Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 2).djvu/159

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DEMING
DENIN
139

cniited especially for Gen. Butler's New Orleans expedition. After the passage of the forts his regiment was the first to reach New Orleans, and was assigned by Gen. Butler the post of honor at the custom-house. Col. Deming was on detached duty, acting as mayor of the city from October, 18()2, till February, 18G8. lie then resigned, returned home, and in April, 1868, was elected to congress as a republican, and served two terms, being a member of the committee on military affairs, and chairman of that on expenditures in the war department. In 1866 he was a delegate to the Loyalists' convention in Philadelphia, and from 1869 till his death was U. S. collector of internal revenue for his district. Mr. Deming was one of the most eloquent public speakers in New England, a gentleman of fine culture and of refined literary taste. He published translations of Eugene Sue's "Mysteries of Paris" and "Wandering Jew" (1840), a eulogy of Abraham Lincoln, delivered by invitation of the Connecticut legislature in 1865, "Life of Ulysses S. Grant " (Hartford, 1868), and various addresses.


DEMlNG, William, the first maker of wrought-iron cannon, b. in 1736 ; d. in Mitflin, Cumberland CO., Pa., 19 Dec, 1830. He was employed in the Revolutionary army, and contributed two wrought- iron cannon of curious construction, one of which was captured by the British at the battle of the Brandyvvine, and is still preserved in the Tower of London. These singular pieces of ordnance are described as being "made of wrought-iron staves, hooped like a barrel, with bands of the same material, excepting that there were four layers of staves, breaking joints, all of which were finally bound together, and then l)oxed and breeched like other cannon." Tlie first gun was made at Middlesex, Pa., the second was begun at Mount Holly Springs, Pa., but as the patriotic blacksmith could find no one to assist him, on account of the heat, which is said to have been so great as to have melted the lead buttons on his coat, it was not completed. The British are said to have offered a large sum of ready money and a stated annuity to any one that would instruct them in the process of manufacture ; but the sturdy artisan was not to be seduced from his allegiance. Although he had striven to serve the republic, with traditional ingratitude it refused to compensate him until near the close of his long career.


DEMPSTER, John, educator, b. in Florida, Fulton CO., N. Y., 2 Jan., 1794; d. in Evanston, 111., 28 Nov., 1863. His father, Rev. James Dempster, was bred a Presbyterian, and educated at the University of Edinburgh, but became an associate of John Wesley, and was sent by him to this country as a missionary. He died while John was a child, and the boy became a peddler of tin-ware, but after his conversion, in 1812, began "to study diligently. He entered the itinerant ministry of the Methodist church in 1816, and soon distinguished himself as a powerful preacher. After laboring in western New York and Canada, he went as a missionary to Buenos Ayres in 1835, but returned in 1842, and had charge of churches in New York city for three years. In 1847 he was one of the founders of the Biblical institute at Concord, N. H., now the Boston university theological school. He filled the chair of theology there till 1854, when he founded the Garrett Biblical institute at Evanston, Ill., and was its senior professor from 1855 till his death. Plans for establishing institutes in Omaha and California failed, owing to the financial crisis of 1857. Wesleyan university. Middletown, Conn., gave him the degree of I). D. in 1848. Dr. Dempster was very successful as an educator of youngmen. He left many manuscripts, some of which have been published with the title "Lectures and Addresses" (Cincinnati, 1864).


DEMPSTER, William Richardson, musician, b. in Keith, Scotland, in 1809 ; d. in London, England, 7 March, 1871. He was apprenticed to a quill-maker in Aberdeen, but soon left the trade and devoted himself to music. He came to the United States in early life, became a naturalized citizen, and remained several years. Afterward his time was spent about equally on either side of the Atlantic. He was a successful composer and public singer, his voice being very effective in parlor singing, though lacking the volume necessary for a large hall. ' He set Tennyson's "May Queen" to music, which became popular, and afterward composed music for most of the songs introduced in Tennyson's longer poems, which were his favorites for his concerts. He was noted among his friends for his genial spirit and strict morality.


DENAUT, Peter (duh-no'), Canadian R. C. bishop, b. in Montreal, 20 July, 1743; d. in Longueil, 17 Jan., 1806. He was parish priest of Longueil, and vicar-general of the diocese of Quebec. During the invasion of Canada by Arnold and Montgomery, in 1775, he was zealous in preventing the Canadians from joining them. As he occupied the post of danger on the route from the United States to Canada, the British authorities suggested his presentation as coadjutor bishop of Quebec, but, feeling that his presence at Longueil would be useful to them in case of another invasion from the United States, they persuaded him to reside there. He was consecrated at Montreal in 1794, and in 1797 Bishop Hubert resigned the see of Quebec in his favor. Bishop Denaut was accused of subserviency to those in power; but on a noteworthy occasion he showed firmness of character. As soon as he succeeded to the bishopric he found the aid of a coadjutor necessary. Both the people and the clergy wished the cure of Quebec, Joseph Octavius Plessis, to be appointed. The Duke of Kent, father of Queen Victoria, was then holding court in Quebec, and at the same time carrying on an intrigue with a married woman in the neighboring village of Beauport. The parish priest of this town secretly favored the liaison, and, to reward his complaisance, the young prince used every effort to have him appointed coadjutor bishop. Bishop Denaut insisted on the choice of Plessis, who had been elected by the clergy, and declared that they neither should nor would hold another election. In presence of this unexpected resistance, the Canadian government withdrew their candidate, and Bishop Denaut then retired to Longueil, where he spent the remainder of his life.


DENGLER, Frank, sculptor, b. in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1853. He went abroad while young, studied in the Munich academy of fine arts, and received there in 1874 a silver medal for his group the “Sleeping Beauty.” He was for a short time an instructor in modelling in the Boston museum art school, but resigned in 1877 on account of failing health, and removed to Covington, Ky., and afterward to Cincinnati. Among his works are “Azzo and Melda” (1877), an ideal head of “America,” and several portrait busts.


DENIN, Susan, actress, b. in Philadelphia, Pa., 22 March, 1835; d. in Bluffton, Ind., 4 Dec., 1875; When very young she and her sister Kate took the part of dancing fairies at the National theatre, Philadelphia. Susan afterward became a favorite in New York and other parts of the country, and in 1869 made her first appearance in London. Her