DEXTER, Henry, sculptor, b. in Nelson. Madi- son CO., N. Y., 11 'Oct., 180(); d. in Ciimbridj,re, Mass., 23 June, 1876. His father died when Henry was a child, and in 1817 he removed with his family to Pomfret, Conn., where he worked on a farm, and was afterward indentured to a blacksmith. After serving his apprenticeship he married, and began business for himself, continuing in it seven years. He excelled as a worker in metals, and often attrib- uted his subsequent power of using the chisel to this early training. The occupation had always been distasteful to him, however, and, determining to become an artist, he went to Providence, R. 1., where, though self-taught, he had some success as a portrait-jiainter. He removed in 1836 to Boston, and in the following year to Cambridge, where he passed tiie remainder of his life. His attention was turned to sculpture about 1840, and he after- ward confined himself to that art. He may be named with Crawford, Powers, and Hart as a pioneer of American sculpture ; but, unlike them, he never left this country, holding with Palmer that it was not necessary for American artists to go to Italy either for inspiration or for instruction, and that our artists who live abroad lose their claim to be called distinctively American. Mr. Dexter never saw a sculptor model in clay, nor chisel the marble, until years after he was a master in ins art. He achieved special success in his portrait busts, of which he made nearly 200. Plis first marble bust was that of Mayor Samuel Eliot, of Boston. His " Binney Child," in Mount Auburn cemetery, is said to be the first marble statue executed in this country. In 1860 he modelled the busts of all the governors of the United States then in office, with the exception of the governors of California and Oregon, giving about a week to each, and travel- ling 17,000 miles. The collection, numbering thirty-one busts, was intended for the capitol at Washington, but the civil war prevented the con- summation of his plan. Other portrait busts by his hand are those of Charles Dickens, Longfellow, Agassiz, Henry Wilson, and Anson Burlingame. His statues include " The Backwoodsman." now at Wellesley college (1847) ; " The Cushing C-hildren " (1848); "Gen, "Joseph Warren at Bunker Hill" (1857) : and " Nymph of the Ocean " (1870).
DEXTER, Henry Martyn, clergyman, b. in
Plympton, Mass., 13 Aug., 1821 ; d. in New Bed-
ford, Mass., 13 Nov., 181)0. He was graduated at
Yale in 1840, at Andover theological seminary in
1844, and was called to be pastor of the Congrega-
tional church at Manchester, N. H., in the same
year. In 1849 he removed to Boston, and remained
in charge of what is now the Berkeley sti'eet Con-
gregational church until 1867. From 1851 till 1866
he was editor of the " Congregationalist," and from
1859 till 1866 of the "Congregational Quarterly,"
the publication of which he began in connection
with Drs. Clark and Quint. In 1867 he resigned his
pastorate to become editor-in-chief of tiie consoli-
dated " Recoi'der " and " Congregationalist," in
which he continued. He was a frequent contributor
of historical essays to periodical literature. In 1865
he received the degree of D. D. from Iowa college,
and in 1880 from Yale. Prom 1877 till 1880 he was
lecturer on Congregationalism at Andover theologi-
cal seminary. Among his published works are " The
Voice of the Bible the Verdict of Reason " (1858) ;
" Street Thoughts " (1859) ; " Congregationalism :
What it is. Whence it is. How it Works, Why it is
better than any other Form of Church Govern-
ment, and its Consequent Demands" (1865; 5th
ed.. 1879) ; " The Verdict of Reason upon the Fu-
ture Punishment of those who Die Impenitent"
(1865) ; " The Church Politv of the Pilgrims the
Polity of the New Testainent " (1870); "As to
Roger Williams, and his ' Banishment ' from the
Massachusetts Colony " (1876 ; 2d ed., 1877) ; " The
Congregationalism of the last Three Hundred Years,
as seen in its Literature, with Special Reference to
Certain Recondite, Neglected, or Disputed Pas-
sages," with a Bibliographical Appendix (New York,
1880) ; " A Hand-book of Congregationalism " (Bos-
ton, 1880) ; " Roger Williams's Christenings make
not Christians : a Long-lost Tract Recovered and
Exactly Reprinted, and Edited " (Providence, 1881) ;
" The True Story of John Smyth, the Se-Baptist,
etc." (1881); and "Common Sense as to Woman
Suffrage " (1885). The " Congregationalism of the
Last 300 Years " is enriched with a bibliography
containing 7.250 titles. He also edited, for pri-
vate reprint. Church's " Eastern Expeditions " and
his " Entertaining Passages Relating to Philip's
War," together with Mourt's " Relation," from the
first editions. He prepared in manuscript " A
Bibliography of the Church Struggle in England
during the Sixteenth Century," with 1,800 titles.
For many years he was preparing a histoiy of
" Old Plymouth Colony," the first volume of which,
devoted to the " Pre-history of the Colony, with
the English and Dutch Life of the Plymouth
Men," he left in manuscri[)t.
DEXTER, Samuel, merchant, b. in 1726: d. in
Mendon, Mass., in 1810. He was the son of Rev.
Samuel Dexter, of Dedham. Mass., who was gradu-
ated at Harvard in 1720. He accumulated a com-
petency in mercantile pursuits in Boston before he
had reached the age of fifty, and devoted much
time to historical studies. In the discussion be-
tween the mother country and her colonies that
preceded the Revolution, Mr. Dexter took very
strong ground, basing his views on the legislative
precedents in which he was well versed. While
not displaying the ardor of Otis, Warren, or Haw-
ley, nor, on some questions, perhaps, the firmness
of Adams, he labored not less zealously than they,
in company with such men as Bowdoin and Win-
throp, to inform the people on the important
questions then in debate, and to confute and ex-
pose the fallacies of Govs. Bernard and Hutchin-
son. He and his friends pointed out the danger
of the policy pursued by the British ministry, and
sought to convince their fellow-citizens that all
that was dear to them was at stake. He was a
member of the governor's council before the Revo-
lution, and for several years between 1765 and 1775
served on the more important committees of both
the house and the council. In 1776-'7, and sub-
sequently, he was chosen one of the supreme ex-
ecutive council of the state. In his later years he
retired from public service and devoted much time
to religious investigations. These led him to re-
ject the doctrines of Calvin, and to incline strongly
toward the Arminian. At his death he left a
legacy of $5,000 to Harvard for the encouragement
of biblical criticism. He also bequeathed $40 to a
clergyman, on condition that the latter should de-
liver a funeral sermon in his memory without mak-
ing any mention of his name, the discourse to be
based on the text, " The things which are seen are
temporal ; but the things which are not seen are
eternal." — His son, Samnel, jurist, b. in Boston,
14 May, 1761 ; d. in Athens, N. Y., 3 May, 1816,
was graduated at Harvard in 1781, and. having
studied law at Worcester, Mass., with Levi Lincoln,
was admitted to the bar in 1784. After practising
for some years in Worcester and Middlesex coun-
ties, he removed to Boston, which he made his
home for the remainder of his life. He was a
