Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 2).djvu/605

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GAINES
GALBERRY
573

ing, and thus the matter stood at her death. Un- der a previous decision, Mrs. Gaines could have turned out of their homes over 400 families occu- pying land and holding titles from the city ; but, although greatly in need of money, she preferred ob- taining judgment against the city to taking harsh measures. With this view she steadily declined several tempting offers of money from those who would have shown little mercy to the innocent hold- ers of the disputed property. Although wealthy at the time of Gen. Gaines's death, his widow spent her entire fortune in the effort to free her moth- er's name from stain and secure the millions that were finally decided to be rightfully hers. See Wallace's "Cases Argued and Adjudged in the Supreme Court of the United States," vol. vi.


GAINES, John P., governor of Oregon, b. in Walton, Boone co., Ky. ; d. in Oregon in 1858. He studied law, was admitted to the bar, and began practice at Walton. He served in the Mexican war as major of Marshall's Kentucky cavalry volunteers, and was made prisoner at In- carnacion in January, 1847. He was subsequently appointed aide-de-camp to Gen. Scott, and dis- tinguished himself at the battle of Molino del Rey. While he was in captivity he was elected to the 30th congress as a Whig, serving from 6 Dec, 1847, till 3 March, 1849. He was then appointed by President Fillmore governor of the territory of Oregon, and filled the olfiee from 1850 till 1853. He never returned to the eastern states, but re- mained in Oregon until his death.


GAINZA, Gavino (gah-een'tha), Spanish soldier, b. in Biscay about 1760 ; d. in Mexico about 1824. He came to Peru in 1784 as officer of the regiment of Estremadura, and in 1809 was colonel of the regiment of Lima. He became brigadier-general in 1813, and in 1814 became commander-in-chief of the Spanish forces of the South of Chili, against the Independents. One of his officers, Ildefonso Elorreaga, occupied Tacna on 14 March. Instead of marching on Santiago, which road was open to him and undefended, he lost time trying to prevent the juncture of the forces of O'Higgins with Col. Mackeima. He was defeated by the former, and found himself in a perilous position, when the British commodore, Hillyar, offered his mediation, and the treaty of Lircay was finally signed, by which the Chilians recognized Ferdinand VII. and the council of regency during his captivity, under the condition that the Spanish troops should evacuate Chilian territory within thirty days. The viceroy disapproved of this treaty, and ordered the arrest of Gainza, and his transportation to Lima, where he renuiined a prisoner till his case was brought before a court-martial, 27 May, 1816. Sentence was pro- nounced on 14 June, ordering him to be put at lib- erty and to proceed to Spain, to await the disposition of the minister of war. After the promulgation of the constitution of 1820 he was sent as sub-inspec- tor of the army to Guatemala. The Spanish major- ity of the provincial assembly there induced the feeble Captain-General Urrutia to resign, and ap- pointed Gainza in his place in March, 1821. When the news of the declaration of the independence of Mexico by the plan of Iguala, 24 Feb., 1821, arrived, Gainza, convinced that it was impossible to resist public opinion, and trying to save the province for Spain, convoked a meeting of all the authorities and delegates from the municipalities for 15 Sept., 1821. After long debate, the independence from Spain was proclaimed, and Gainza was intrusted temporarily with the supreme command. He afterward favored the annexation of Guatemala to Mexico, and went to that country to live.


GAITHER, Henry, soldier, b. in Montgomery county, Md., in 1751 ; d. in Georgetown, D. C, 22 June,"l811. He was a captain in the Revolutionary army, and took part in nearly every battle of the war. He was commissioned major in the "levies of 1791," and served under Gen. St. Clair against the Miami Indians in November of that year. In 1793 he was appointed lieutenant-colonel of the 3d in- fantry, serving until 1 June, 1802. In the interval he was in command at Fort Adams, the barrier posts on the Mississippi, and Fort Stoddart on the Mobile river. At the end of a long and honorable career in the army. Col. Gaither returned to his native county, where he resided until his death. In professional life he was noted for his strictness as a disciplinarian. — His nephew, Henry Cliew, patriot, b. in Maryland in 1777; d. in Locust Grove, Md., 12 Feb., 1845, represented his county in the legislature for many years, but is chiefly re- membered for his heroic conduct in defence of free- speech during the disgraceful assault by a mob on the office of the " Baltimore Federalist," 26 July, 1812. Mr. Gaither was the eldest of three brothers who aided in repelling the attack, and when, on promise of pi'otection by the authorities, the de- tenders of the office allowed themselves to be made prisoners, he succeeded in escaping, while on the way to the jail, by stepping into the shop of a friend and changing his hat and clothing, which had been spotted by the blood of his brother, Ephraim, who received a flesh-wound in the arm. The latter, who was confined in the jail with his younger brother, William, made his way out as the mob entered the room in which they were confined, mingled with the crowd, and, by stepping backward whenever a vacant place afforded him an opportunity, finally reached the street without being again arrested. William was not so fortunate. After being knocked down and otherwise maltreated by the rioters, he feigned death and was thrown out with others as dead into the prison-yard. They were afterward stabbed in the hands with penknives to test wheth- er or not they were actually dead. William bore the marks of these wounds until his death, and never entirely recovered from nervous shock pro- duced by the horrors of that night. (See Han- son, Alexander C.) — WilHam Lin^an, legisla- tor, son of Henry Chew, b. in Locust Grove, Mont- gomery CO., Md"., 21 Feb., 1813; d. at Berkley Springs, Va., 2 Aug., 1858, was educated at Thorn- ton Hill, Va., and Hagerstown, Md. He was early elected to the legislature, and served sixteen years, a portion of the time in each branch. In 1851 he was chosen president of the senate, and the same year was appointed one of the board of vis- itors to the U. S. military academy. He was also made a director of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad on behalf of the state, and by his watchfulness and energy saved many thousands of dollars to the com- monwealth. He was a presidential elector on the Harrison and Tyler ticket, and also on the Clay ticket, carrying the state for his candidates on both occasions. He became general of militia.


GALBERRY, Thomas, R. C. bishop, b. in Naas, County Kildare, Ireland, in 1833 ; d. in New York city, 10 Oct., 1878. When he was three years old his parents emigrated to the United States and settled in Philadelphia. He was educated at Villanova college, Pa., studied theology, and was ordained priest by Bishop Newmann, 20 Dec, 1856. His first mission was at Lansingburg, N. Y., where he built a Gothic church at an expense of over $33,000, and near it a convent for the Sisters of St. Joseph. He had become a member of the Augustinian order, and on 30 Nov., 1866, was appointed