Page:The Biographical Dictionary of America, vol. 05.djvu/241

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page needs to be proofread.

HENRY


HENSHAW


the University of Wisconsin in 1887, and in 1891 was appointed dean of the College of Agri- culture and professor of agriculture. The insti- tution rapidly grew in importance and the num- ber of students in 1900 was 380, representing eighteen states and Canada, and the teaching force was over twenty in number. He conducted experiments in the manufacture of sugar from amber cane, and the ensiling of fodders, by direc- tion of the Wisconsin legislature, 1881-83; and estal)Hsiied the first short course in agriculture, and also the first dairy school in America, which was enlarged by an appropriation from the legis- lature of Wisconsin. He became a staff corre- spondent of the Breeders' Gazette, Chicago, 111., in 1887. and is the author of Experiments in Amber Cane, and the Ensilage of Fodder (3 vols., publislied by the state, 1882-83); A Hand-Booh of Northern Wisconsin, describing the agricul- tural and horticultural features of northern Wis- consin, prepared by direction of the state legisla- ture and of which the state printed 50,000 copies (1896); Feeds and Feeding, a Hand-Boole for the Student and Stockman (1898); and the chapter on "Cattle Feeding" in the special report on DzV eases of Cattle and Cattle Feeding, published by the agricultural department, Washington, D.C., in 1893. From the experiment station luider his direction, in 1900 there had been issued sixteen annual reports, covei-iiig over 4400 pages, and eighty bulletins, covering over 1600 pages.

HENRY, William Wirt, lawyer and liistorian, was born at Red Hill, Charlotte county, Va., Feb. 14, 1831: son of John and Elvira Bruce (Mc- Clelland) Henry; grandson of Patrick and Doro- thea Spotswood (Dan bridge) Henry, and of Thomas Stanhope and Margaret (Cabell) Mc- Clelland; great-grandson of Col, William Cabell (q.v.), and great-- grandson of Gov. Al- exander Spotswood. He entered the Uni- versity of Virginia in 1847 and was gradu- ated with the degree of A.M. in 1850. He was admitted to the bar of Charlotte coun- ty, Va., in 1853 and was for sevei'al years commonwealth's at- torney for the county. In 1854 he was mar- ried to Lucy Gray, daughter of Col. James Pulliam and Elizabeth Edmunds (Wat- kins) Marshall. He was opposed to secession, but when Virginia seceded in 1861 he joined her fortunes and enlisted in an artillery com-


^UJ^ li/ivTy^^-^^yf^yty


pany serving in North Carolina and Georgia in the defence of the coast. He left the army when the conscription act took effect, not being liable, but continued to devote himself to duties connected with the service. In 1873 he trans- ferred his law practice to Richmond, Va., often appearing afterward before the supreme court of appeals of the state. He declined the office of chancellor of the city proffered him on the death of Chancellor Fitzhugh and served in the house of delegates of Virginia, 1877-78, and in the state senate, 1879-80. He succeeded A. H. H. Stuart as president of the Virginia Historical society and as a trustee of the Peabody Education Fund, and served a term as president of the American Historical association. He delivered the oration in Philadelphia at the centennial of the mo- tion for the Declaration of Independence; was commissioner from Virginia at the centennial of the formation of the constitution, and delivered the oration at the centennial of the laying of the corner-stone of the capitol at Washington, D.C., Sept. 18, 1893. In 1898 he attended as a repre- sentative of the American Historical association and other historical societies, the International Congress of History, which assembled at the Hague in honor of the coronation of the young Queen of Holland. He received the honorary degree of LL.D. from Washington and Lee uni- versity and was made honorary member of numerous historical societies. He is the author of Reply to Attack of Tlwmas Jefferson on Pat- rick Henry; Rescue of Captain Smith by Poca- hontas; Patrick Henry, the Earliest Advocate of Independence; The First Legislative Body in America; The Trial of Aaron Burr for Treason; Tlie Westminster Assembly of Divines; The Life, Correspondence and Speeches of Patrick Henry (o vols., 1891-92), and of numerous magazine articles. He died in Kichmoiul, Va., Dec. 5, 1900.

HENSHAW, David, cabinet officer, was born in Leicester, Mass., April 3, 1791; son of David and Mary (Sargent) Henshaw; grandson of Daniel and Elizabeth (Bass) Henshaw; great-grand- son of Joshua and Mar}^ (Hay) W^ebster Hen- shaw, and great^-graTidson of Joshua Henshaw, who came from England to New England with his brother, Daniel, and married Elizabeth Sum- ner, of Dorchester. David Henshaw was en- gaged in the drug business in Boston, Mass., as apprentice and proprietor, 1807-29. He was a Democrat, an advocate of free trade, and a polit- ical writer of note. He was a state senator, 1837-39; collector of the port of Boston, 1829-37, and state representative, 1839. President Tyler, on July 24, 1843, appointed him to his cabinet as secretary of the navy and he served until the appointment of his successor on Feb. 15, 1844. The U.S. senate refused to confirm the appoint