Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 4).djvu/680

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PALMER
PALMER

). This contains particulars relating to the prices of land and provisions, remarks on the coun- try and the people, an account of the commerce of the principal towns, and a description of a pair of sea-serpents that were said to have been seen off Marblehead and Cape Ann in 1817. Sidney Smith said that Palmer was " a plain man, of good sense and slow judgment."


PALMER, John McCauley, soldier, b. in Eagle Creek, Scott co., Ky., 13 Sept., 1817. He removed to Illinois in 1831, and in 1839 settled in Carlin- ville. He was admitted to the bar in 1840, was a delegate to the State constitutional convention in 1847. a member of the state senate in 1852-'4, a delegate to the National Republican convention at Philadelphia in 1856, a presidential elector on the Republican ticket of 1860, and a delegate to the Peace convention at Washington, 4 Feb., 1861. He was elected colonel of the 14th Illinois volunteers in April. 1861, accompanied Gen. John C. Fre- mont in his expedition to Springfield, Mo., and was commissioned brigadier-general of volunteers on 20 Dec. He was with Gen. John Pope at the cap- ture of New Madrid and Island No. 10, and after- ward commanded the 1st brigade, 1st division of the Army of the Mississippi. In November, 1862, he was with Gen. Grant's army in temporary com- mand of a division. Subsequently he led a division at the battle of Stone River, and for his gallantry there he was promoted to major-general of volun- teers, 29 Nov.. 1863. He led the 14th corps in the Atlanta campaign, from May till September, 1864. He was governor of Illinois from 1869 till 1872 inclusive," and in 1893 he became U. S. senator.


PALMER, Joseph, patriot, b. in Massachusetts in 1718 ; d. in Roxbury, Mass., 25 Dec, 1788. He was a member of the Provincial congress of 1774-'5, and of the committee of safety that was ap- pointed by that body. As colonel of militia he served often in the field near Boston in the defence of the coast, and in 1777. with the rank of briga- dier-general, commanded the Massachusetts militia in the attempt to defend Rhode Island.


PALMER, Joseph, physician, b. in Needham, Mass., 3 Oct., 1796; d. in Boston, Mass., 3 March, 1871. After his graduation at Harvard in 1820 he studied medicine, receiving his degree in 1826, and taught in Roxbury and at the Boston Latin- school. In 1829-'30 he resided in Cuba, and after his return to Boston he became an editor there, and was connected with the "Sentinel and Ga- zette," the " Transcript," and the " Daily Adver- tiser," to which journal he contributed, from 1851 till 1862, biographical sketches of the deceased alumni of Harvard college. This necrology was published in book-form (Boston, 1864). He was also historiographer of the New England historical and genealogical society from 1856 till 1861. PALMER, Minnie," actress, b. in Philadelphia, Pa., 31 March, 1865. Her early years w^ere spent in the Convent of the Sacred Heart, Manhattan- ville, N. Y., but at the age of eight she was taken by her parents to Vienna to study music and Ger- man, and afterward to Paris, where she acquired proficiency in dancing. Her first appearance was made in September, 1876. in Baltimore, in a juve- nile part in a play entitled " Kisses," which she played in several cities. After a visit to Europe she played Dorothy in "Dan'l Druce," which was produced by Lawrence Barrett in New York. The following season she acted Minnie Symperson in " Engaged," Dot in " The Cricket on the Hearth," and Belle in "Risks," and achieved success as Louise in " The Two Orphans." In 1879-'80 she made a tour through the United States, playing " The Boarding School " and " My Sweetheart," in which she was very successful. Miss Palmer first appeared on the IBritish stage in Glasgow, on 4 June, 1883, and in London at the Grand theatre, Islington, on 17 Sept., 1883. On 4 Jan., 1884, she appeared at the Strand with "My Sweetheart," subsequently played on the continent and in Aus- tralia, and now (1888) resides in New York city.


PALMER, Ray, hvmnologist, b. in Little Comp- ton, R. I., 12 Nov., 1808 ; d. in Newark, N. J., 29 March, 1887. He was graduated at Yale in 1830, and engaged for several years in teaching in New York city and New Haven, Conn. He ^--^^v was licensed to preach by the New Haven west association of Congregational min- isters in 1832, ordain- ed in 1835, and settled in Bath, Me., where he officiated fifteen years. In 1850 he removed to Albany, N. Y., serving there nearly sixteen years, and in 1866 he be- came secretary of the Congregational un- ion, holding the oifice twelve years. In 1885

he suffered a stroke

of paralysis, and lived in retirement till the sec- ond and fatal one. Union college gave him the degree of D. D. in 1852. Besides numerous works, pamphlets, and special contributions to religious periodicals, he was the author of "Spiritual Im- provement, or Aid to Growth in Grace " (Boston, 1839 ; republished as " Closet Hours," Albany, 1851); "Remember Me" (Boston, 1855; new ed., New York, 1873) ; " Hints on the Formation of Re- ligious Opinions " (New York, 1860) ; " Hymns and Sacred Pieces" (1865); " Hymns of My Holy Hours " (1866); "Home, or The Unlost Paradise" (1868) ; " Earnest Words on True Success in Life " (1873) ; " Complete Poetical Works " (1876) ; and " Voices of Hope and Gladness " (1880). In the special line of hymnology Dr. Palmer held the first place among American writers. His first hymn that at- tracted attention, entitled " My Faith looks up to Thee," was written in 1831 while he was teaching in New York, but was not published for several years. It has since been translated into more than twenty languages. Next to this, his best-known hvmns are "Fount of Everlasting Love" (1832); "Thou who rolFst the Year Around" (1832); " Away from Earth mv Spirit turns " (1833) ; "Stealing from the World Away" (1834); "Be- fore Thy Throne with TearfiU Eves" (1834); " Wake Thee, Zion ! Thy Mourning is Ended " (1834) ; " When Downward to the Darksome Tomb " (1842) ; " And is There, Lord, a Rest ? " (1843) ; " Sweetly Breathe the Lyres Above ! " (1843) ; " Eter- nal Father, Thou hast "Said " (1860) ; " Jesus, Lamb of God, for Me" (1863); "Take Me, My Father! Take Me" (1864); "Thou Saviour, from Thy Throne on High" (1864); and "Lord, Thou on Earth did'st Love Thine Own " (1864).


PALMER, Phœbe, evangelist, b. in New York city, 18 Dec, 1807 : d. there, 2 Nov., 1874. Her maiden name was Worrell, and in 1827 she married Dr. Walter Clark Palmer, a physician of New York city. She became interested in the Wesleyan doctrine of Christian perfection, and, professing with her husband the experience of " entire sanctifica-