COPLEY
COPLEY
ency of his father's engine and boiler manu-
factory in Hartford, Conn. He became an
efficient designer of engines and steamers, and in
1836 was designing and constructing engineer of
the West Point foundry, N.Y. He built the
first iron hull ever made in the United States
and his skill won him the appointment of con-
structing engineer, U.S.N. , in 1839. The .steam-
ers comprising the " Mosquito fleet, used in the
Mexican war, were built by him. Subsequently
he resigned his position in the navj" and became
superintending engineer of the Allaire works,
N.Y. city. While there he designed steamers
for the Pacific lines and for Long Island Sound,
and also the Harriet Lane, used in the U.S. reve-
nue service. He rendered practical service to
the navy during the civil war, 1861-65, and sub-
sequently became consulting and superintending
engineer to the U.S. lighthouse board and to
the Norwich & New York transportation com-
pany. He died in Brooklyn, N.Y., Feb. 5, 1895.
COPLEY, John Singleton, painter, was born
in Boston. Mass., July 3, 1737; son of Richard and
Mary (Singleton) Cojiley; and grandson of John
and Jane (Bruffe) Singleton. His parents emi-
grated from County Limerick, Ireland, and
settled in Boston, Mass., in 1736, and his father
died in the West Indies in 1737. His mother
was married May 22, 1747, to Peter Pelham of
Boston, and one son, Henry, was born of this
union. The half brothers were both devoted to art, Henry Pelham be- ing both a portrait painter and an en- graver in Boston in 1774. He prepared a map of Boston and one of County Clare, Ireland, and contributed to the Royal academy min- iature portraits and sketches. John Singleton Copley was without teacher or models and was obliged to manufacture his own colors. He made the statement that he never saw a good picture till after he left America. His persevering industry alone made him a great painter, his genius first showing itself on the walls of his room and on the white margins of his school books. His stepfather died in 1751 and the two sons devoted themselves to the care of their aged mother, residing in Lindel Row, near the upper end of King street. In 1755 he painted from life a miniature of Col. George Washington, and in 1760 he seat " The Boy and the Tame Squirrel "
anonymously to Benjamin West, then in Eng-
land, with the request that it be placed in the
exhibition rooms. Upon receiving the picture
West exclaimed, "It is worthy of Titian him-
self ! " Through West's influence it was exhib-
ited at Somerset House. The American pine of
which the stretcher was made disclosed its origin,
and the identity of the artist was soon discovered.
Upon the nomination of West he was elected a
fellow of the Society of artists of Great Britain,
and he was invited to make England his home.
He was married Nov. 16, 1769, to Susannah
Farnum, daughter of Richard and Elizabeth
(Winslow) Clarke. Her father was agent in Bos-
ton for the East India company, to whom the tea
thrown overboard in Boston harbor by the
patriots before the Revolution, was consigned.
Her mother was a lineal descendant from Mary
Chilton of the Jlayfloicer, 1620, who married John
Winslow, brother of the first governor of the
colony. Her familiar lineanaents were copied
in Copley's works, notably in "The Nativity";
"The Family Pictvire"; "Venus and Cupid,"
and the " Death of Major Pierson." They lived
on Beacon Hill in a solitary house, picturesquely
located in the midst of eleven acres of land, and
in his studio in this house his best portraits were
painted. He visited New York in 1771 and in
June, 1774, he embarked for England further to
pursue his art. He reached London July 11, 1774 ;
was shown the art treasures of that city by Ben-
jamin West and received a visit from Sir Joshua
Reynolds and from Mr. Strange, the engraver.
He painted the portraits of Lord and Lady North,
visited Italy, and on his return painted portraits
of the king and queen. On May 27, 1775, Mrs.
Copley with her family embarked at Marblehead
for England, where she arrived several weeks
before the return of her husband from Italy, she
reaching Dover June 24, 1775. London hence-
forth became their home and Mr. Copley was
made a member of the Royal academy. He had
his painting, " The Death of the Earl of Chat-
ham," engraved and he sent copies to President
Washington, to John Adams and to Harvard col-
lege. In acknowledgment Washington wrote,
" The work is. rendered more estimable in my eye
when I remember that America gave birth to the
celebrated artist who produced it " ; John Adams
wrote, " I shall preserve (it) with great care,
both as a token of your friendship and as a fin-
ished monument of ' The Fine Arts ' from one
of the greatest masters, and as an indubitable
proof of American genius " ; and from Harvard
he received a vote of thanks. Harvard univer-
sity possesses Copley's portraits of John Adams,
Thomas Hubbard, Madam and Nicholas W.
Boylston, President Holyoke and Thomas HoUis;
the engraving from " Chatham," and a series of
