Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1889, volume 6).djvu/496

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WHISTLER
WH1TAKER

land. In 1837 he removed to Stonington, Conn., to take charge of the Stonington railroad, and from 1840 till 1842 he was chief engineer of the Boston and Albany railroad, with his headquarters at Springfield, Mass. In 1842 he went to Russia to act as engineer for the contemplated railroad to unite St. Petersburg and Moscow. Not only was the road to be built, but the iron for the track, the locomotives, cars, and everything appertaining to the road were to be manufactured under his super- vision. In addition to the construction of railroads, he was also employed to build extensive dock-yards at St. Petersburg, and to improve the Russian har- bors and rivers. In 1847, in recognition of his ser- vices, the Emperor Nicholas conferred upon Lieut. Whistler the decoration of the Order of St. Anne. He is buried at Stonington, Conn., but a monument was erected to his memory in Greenwood cemetery by American engineers. — George Washington's son, George William, engineer, b. in New London, Conn , in 1822 ; d. in Brighton, England, 24 Dec, 1869, began the practice of his profession as a civil engineer under nis father in 1840. He was con- nected with various railroads in this country, and was superintendent of the Erie, and New York and New Haven railroads. In the winter of 1856 he went to Russia to take charge of the St. Petersburg and Moscow railroad under the Winans contract, and he continued there, with the exception of a short interval, till the spring of 1869, when he re- signed in consequence of impaired health. He was specially noted for his knowledge of railway ma- chinery and for executive ability in the manage- ment of railways. — Another son, James Abbott McNeill, artist, b. in Lowell, Mass., in 1834, was educated at the U. S. military academy, studied for two years under Charles Gabriel Gleyre in Paris, and in 1863 settled in Lon- don. He holds pecu- liar theories on art, which have been the subject of much criti- cism. In many of his later works especially he has made interest- ing experiments in color, and he frequent- ly succeeds in pro- ducing extraordinary results with few and subdued colors. There is at times, however,

a sacrifice of form to

color impressions in his " arrangements " and " noc- turnes." His more important paintings are " White Girl " (1862) ; " Coast of Brittany," " Last of Old Westminster," and " Westminster Bridge " (1863) ; u Princesse des Pays de la Porcelaine " (1865) ; " At the Piano " (1867) ; " Portrait of my Mother " (an "Arrangement in Gray and Black ), and portrait of Thomas Carlyle (1872) ; " Gold Girl." " Nocturne in Blue and Gold," and " Nocturne in Blue and Green" (1878); "Harmony in Gray and Green" <1881); "Nocturne, in Blue and Silver," "Blue Girl," and "Entrance to Southampton Water" (1882); "Great Fire Wheel" (1883); "Harmony in Brown and Black " (1884) ; and " Arrangement in Black " (Lady Archibald Campbell) and " Ar- rangement in Gray and Green " (Miss Alexander), both exhibited at Munich in 1888. His skill in etching has gained for him a position among etch- ers that is even higher than that which he holds as a painter. Among his works in this branch of art are a series of plates on London, Venice, and Brussels. He has published "Ten O'Clock" (Bos- ton, 1888). See an article by William C. Brownell, in "Scribner's Monthly" for August, 1879, and Frederick Wedmore's "Four Masters of Etching" (London, 1883).


WH1TAKER, Alexander, clergyman, b. in Cambridge, England, in 1585 ; d. in Henrico count v, Va., after 1613. His father, Rev. William Whitaker, was master of St. John's college, Cambridge. Alex- ander was graduated at that university, took orders in the Church of England, and for several years was rector of a parish in the north of England. He settled in Henrico county, Va., in 1611, and during the same year built one church, laid the foundations of another, and " impaled a fine par- sonage with a hundred acres of land, calling it Rock Hall." His letters, in which he expresses his great surprise that more of the English clergy did not engage in missionary work, testify also to his usefulness and energy. He baptized Pocahon- tas, and subsequently officiated at her marriage to John Rolfe. (See Powhatan.) Mr. Whitaker published " Good News from Virginia," which was one of the first books that were written in that colony (London, 1613).


WHITAKER, Epher, clergyman, b. in Fair- field, Cumberland co., N. J., 27 "March. 1820. He was graduated at Delaware college in 1847 and at Union theological seminary in 1851, and since that date has been pastor of the 1st Presbyterian church, Southold, Long Island, N. Y. He has been stated clerk of the Long Island presbytery since 1851, moderator of the synod of New York and New Jersey in 1860 and in 1861, has been a councillor of the Long Island historical society since 1862, and is a vice-president of the Suffolk county his- torical society and a founder of Southold academy. He received the degree of A. M. from Yale in 1867, and of D. D. from Delaware college in 1877. Dr. Whitaker has contributed constantly to the maga- zines for fifty years, and his writings in book-form include " New Fruits from an Old Field " (New York, 1865) ; " A Collection of Original Hymns " (printed privately, 1872) ; " History of Southold from 1640 till 1740 " (1881) ; " Old Town Records" (1882) ; and " Bi-Centennial Celebration of Suffolk County, N. Y." (Babylon, L. I., 1883).


WHITAKER, Nathaniel, clergyman, b. on Long Island, N. Y., 22 Feb., 1732 ; d. in Woodbridge, Va., 21 Jan., 1795. He was graduated at Princeton in 1752, and from that year until 1761 was pastor of a Presbyterian church at Chelsea, near Norwich, Conn. He was then deputed by the Connecticut branch of the Scotch society for the advancement of learning to visit England, Scotland, and Wales, to obtain donations for the establishment of an institution for the education and christian ization of the North American Indians. He was accompanied by Rev. Samson Occom. an educated Indian of the Mohegan tribe. The mission met with favor in both Scotland and England, the Earl of Dartmouth, then secretary of American affairs, generously promoting their object by his benefactions. George III., it is said, contributed £400 to the cause. Dr. Whitaker returned with an endowment of £11,000, which was devoted to " Moor's Indian charity-school." (See Whkklock. Eleazar.) After his return from Europe, Dr. Whitaker was pastor in Salem for many years, officiating in what was known as the Tabernacle church, which he built and owned. He was an ardent Whig, zealously supporting the cause of the colonists during the Revolution. He sub-