PFEIFFER, Ludwig Georg, German physician, b. in Cassel, 4 July, 1805; d. there, 2 Oct., 1877. He received his education in Cassel, and became professor of pathology there in 1828. He served as surgeon-major in Cracow during the Polish rebellion of 1831, travelled afterward through Europe for the interest of science, and was given in 1839 by the Bavarian government a mission to study the natural history of the West Indies. He remained for more than two years in Cuba, then visited most of the West India islands, and on his return to Europe published “Monographia Heliceorum viventium” (4 vols., Leipsic, 1847-'8; supplement, 1853); “Symbola ad historiam heliceorum” (3 vols., Cassel, 1851-'6); and other works.
PHELAN, John Dennis, jurist, b. in New
Brunswick, N. J., 23 March, 1809; d. in Birmingham,
Ala., 9 Sept., 1879. He removed with his
parents to Huntsville, Ala., in 1818, was graduated
at the University of Nashville in 1828, studied
law in Virginia, and was admitted to the bar
of that state, but returned to Alabama in 1830.
He became editor of the Huntsville “Democrat,”
was in the legislature in 1833-'5, attorney-general
of the state in 1836, speaker of the house in 1839,
and a judge of the circuit court in 1841-'51. He
was then elevated to the supreme bench, held office
for two years, and again in 1863-'5. In the interval
he was clerk to that body, and subsequently in
1865-'8. He became professor of law in the
University of the south in 1869, holding the chair till
his death. — His brother, James, jurist, b. in Huntsville,
Ala., 11 Oct., 1821; d. in Memphis, Tenn.,
17 May, 1873, was apprenticed as a printer to the
“Democrat” at fourteen years of age, subsequently
edited the “Flag of the Union,” a Democratic
organ, and became state printer in 1843. He was
admitted to the bar in 1846, removed to Mississippi
in 1849, and settled in Aberdeen, where he soon
established a large practice. He was elected to the
state senate in 1860, and on the organization of the
Confederate congress was chosen senator, and was
an active member of that body. In 1863 he introduced
what was called the “Crucial bill of the
Confederacy,” which was a proposition to impress
all the cotton in the south, paying for it in
Confederate bonds, and using it as a basis for a foreign
loan. The bill passed the house, but was defeated
in the senate, and created so much indignation
among the planters that Mr. Phelan was burned in
effigy, and defeated in the next canvass. He then
served as judge-advocate till the end of the war,
when he settled in Memphis, and practised law in
that city until his death. — James's son, James,
congressman, b. in Aberdeen, Miss., 7 Dec., 1856; d.
in Nassau, Bahama Islands, 30 Jan., 1891, in 1874
went abroad, studied in the University of Leipsic,
and received the degree of Ph. D. there. He
returned to the United States in 1878, began the practice
of law in Memphis, and in 1886 was elected to
congress and re-elected in 1888. In 1884 he became
proprietor of the “Memphis Avalanche.” He was
the author of “Philip Massinger and his Plays”
(Leipsic, 1878) and “History of Tennessee, the
Making of a State” (Boston, 1888).
PHELAN, Michael, billiard-player, b. in County
Kilkenny, Ireland, in 1816; d. in New York city.
21 Oct., 1871. He came to this country at an early
age, apprenticed himself to a silversmith and jeweler, and during his leisure hours played billiards
until he became an expert. In 1851 he gave exhibitions in Ireland for the benefit of the suffering
poor. On his return he opened rooms on Broadway, New York city, subsequently removed to San
Francisco, Cal., and, after a series of unfortunate
speculations, re-established himself in New York
and became a manufacturer of billiard-tables with
Hugh W. CoUender. The game was introduced
into private houses through improved applications
of his manufacture. He took an active part in
many billiard contests, and was uniformly successful. His death was the result of injuries that he
received in attempting to rescue his grandson from drowning. He published " Rules for the Government of the Game of Billiards " (New York, 1850).
PHELAN, Richard, R. C. bishop, b. near Bally-
raggett. County Kilkenny, Ireland, 1 Jan., 1825.
He was educated by private tutors, and in the College of St. Kyran, Kilkenny. In 1850 he accompanied Bishop Michael O'Connor to the United
States, and entered St. Mary's theological seminary,
Baltimore. He was ordained priest in Pittsburg
on 4 May, 1854, and sent to Indiana county, where
he remained until he was summoned to Pittsburg.
He remained for three years attached to the cathedral of this city, and was then appointed pastor of
Freeport. In 1868 he became pastor of St. Peter's
church, Alleghany. He built a new church at a
cost of more than $150,000, and also completed the
schools that his predecessor had begun. During
the absence of Bishop Twigg in 1881 he was appointed administrator of the dioceses of Pittsburg
and Alleghany, and he was subsequently made
vicar-general. In 1885 he was nominated coadjutor
to the two sees, with right of succession, and on 3
Aug. was consecrated bishop of Cebeyra inpartibns.
He resides in Alleghany, and, owing to the feeble
health of Bishop Twigg, practically administers
the affairs of the two dioceses.
PHELPS, Abner, physician, b. in Belchertown,
Mass., 5 Sept., 1779 ; d. in Boston, Mass., 24 Feb.,
1873. He was graduated at Williams in 1806, and
at the medical departments of Brown in 1813 and
Yale in 1814. After practising for several years in
Reading, Mass., he removed to Boston in 1816.
While in college he read an account of the railways
in the quarries in Wales that led him to believe
that such roads were practicable for common
travel. As early as 1808 he endeavored to bring a
proposition before the legislature for building a railroad between Boston and Albany, but the suggestion was not acted upon, and in 1826, while he
was a member of the house, he made the first motion of that character that was offered before a
legislative body in the United States. Having
prepared an able report, he secured the appointment of commissioners, and the undertaking of
surveys, and much of the construction was done
under his personal supervision and at his expense.
He published " The Crucifixion of Christ, anatomically Considered" (Boston, 1853).
PHELPS, Almira Hart Lincoln, educator, b. in Berlin, Conn.. 15 July, 1793: d. in Baltimore, Md., 15 July, 1884. She was the daughter of Samuel Hart, and was a lineal descendant of Thomas Hooker, the founder of Hartford, Conn. She was educated by her sister, Mrs. Emma Willard (g. v.), taught in her father's house at nineteen years of age, and subsequently was in charge of the Sandy Hill, N. Y., female academy. She married in 1817 Samuel Lincoln, of Hartford, who died in 1823, and she soon afterward became associated with Mrs. Willard in the Female seminary in Troy, N. Y. In 1831 she married Judge John Phelps, of Vermont. She took charge of a seminary in West Chester, Pa., in 1838, and afterward taught in Rahway, N. J. In 1841, on the invitation of the bishop of Maryland, she became associated with her husband in the charge of the Patapsco institute, a diocesan female school, which soon attained
