northern states in support of his plan to send anti- slavery settlers into Kansas. Lawrence, Topeka, Manhattan, and Ossawatomie were settled under the auspices of his company. Gov. Charles Robin- son, at the quarter-centennial celebration of Kan- sas, at Topeka, said : " Without these settlements Kansas would have been a slave state without a struggle; without the Aid society these towns would never have existed ; and that society was born of the brain of Eli Thayer." Charles Sum- ner also said that he would rather have the credit that is due to Eli Thayer for his Kansas work than be the hero of the battle of New Orleans. In 1857-61 Mr. Thayer sat in congress as a Republi- can, serving on the committee on militia, and as chairman of the committee on public lands. In 1860 he was a delegate for Oregon to the National Republican convention at Chicago and labored for the nomination of Lincoln. He has patented many inventions, which cover a wide field. Among these are a hydraulic elevator in use in this country and in Europe, a sectional safety steam boiler, and an automatic boiler-cleaner, or sediment-extractor. He has published a volume of congressional speeches (Boston, 1860) ; several lectures (Worces- ter, 1886); and is now writing a history of the Emigrant aid company that he organized and its influence on our national history.
THAYER, Elihu, clergyman, b. in Braintree,
Mass., 29 March, 1747; d. "in Kingston, N. H., 3
April, 1812. He was graduated at Princeton in
1769, and after a private theological course was
settled in 1776 over a Congregational church in
Kingston, N. H., where he continued until his
death. At the organization of the New Hampshire
missionary society he was elected its president,
holding office till 1811. The degree of D. D. was
conferred upon him in 1807 by Dartmouth. He
Eublished a sermon at the funeral of Gov. Josiah
iartlett (1795), and a "Summary of Christian
Doctrines and Duties," by request of the New
Hampshire missionary society. A volume of his
sermons was published in 1813.
THAYER, Eugene, musician, b. in Mendon,
Mass., 1 1 Dec, 1838. He began the study of the
organ at the age of fourteen, and, settling in Bos-
ton, soon gained a reputation as an excellent
organist. In 1865-'6 he studied in Europe under
Carl Haupt and others. While in Boston he edited
the " Organist's Journal " and the •' Choir Journal,"
and was director of the Boston choral union, the
New England church-music association, and other
societies. He has given organ recitals in the United
States and Europe. Since 1881 he has resided in
New York, following his profession as an organist
and teacher. The degree of Mus. Doc. was con-
ferred on him by Wooster university, Ohio, in 1883.
THAYER, John, clergyman, b. in Boston,
Mass., about 1755 ; d. in Limerick, Ireland, 5 Feb.,
1815. He was the minister of a Protestant church
in Boston, when, in 1781, he went to Europe, where,
after visiting France, England, and Italy- he
united with the Roman Catholic church in 1783.
He studied for the priesthood in Paris, was or-
dained in 1784, and returned to Boston, where he
held weekly conferences on the doctrines of the
Roman Catholic church, attracting crowds by his
learning and eloquence. He was sent to Kentucky
in 1799, and remained there till 1803, when he went
to England and engaged in missionary work for
about a year. He spent the last years of his life in
Limerick. Ireland, and devoted his time aud fortune
to the welfare of the poor. His works are " Con-
troversy between the Rev. John Thayer, Catholic
Missionary of Boston, and the Rev. George Leslie,
Pastor of a Church in Washington, N. H." (Bos-
ton. 1793), and "An Account of the Conversion
of the Rev. Mr. John Thayer, lately a Protestant
Minister at Boston in North America, who em-
braced the Roman Catholic Religion at Rome, on
the 25th of May, 1783, written by Himself " (5th
ed., reprinted from the London edition, Baltimore,
1788; French translation, Paris 1788; Spanish
translation, from the French, Valencia, 1788). It
was also translated into Italian. The work pro-
voked several replies and rejoinders.
THAYER, John Milton, governor of Nebraska,
b. in Bellingham, Mass., 24 Jan., 1820. After his
graduation at Brown in 1841 he studied and prac-
tised law, and in 1854 removed to Nebraska, where
he was a member in 1860 of the territorial legisla-
ture, and in 1866 of the Constitutional convention.
Previous to his civil appointments he had been
made brigadier-general of militia, and organized
and commanded several expeditions against the
Indians. In the civil war, as colonel of the 1st
regiment of Nebraska infantry, he led a brigade at
Donelson and Shiloh, and was made brigadier-gen-
eral of volunteers, 4 Oct., 1862. His appointment
expired on 4 March, 1863, but he was reappointed
on 13 March. He commanded a brigade and divis-
ion at Vicksburg and Jackson, and led a storm-
ing column at Chickasaw bayou, for which and
for his services at Vicksburg he was brevetted ma-
jor-general of volunteers, 13 March, 1865. He re-
signed, 19 July, 1865, and, returning to Nebraska,
he served as U. S. senator in 1867-'71, having been
chosen as a Republican, and was then appointed
by Gen. Grant governor of Wyoming territory.
In 1886 he was elected governor of Nebraska by a
majority of about 25,000, which office he still holds
(1888). He was department commander of the
Grand army of the republic in the state of Nebras-
ka in 1886.
THAYER, Joseph Henry, biblical scholar, b. in Boston, Mass., 7 Nov., 1828. He was graduated at Harvard in 1850, and at Andover theological seminary in 1857, and was pastor of a church in Salem, Mass., from 1859 till 1864. when he was appointed professor of sacred literature in Andover theological seminary. He resigned in 1882, and since 1884 has been professor of criticism and interpretation of the New Testament in the divinity-school of Harvard. In the mean time he was chaplain to the 40th Massachusetts regiment in 1862-'3, secretary of the New Testament company of the American revision committee, and a member of the corporation of Harvard in 1877-'84 The degree of D. D. was conferred on him by Yale in 1873 and by Harvard in 1884. He has published occasional sermons and reviews, and contributed to the American edition of Smith's " Bible Dictionary." His works include "A Grammar of the Idiom of the New Testament," a translation of Lunemann's enlarged and improved edition of Winer's well-known work (Andover, 1869) ; a translation, with additions, of Alexander Buttmann's " Grammar of the New Testament Greek " (1873) ; and " A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, being Grimm's Wilke's ' Clavis Novi Testamenti,' translated, revised, and enlarged" (New York and Edinburgh, 1886). He has edited "Notes on Scrivener's Plain Introduction to the Criticism of the New Testament," by Prof. Ezra Abbot (Boston, 1885). and has carried through the press a new edition of Prof. Evangelinus A. Sophocles's "Greek Lexicon of the Roman and Byzantine Periods" (New York, 1887) and a volume of " Critical Essays," selected from the published writings of Prof. Ezra Abbot (Boston, 1888).
