Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1889, volume 6).djvu/236

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UNDERWOOD
UNDERWOOD

of uniting the literary force of the north to the Free-soil movement by means of a magazine, and after several years of effort was the means of secur- ing the eminent writers that made the fame of the " Atlantic Monthly." He assisted in the man- agement of that magazine for two years, until the firm with which he was connected came to an end. He was then (1859) elected clerk of the superior court in Boston, which post he held for eleven years, when he resigned and entered private busi- ness, chiefly to obtain more leisure for literary work. His studies have been mainly in Eng- lish literature, but his writings cover a wide field. He served for thirteen years in the school board of Boston. In 1885 he was appointed U. S. consul at Glasgow, Scotland. His lectures on "American Men of Letters " and his occasional speeches, such as that before the Glasgow Ayrshire society " On the Memory of Burns," have been much admired. In 1888 the University of Glasgow conferred on him the degree of LL. D. His works include a "Hand-Book of English Literature" (Boston, 1871) ; " Hand - Book of American Literature " (1872); "Cloud Pictures," a series of imaginative stories, chiefly musical (1872) ; " Lord of Himself," a novel of old times in Kentucky (1874) ; " Man Proposes," a novel (1880) ; " The True Story of Exo- dus, an abridgment of the work by Brugsch-Bey (1880) ; and biographical sketches of Longfellow (1882), Lowell (1882), and Whittier (1883). Dr. Underwood is engaged upon an elaborate popular history of English literature.— His second cousin, Lucius Marcus, botanist, b. in New Woodstock, N. Y., 26 Oct., 1853, was graduated at the Syracuse university, N. Y., in 1877, and was professor of botany and geology in Illinois Weslevan university in 1880-3. Since 1883 he has held the chair of botany in Syracuse university. He is engaged in the study of the ferns and hepaticre of North America, and in addition to numerous articles in scientific journals he has published "Systematic Plant Record" (Syracuse, 1881); "Our Native Perns, and how to study Them " (Bloomington, 111., 1881) ; " Our Native Ferns and their Allies " (1882 ; 3d ed., New York, 1888) ; and " Descriptive Cata- logue of North American Hepaticae " (1884). He is now preparing an " Underwood Genealogy."


UNDERWOOD, John Curtiss, jurist, b. in Litchfield, Herkimer co., N. Y., in 1808 ; d. in Washington, D. C, 7 Dec, 1873. He was gradu- ated at Hamilton in 1832, and removed to . Clarke county, Va., where he engaged in farming, and in 1856 was a delegate to the convention that nomi- nated John C. Fremont for president. Being pro- scribed for his political sentiments, and especially for his opposition to slavery, he removed to New York, where he became secretary to a company that was formed to deal in southern lands. In 1861 he was nominated consul at Callao, Peru, but he ac- cepted instead the office of fifth auditor in the treasury department, and while there was ap- pointed judge of the district court of Virginia. Early in the civil war he affirmed the right of the U. S. government to confiscate the enemy's proper- ty, and also maintained the civic rights of colored citizens. In his district Jefferson Davis was in- dicted for treason, and he refused in June, 1866, to admit the prisoner to bail, on the ground that he was in custody of the military authorities. He still presided in May, 1867, when the Confeder- ate leader was released. Judge Underwood was bitterly assailed for his maintenance of the rights of colored citizens and for his zeal in enforcing the Federal laws, and was forced into litigation on account of his decree sanctioning confiscation.


UNDERWOOD, John William Henry, jurist, b. in Elbert county, Ga., 20 Nov., 1816; d. in Rome, Ga., 18 July, 1888. He studied law under his father, Judge William H. Underwood, in Hall county, was admitted to the bar, practised in Hab- ersham county for many years, and removed to Rome, Ga., in 1851. He was elected solicitor-gen- eral for the western circuit in 1843, but resigned in 1846, and was appointed chief justice of the su- preme court of Nebraska by President Buchanan, which post he declined. He was elected to the legislature of Georgia in 1857, was made speaker of the house of representatives, and was then elected to congress, serving from 5 Dec, 1859, till 23 Jan., 1861, when he resigned on the secession of his state. In 1867 he was appointed judge of the Rome circuit by Gov. Charles J. Jenkins, but went out with the reconstruction act in 1868. In 1874 he was reappointed to the same office, and he was re-elected in 1878. He resigned in 1882, to take his place on the tariff commission, to which he was appointed by President Arthur.


UNDERWOOD, Joseph Rogers, senator, b. in Goochland county, Va., 24 Oct., 1791 ; d. near Bowling Green, Ky., 23 Aug., 1876. He is a de- scendant of William Thomas Underwood, who set- tled in Virginia about 1680. His family being in adverse circumstances, he was adopted by his maternal uncle, Edward Rogers, a soldier of the Rev- olution, who had emigrated to Ken- tucky in 1783. Removing to that state in 1803, the boy was educated in various schools and was gradu- ated at Transyl- vania in 1811, af- ter which he stud- ied law in Lex- ington, Ky. He was the first vol- unteer to be at- tached to the reg- iment of Colonel

William Dudley

for co-operation with the northern army on the Canada border, was made a lieutenant, and when the captain of his company was killed in Dudley's defeat, 5 May, 1813, the command devolved upon him. Underwood was wounded, and with the remnant of Dudley's regiment was forced to surrender. After undergoing cruel treatment from the Indians, he was released on parole and returned to his home, He was admitted to the bar in the same year, and settled in Glasgow, Ky., where he was also trustee of the town and county attorney until he removed to Bowling Green in 1823. He served in the legislature in 1816-'19 and again in 1825-'6, was a candidate for lieutenant-governor in 1828, and from that year till 1835 was judge of the court of appeals. Being elected to congress as a Whig, he served from 7 Dec, 1835, till 3 March, 1843, and in 1845 was chosen to represent Warren county in the legislature, serving as speaker of the house. He was elected a U. S. senator as a Whig, and, after serving from 6 Dec, 1847, till 3 March, 1853, again practised his profession. In 1824 and 1844 he was a presidential elector on the Henry Clay ticket, and he was a delegate to the National Democratic convention at Chicago in 1864. — His brother, Warner L., b. in