ; d. in 1718. He took an active part in King Philip's war, was engaged in the great swamp fight with the Narragansetts, 19 Dec, 1675, and hunted Philip to death 12 Aug., 1676. He published " Entertaining Passages relating to Philip's War" (1716).


CHURCH, Benjamin, political writer and orator. He rose to eminence as a physician in Boston, and became a friend of Samuel Adams. In 1768-'9 he wrote for the " Times," a newspaper devoted to the whig cause and denounced as seditious by Gov. Bernard. Dr. Church was held in high esteem by the patriot leaders, but was secretly a waverer. From a letter of Gov. Hutchinson, dated 29 Jan., 1772, we learn that Church was then anonymously employing his venal pen in the service of the gov- ernment. This was not suspected by the patriots, and Church was chosen to deliver the oration in the Old South meeting-house on 5 March, 1773. He was one of the leaders in the Boston tea-party. At the beginning of war he was appointed by the provincial congress surgeon-general and director of hospitals. In November, 1775, some cipher letters of his were intercepted and interpreted by Elbridge Gerry, and it was found that he had been for some time in treasonable correspondence with the enemy. He was examined before the Massachusetts legislature, found guilty of treason, and sentenced to imprison- ment for life. As he fell sick in prison his sentence was mitigated, and he was allowed to leave the coun- try. He embarked for the West Indies, and the ship in which he sailed was never heard from again.


CHURCH, Frederic Edwin, painter, b. in Hartford, Conn., 4 May, 1826. When quite young he became a pupil of Thomas Cole at Catskill, N. Y., where his first pictures were painted. He early established himself in New York, and in 1849 was elected a member of the National academy. In 1853 and 1857 he visited South America, and made many sketches of tropical and Andean scenery, which he afterward developed into large pictures. Several years later an expedition to the coast of Labrador gave him material for his great picture entitled " Icebergs," which attracted much attention on its exhibition in London in 1863. In 1866 he visited the West Indies, and two years later Europe and the Holy Land, which resulted in important works. His best-known work is the " Great Fall at Niagara," painted from the Canada side in