Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 2).djvu/403

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EUPHEMIA
EUSTIS
379

lished by the Historical society of Pennsylvania. He travelled thousands of miles, often on foot, and preached in eleven of the thirteen original colo- nies and in what is now the state of Ohio; " in cities," to use his own words, " in villages, in home- steads, from pulpits, in the open air, in court- houses and barns, to many and very different classes of men." He labored frequently among the Indians, and in 1772 led the Christian Indians from the Susquehanna to the Tuscarawas valley of Ohio, a journey of eight weeks, full of hardships and dangers, and ministered with great faithful- ness to the sick of the American army, in 1776 and 1777, when the general hospital had been estab- lished at Bethlehem. Throughout the Revolution- ary war he received, in the name of his church, the many distinguished visitors who flocked to that town, both military officers and statesmen. With some of the latter he became intimate. Henry Laurens, of South Carolina, was his par- ticular friend. On various occasions he corre- sponded with Washington and negotiated with congress, as the agent of the Moravians. Not the least important act of his life was the founding, in 1787, of the " Society for Propagating the Gos- pel among the Heathen," which still exists, has a large endowment, and contributes liberal amounts toward the support of the extensive missions of the Moravian church. Ettwein stood at the head of this church as its presiding bishop for seven- teen years, displaying sound judgment, great de- cision of character, and often, amid trying cir- cumstances, a marvellous heroism. He was quick in expressing his opinions, and abrupt in his utter- ances; but upon closer acquaintance whatever seemed offensive was forgotten.


EUPHEMIA, mother-superior of Sisters of Charity, b. in Dublin, Ireland, 18 April, 181G; d. near Einmettsburg, Md., 18 March, 1887. Ilersecu- lar name was Catherine Blenkensoff. She emi- grated to the United States in early girlhood, and entered the novitiate at St. Joseph's academy, near p]mmettsburg, Md. She rapidly rose to be principal teacher in the academy, and was soon af- terward transferred to St. Mary's orphan asylum, Baltimore, and appointed mother-superior. She was after several years returned to St. Joseph's, and chosen to the same place in that institution. At the end of the first three years of her direction she was appointed mother-superior of all the Sis- ters of Charity in the United States. Mother Eu- phemia, as superior of her order, made a tour through the south in 1886, and arranged for the establishment of two branch houses.


EUSTACE, John Skey, soldier, b. in Flushing, L. I., 10 Aug., 1760: d. in Newburg, N. Y., So Aug., 1805. He was graduated at William and Mary in 1776, and in the same year was appointed aide to Gen. Sullivan and Gen. Greene. Congress commis- sioned him major for his services in capturing the British colonel Burton. After the war he resided in Georgia, where he practised law and became adjutant-general of the state, and held other civil and military offices. In 1794 he entered the French service, was made aide-de-camp to Luckner, and afterward to Dumourier, and attained the grade of major-general and marechal-de-camp. In 1797 he commanded a division of the French army in Flan- ders. On his return to his native country in 1800 he led a studious and retired life in Newburg. He was the author of many pamphlets, and an account of his " Exile from Great Britain, by Order of the Duke of Portland" (London, 1797).


EUSTIS, William, governor of Massachusetts, b. in Cambridge, Mass., 10 June, 1753; d. in Boston, Mass., 6 Feb., 1825. He was graduated at Harvard in 1772, studied medicine under Dr. Joseph Warren, and entered the Revolutionary army as a regimental surgeon, serving throughout the war in that capacity, and also as hospital sur- geon. For some years he was stationed opposite West Point, at the house of Col. Beverly Robinson, where Arnold had his headquarters. After the close of the war he practised his profession in Bos- ton, and was a surgeon in the expedition against the insurgents in Shays's rebellion in 1786-'7. From 1788 till 1794 he was a member of the Massachusetts legislature, and was for two years councillor under Gov. Sullivan. In 1801-'5 he was a representative in congress, having been chosen as a Democrat, and in 1807 was appointed secretary of war, which office he retained till 19 Jan., 1813. In 1814 he was appointed minister to Holland, where he remained till 1818. After his return to the United States he was again elected to congress to fill a vacancy, and served from 1820 till 1823, when he was chosen governor of Massachusetts, and held that office till his death. The degree of LL. D. was conferred on him by Harvard in 1823. — His nephew, George, jurist, b. in Boston, Mass., 20 Oct., 1796; d. in New Orleans, La., 23 Dec, 1858, was gradu- ated at Harvard in 1815. He became private secre- tary to his nuclei Gov. Eustis, then minister to the Hague, where he began his legal studies. He went to New Orleans in 1817, was admitted to the bar there in 1822, and served several terms in the state legis] ature. He was afterward secretary of the state, and, as a commissioner of the board of currency, instituted reforms that gave stability to the cur- rency of the state. He was also attorney-general of Louisiana, a member of the Constitutional con- vention of 1845, and chief-justice of the supreme court till 1852. He received the degree of LL. D. from Harvard in 1859.— Another nephew, Abraham, soldier, b. in Petersburg, Va., 28 March, 1786; d. in Portland, Me., 27 J une, 1843, was graduated at Harvard in 1804, studied law in the office of his relative, Chief-Justice Parker, was admitted to the bar in 1807, and began practice in Boston. In 1808 he entered the army as captain of artillery, and be- came major in 1810. During the war of 1812 he served with distinction, and commanded a regiment in the capture of York, Upper Canada, in 1813. He was brevetted lieutenant-c®lonel for meritorious services in 1813, became lieutenant -colonel of the 4th artillery in 1822, brigadier-general in 1834, and a few months later colonel of the 1st artillery. — George's son, George, congressman, b. in New Orleans, La., 28 Sept., 1828; d. in Cannes, France, 15 March, 1872, was educated at Jefferson college, La., and at Harvard law-school. He was elected to Congress as an American, and served from 1855 till 1859. He went to France as secretary of the Confederate legation, and remained there after the civil war. During the Franco-Prussian war he voluntarily gave his services to the U. S. legation in Paris. — Another son, James Biddle, senator, b. in New Orleans, 27 Aug., 1834. He received a classical education, was graduated at Harvard law-school in 1854, admitted to the bar in 1856, and practised in New Orleans. When the civil war began he entered the Confederate army, and, after one year's service as judge-advocate on the staff of Gen. Magruder, was transferred to the staff of Gen. Joseph Johnston, with whom he served till the close of the war. He then resumed practice in New Orleans, was elected a member of the legislature prior to the reconstruction acts, and was one of the committee sent to Washington to confer with President Johnson on Louisiana affairs. He was a member