Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 2).djvu/310

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EAKIN
EARLE

raanded the frigate " Santee," of the Gulf blockad- ing squadron, and during his service a boat-expedi- tion from that vessel captured and destroyed the privateer " Royal Yacht," in the harbor of Galves- ton, Texas. He was promoted commodore in 1862, and on 1 Jan., 1868, was placed on the retired list. In 1864 and 1865 he was engaged as prize com- missioner,' and in that year became light-house inspector, which office he held for one year.


EAKIN, Samuel, clergyman, b. about 1742 ; d. in 1784. He was graduated at Princeton in 1763, and ordained by the Second presbytery of Phila- delphia in 1770. From 1773 till 1777 he had charge of Penn's Neck Presbyterian church in West Jersey ; but, as most of the parishioners were tories, he was obliged to withdraw on account of his zeal for American liberty. He was the idol of the soldiers, and whenever there was a military drill, or an order for a march, he was present, and by his fervor excited the patriotism of the troops to the highest degree. It is said that he never en- tered the pulpit without imploring the Lord "to teach our people how to fight, and give them fresh courage and perseverance to overcome their enemies." He was said to be the most eloquent preacher, after Whitefield, that had ever been in this country.


EAKINS, Thomas, artist, b. in Philadelphia, 25 July, 1844. He was graduated at the high school of Philadelphia, and went to Paris, where he received his art education at L'Ecole des beaux arts under Gérôme. He also studied in the atelier of Bonnat, and with the sculptor Dumont. After returning to Philadelphia, he was appointed demonstrator of anatomy, and afterward professor of painting and director of the Pennsylvania academy of fine arts. For several years he was teacher in the Brooklyn art guild, and lecturer on anatomy and perspective in the art student's league of New York. He is now professor in the art student's league of Philadelphia. He has painted many small pictures of domestic life in the early days of America, of American sporting and athletic games, studies of the American negroes, etc., which have been exhibited in the Paris salons, the National academy, New York, the Water-color society, American art association, and elsewhere. Among his noted pictures are “Dr. Gross in his Clinic”; “William Rush carving an Allegorical Figure”; “A Lady Singing”; “The Chess-Players”; “Mending the Net”; “The Writing-Master”; and “The Zither-Player.” He sent “The Chess-Players,” several portraits in oil, and the water-colors “Whistling for Plover” and “Base-Ball” to the Centennial exhibition in 1876.


EAMES, Charles, lawyer, b. in New Braintree, Mass., 20 March, 1812 ; d. in Washington, D. C, 16 March, 1867. He was prepared for college at Leicester academy, was graduated at Harvard in 1831, and studied law in tlie Cambridge law-school, and with John Duer in New York. But ill health prevented him from practising his profession, and in 1845 he accepted an office in the navy de- partment in Washington. A few months later he became associate editor of the Washington " Union," and was appointed by President Polk to be commissioner to the Sandwich islands to nego- tiate a treaty. In 1850 he returned and edited the Nashville " Union " for six months, after which he again held charge of the Washington " Union." After several years of journalism he was appointed minister to Venezuela by President Pierce, and re- mained there until 1857, when he resigned and re- turned to Washington, where he practised his profession until his death. During the last five years of his life he attained a high reputation as an admiralty lawyer and for his knowledge of interna- tional law. He was a fine linguist and scholar, and possessed remarkable conversational power.


EAMES. Jane Anthony, author, b. in Welling- ton (now Dighton), Mass.. 21 Jan., 1816; d. in Boston, Mass., 8 July, 1894. She was gradu- ated at the young ladies' high school in Provi- dence, R. I. In 1839 she married the Rev. James H. Fames, who was for many years rector of the Protestant Episcopal church in Concord, N. H., and died in 1877. She has travelled extensively in Europe and the cast, and has published " A Budget of Letters " (Boston, 1847) ; " My Mother's Jewel " (New York. 1850) ; " The Christmas Gift " (1851); "Sarah Barry" (1852); "Home" (1853); " Another Budget " (Boston, 1854), and " The Budget Closed " (1864) ; and has compiled memo- rials of her father, Hezekiah Anthonv (1885), and of the Rev. Dr. Fames (1878).


EARLE, Parker, horticulturist, b. in Mt. Hol- ly, Vt.. in 1831. He is one of the largest practi- cal horticulturists in the country. He was chief of the horticultural department of the International exposition at New Orleans in 1885, has been presi- dent of the Illinois state horticultural society, and is now president of the Mississippi valley and the American horticultural societies. He has contrib- uted frequently to the columns of standard agri- cultural periodicals.


EARLE, Pliny, inventor, b. in Leicester, Mass., 17 Dec, 1762 ; d. there, 19 Nov., 1832. He was a descendant of Ralph Earle. who, with nineteen others, successfully petitioned Charles I., in 1638. for a charter to form themselves into a body-politic of Rhode Island. In 1785 he became connected with Edmund Snow in the manufacture of hand-cards for carding cotton and wool, and in 1786 he established himself in the business. Among the many obstacles encountered by Samuel Slater in the introduction into the United States of the inanufacture of cotton by machinery was the difficulty of procuring card-clothing for his machines. After unsuccessful ap]ilic,itions to several other persons, he went, in 179U, to Mr. Earle, who, although it was a new and untried work, agreed to make the cards! He succeeded, but to achieve that success he was obliged to prick the holes for the teeth with two needles fastened in a handle. This led him to the invention of the machine for pricking " twilled " cards, by which the labor of a man for fifteen hours could be performed in as many minutes. This machine was in general use for years, until it was superseded by the machine that both pricks the leather and sets the teeth. He was a member of the Society of Friends, and, apart from his inventive genius, made extensive attainments in science and literature. — His second son, Thomas, lawyer, b. in Leicester, Mass., 21 April, 1796; d. in Philadelphia, Pa., 14 July, 1849, was educated at Leicester academy. In 1817 he removed to Philadelphia, where he engaged in mercantile pursuits for a few years, but subsequently studied law and practised his profession. He became distinguished also as a journalist, editing in succession the " Columbian Observer," " Standard," " Pennsylvanian," and " Mechanics' Free Press and Reform Advocate." In 1837 he took an active part in calling the Constitutional convention of Pennsylvania, of which he was a prominent member, and it is supposed that he made the original draft of the new constitution. He lost his popularity with the Democratic party by advocating the extension of the right of suffrage to negroes. He was the candidate of the