Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 2).djvu/432

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408
FARIBAULT
FARLEY

with his researches, and the death of his wife de- cided him to return to Canada. He then devoted himself to the formation of the new national library, which had reached 20,000 volumes when the legislative buildings of Quebec were burned, 1 Feb., 1854, and although 13,000 volumes were saved, the 7,000 that were lost comprised publica- tions of the 16th and 17th centuries that never could be replaced. His health was injured by this calamity, and the legislature voted him a pension of $2,000. The principal work of the close of his life was the execution of the monument that the French troops had resolved to raise in 1761 to the •memory of Montcalm in the church of the Ursu- lines of Quebec. He was one of the founders of the Historical society of Quebec, lie wrote a "Catalogue raisonne d'ouvrages sur I'histoire de l’Amerique " (1837), which is still considered an indispensable guide for the historian. His collection of manuscripts and old works, which he left to Laval university, comprises about 400 manuscripts, half of which are original, or copies collated of very old documents (1626, 1636, and the years fol- lowing). Among these the most precious is the "Journal des Jesuites" (1645-'88, the only part •discovered so far). There are about 1,000 printed volumes, some of which are very rare and impor- tant, such as " Lescarbot " (1609) ; " Champlain " (1613) ; " Les voyages aventureux de Jean Al- phonse " ; " Relations des Jesuites " ; and an album containing plans, maps, views, and portraits, all relating to the history of the country, and -several of them of great importance.


FARIBAULT, John Baptist, pioneer, b. in Berthier, Quebec, aljout 1769 ; d. in Faribault, Minn., in 1860. lie received his education in the village school, and at the age of seventeen entered a commercial house in Quebec, where he remained five years. In 1796 he became agent of the Ameri- can company of the northwest, under the presi- dency of John Jacob Astor. He left Montreal in the spring for the straits of Mackinaw in a canoe, accompanied by nineteen men. After remaining some days at Mackinaw, he engaged a Pottawatto- mie Indian as a guide, and set out for the residence of Gen. Harrison, governor of the territory of In- diana, at Port Vincent on the Wabash, in order to obtain permission to trade with the Indians in the United States. He nearly perished on the journey through the treachery of his guide, but reached Gov. Harrison, who received him kindly and grant- ed the necessary permission. He then returned to the mouth of the Kankakee, where he passed the remainder of the year. He afterward established himself at the port of Des Moines, and engaged in a lucrative trade with the Sakis, Foxes, lowas. and Yankons. Then he proceeded to the Saint Peter, and traded with other Sioux tribes, making also an effort to teach them agriculture. He married a half-breed, by whom he had eight children, and, having prevision of the future greatness of the wild country in which he lived, he had them edu- cated under circumstances of great difficulty. He remained ten years with the Astor company, and then entered into business for himself, realizing a large fortune, which he lost in the war of 1812. He had embraced the American side in this con- test, and, having to go on business to Mackinaw after the siege of the fort that the Americans had erected there, he was made prisoner by the English as a traitor to British interests. He continued for several years to travel over the prairies, and although he was often a prisoner in the hands of the Indians, frequently wounded, and on two or three occasions left for dead, he always escaped. He was the first to cultivate the soil west of the Mississippi and north of the Des Moines, and bought agricultural implements with the purpose of teaching the Indians farming. His influence extended among all the Indian tribes of the vast territory from the Mississippi to the Missouri, and as far as Red river. He also acted as a missionary among them, and built, at his own expense, a Catholic church during the years 1840-'3, the first erected in Minnesota. He spent the last days of his life in Faribault, a city founded by his son Alexander. A county in Minnesota is also named in his honor.


FARLEY, Harriet, editor, b. in Claremont, N. H., about 1815. She was the daughter of a Con- g]-egational clergyman, and at the age of fourteen began to earn her own living, by turns working at straw- and palm-leaf plaiting, binding shoes, tailor- ing, weaving, and teaching. Her father then re- moved to Atkinson, N. H., and combined the duties of principal of two academies with those of his pas- torate. Here she learned something of French, drawing, ornamental needle-work, and the usual accomplishments of that day. These were taught her because her friends wished her to be a teacher, an occupation for which she felt the greatest re- pugnance. This feeling resulted in her leaving home, and, going to Lowell, she determined that if she must support herself she would do so in her own way. She would then, to use her own words, be at liberty to " read, think, and write " when she could, and without restraint. She made good wages in the factories of that city, and ex- pended her earnings in caring for her brothers and sisters, one of whom she assisted in educat- ing. While she was thus engaged, the publica- tion of " The New England Offering," the writers on which were exclusively women operatives in the mills of the city, was begun (January, 1841). Harriet was at first a contributor to, and after- ward the editor of, this novel literary venture. After a time she also became the proprietor. " I do all the publishing, editing, canvassing," she writes in a biographical letter, " and, as it is bound in my office, I can, in a Imrry. help fold, cut covers, stitch, etc. I have a little girl to assist me in the folding, stitching, etc. ; the rest, after it comes tvom the printer's hands, is all my own work. I employ no agents, and depend upon no one for assistance. My edition is 4,000." Miss Farley published a volume containing extracts from " The Offering," including some of her own contribu- tions, entitled " Shells from the Strand of the Sea of Genius " (Boston, 1847). In 1849 a second col- lection from the monthly was made and issued in London, with an introduction by Charles Knight, under the title " Mind Among the Spindles." An autobiographical sketch of Miss Farley, not written for ]iublicati()n. may l)e found in Mrs. Sarah J. Hale"s " Biogiapliv of Distinguished Women."


FARLEY, James Thompson, senator, b. in Albemarle county, Va., 6 Aug., 1829 ; d. in Jackson, Cal., 22 Jan., 1886. He received a common-school education, and removed to Missouri, and subsequently to California. He studied law, and was admitted to the California bar in 1854. He served for two terms as member of the assembly from Calaveras county, and was (1855-'6) chosen speaker. He was elected to the state senate in 1860, and re-elected for the eight years following, acting as president pro tempore during one session. He was for several years the recognized leader of the Democratic party in California, and in 1874 was defeated as a candidate for the U. S. senate by Gov. Newton Booth. He was afterward elected, and served as a senator from 18 March, 1879, till 3 March, 1885.