for him the appointment of chaplain to congress. At the close of the session of that body he visited Baltimore, where his fervid oratory made a great sensation. He was first president of Madison college, Uniontown, Pa., in 1827-'8, and from 1829 till 1831 was agent of the colonization society. From that time until 1841 he was professor of moral science and belles-lettres at Augusta college, Ky. He became president of Transylvania university, Kentucky, in 1842, having previously declined the presidency of two other colleges. Dr. Bascom was a member of the general conference of 1844, which suspended Bishop Andrew because he refused to manumit his slaves; and the protest of the southern members against the action of the majority was drawn up by him. In 1845 he was a member of the Louisville convention, which organized the Methodist Church South, and was the author of its report; and he was chairman of the commission appointed to settle the differences between the two branches of the church. In 1846 he became editor of the "Southern Methodist Quarterly Review," and in 1849 he was chosen bishop, being ordained in May, 1850, only a few months before his death. Dr. Bascom was a powerful speiiker, but was fond of strong epithets and rather extravagant metaphors. He was the author of " Sermons from the Pulpit," "Lectures on Infidelity," "Lectures on Moral and Mental Science," and "Methodism and Slavery." A posthumous edition of his works was edited by Rev. T. N. Ralston (Nashville, Tenn., 1850 and 1856). See "Life of Bishop Bascom," by Rev. Dr. M. M. Henkle (Nashville, 1854).
BASCOM, John, educator, b. in Genoa, N. Y., 1 May, 1827. He was graduated at Williams in 1849, and at Andover theological seminary in
1855. He was a tutor in Williams college from
1852 to 1853, and from 1855 to 1874 held the professorship of rhetoric there, also acting as pastor
of the church at North Pownal, Vt., fro in 1856 to
1864. In 1874 he became president of the university of Wisconsin, holding also the professorship of mental and moral philosophy, and on 23 June, 1886, handed in his resignation, to take effect
at the end of the college year in 1887. Dr. Bascom
has contributed much to periodical literature, and
is also a powerful pulpit orator. He has published the following works: "Political Economy" (New York, 1859); "Æsthetics " (1862); "Philosophy of Rhetoric" (1865); "Principles of Psychology" (1869) ; "Science, Philosophy, and Religion" (1871); "Philosophy and English Literature" (1874); "A Philosophy of Religion " (1876); "Comparative Psychology" (1878); "Ethics" (1879); "Natural Theology" (1880); "Science of Mind"
(1881); "The Words of Christ" (1884); "Problems in Philosophy " (1885).
BASHFORD, Coles, governor of Wisconsin, b. near Cold Spring, Putnam co., N. Y., 24 Jan., 1816; d. 25 April, 1878. He was educated at the
Wesleyan seminary (now Genesee college), Lima,
N. Y., studied law, and was admitted to the bar in
1841. He was elected district attorney for Wayne
co. in 1847, and in 1850 resigned and removed to
Algonia, now a part of Oshkosh, Wis. lie was a
member of the whig state convention in 1851, and
in 1852 was chosen for the state senate, from which
he resigned in 1855. He was the first republican
governor of the state, serving from 1855 to 1857,
and declining a renomination. He practised law in Oshkosh till 1863, when he removed to Tucson, Arizona. He was attorney-general of the territory from 1864 till 1867, was president of the first territorial convention, and in 1866 was elected delegate to congress, serving from March, 1867, to March, 1869. He was appointed secretary of the
territory in 1869, and served till 1876, when he re-
signed, and resumed the practice of his profession.
BASS, Edward, P. E. bishop, b. in Dorchester, Mass., 23 Nov., 1726; d. in Newburyport, 10 Sept.,
1803. Pie was graduated at Harvard in 1744, for
some years was engaged in teaching, and received
a license to preach among the Congregationalists,
but in 1752 applied for orders in the Episcopal
church. He went to England, and was ordained
both deacon and priest by Dr. Sherlock, bishop of
London. This was in May, 1752, and, on his return home, he became rector of St. Paul's church, Newburyport, which place he retained during his life. When the revolution began, Mr. Bass yielded to the current patriotic sentiment, gave up praying for the royal family, and in consequence lost the stipend heretofore received from the society for propagating the gospel in foreign parts. With such help as he could obtain, he continued the
services of the church until the war was over; but,
when he applied for arrearages of stipend to the
society, his application was refused. This led to
his publishing a pamphlet in self-defence (London,
1786). The degree of D. D. was conferred upon him by the university of Pennsylvania in 1789. The Episcopal church having been organized in Massachusetts, a convention of clerical and lay deputies was held in Boston in 1796, and Dr. Bass was unanimously chosen to become bishop. He was consecrated in Philadelphia, 7 May, 1797. His jurisdiction was, by request, extended over the churches in Rhode Island and New Hampshire,
and he continued, in connection with his labors as
a bishop, to perform the duties of a parish priest.
BASSETT, Ebenezer Don Carlos, diplomatist, b. in Litchfield, Conn., in 1833. He was educated at the Connecticut normal school, and served for fourteen years as a teacher in Philadelphia. He
was U. S. minister to Hayti in 1869-77, and since
1879 has been Haytian consul in New York city.
BASSETT, James, missionary, b. near Hamilton, Canada, 31 Jan., 1834. He was graduated at Wabash in 1856, and at Lane theological seminary in 1859. He served as chaplain in the U. S. volunteer army in 1862-'3. From 1863 until 1871
he held pastorates in the Presbyterian churches of Newark and Englewood, N. J., and in 1871 became a missionary for the Presbyterian board. He travelled extensively in Europe, passed many years in Turkey and Persia, and was the first American to settle in Teheran, and the first known to have travelled as far east as the alleged tomb of Ilarounal-Raschid at Mashhad. As a pioneer of missionary work, he gained a wide acquaintance with the manners and customs of central and eastern Persia. He is the author of "Hymns in Persian" (Teheran, 1875 and 1884); "A Grammatical Note on the Simnuni Dialects of the Persian," from the "Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society" (London, 1884); "Among the Turcomans" ("Leisure Hour," London, 1879-'80); "Persia the Land of the Imams" (New York, 1886); and a translation of the gospel according to Matthew into Gaghatti Tartar (London, 1880).
BASSETT, Richard, governor of Delaware, b. in Delaware ; d. in September, 1815. He was a lawyer, and a member of congress under the old confederation in 1787, and was also a member of the convention that framed the federal constitution. From 1789 to 1793 he was a U. S. senator, and was the first member that cast his vote in favor of locating the capital on the Potomac. Chosen presidential elector in 1797, he voted for
