D[1]
DABLON, Claude, clergyman, b. in Dieppe. France, in 1G28; d. in Canada in 1700. He arrived in New France in 1655, and was at once sent to the Onondagas. In 1661 he accompanied Druilettes on his expedition to Hudson bay. He was next with Marquette on Lake Superior in 1668. after the latter had founded the mission of Sault St. Mary, and was appointed superior of all the missions in 1670. He edited the " Relation " of 1671-'2, and compiled other narratives, which are still in manuscript. He is also the author of a description of Marquette's journey, published in the "Discovery and Exploration of the Mississippi Val- lev." by John Gilmary Shea (New York, 1853).
DABNEY, Charles William, consul, b. in Al-
exandria. Va., I'J Mai'ch, 1794 ; d. in Fayal, Azores,
12 March, 1871. In 1826 he became U. S. consul at
Fayal, and won the affections of the islanders in a
remarkable degree by his efforts for their welfare.
In the famines that visited the island from time to
time during his residence, some of which were very
severe, he furnished the inhabitants with food, assisted them to replant their fields, advised and suggested the culture of new and more varied crops, encouraged the despondent, and restrained the over-sanguine. During the whole of his residence in the island he acted the part of a wise and judicious father to the people, and, wherever he went, their blessings and gratitude were manifested.
DABNEY, Richard, author, b. in Louisa coun-
ty, Va., in 1787 ; d. there in November, 1825. His
name was originally the same as that of the his-
torian D'Aubigne. He applied himself to the ac-
quisition of Latin. Greek, and Italian, acquiring a
remarkable proficiency in those languages, and was
employed as a teacher in a school in Richmond.
At the burning of the theatre in December, 1811,
he sustained severe injuries. In 1812 he published
a volume of " Poems, Original and Translated." of
which an improved edition was printed in Phila-
delphia in 1815, The collection contained spirited
and elegant translations from Euripides, Alcisus,
Sappho, Martial, Seneca, and Petrarch. The sec-
ond edition was published by Matthew Carey, who
employed Dabney for a few years. Carey's po] itical
tract, called the " Olive Branch, or Faults on Both
Sides," is supposed to have been in great part
written by Dabney. In a few years he returned to
Virginia and taught a class of boys. The painful
injuries received at a fire, together with the use of
opium, taken to allay his sufferings, and indulgence
in intoxicating drinks, caused his early death. —
His nephew, Robert Lewis, clergyman, b. in
Louisa county, Va., 5 March, 1820. He studied at
Hampden Sidney college, and was graduated at the
University of Virginia in 1842. After teaching for
two years, he studied at the Union theological
seminary in Virginia, was licensed to preach in
1846, ordained by the Lexington presbytery in
July, 1847, and became pastor of Tinkling Spring
church in Augusta county, Va., where he remained
fornix years. In 1853 he accepted the professor-
ship of church history in Union seminary, Virginia,
and remained until 1883, except during the civil
war, when he was actively engaged in the Confed-
erate service as chaplain of the 18th Virginia regi-
ment, and afterward as chief of staff to Gen. T.
J. Jackson. In 1883 he was elected to the chair of
moral philosophy in the University of Texas. The
degree of D. D. was conferred on him by Hampden
Sidney college in 1853, and that of LL. D. by the
Southwestern Presbyterian university, Tenn.. in
1877, and simultaneously by Hampden Sidney col-
lege. Besides being a voluminous contributor to
periodical literature. Dr. Dabney has published
" Life of Rev. Dr. F. S. Sampson " (Richmond,
1854) ; " Life of Gen. T. J. (Stonewall) Jackson "
(London. 1864); "Sacred Rhetoric" (Richmond,
1866) ; " Defence of Virginia and the South " (New
York. 1868) ; " Sensualistic Philosophy of the Nine-
teenth Century Considered " (1876) ; " A Course of
Systematic and Polemic Theology " (St. Louis,
1878) ; and " The Christian Sabbath '"' (Philadelphia,
1881).— Charles William, son of Robert Lewis,
chemist, b. in Hampden-Sidney, Va.. 19 June, 1855.
He was graduated at Hampden-Sidney college in
1873, and, after teaching for a year, spent some time
at the University of Virginia, following special stud-
ies, principally scientific. In 1877 he became pro-
fessor of chemistry and mineralogy in Emory and
Henry college, but relinquished this chair at the
end of a year and visited Germany, where in 1880
he received the degree of Ph. D. from the Univer-
sity of Gottingen. In October, 1880, he became
state chemist of North Carolina and director of
the North Carolina agricultural experiment station,
and to these offices was added, in November, 1886.
that of director of the North Carolina weather
service. He has edited numerous technical circu-
lars giving valuable scientific information to farm-
ers, and prepared the annual reports from 1881
till 1886. Dr. Dabney is a member of several sci-
entific societies, and has been secretary of the
American association of official agricultural chem-
ists, editing in that capacity the reports of their
proceedings. He has discovered numerous miner-
als in North Carolina, not previously known in
that state, such as tin and arsenic ores, and he has
published scientific investigations in the " Ameri-
can Chemical Journal."
DABNEY, Virginius, author, b. at Elmington,
Gloucester co., Va., 15 Feb., 1835. He was gradu-
ated at the University of Virginia in 1855, and
practised law. But he had abandoned this profes-
sion for literature when the civil war began in
1861. He became a staff officer in the Confederate
army, and served through the war. He has pub-
lished " The Story of Don Miff, as told by his
Friend, .John Bouche Whacker, a Symphony of
Life " (Philadelphia, 1886). This book reached its
fourth edition in six months.
DABOLL, Nathan, educator, b. about 1750; d.
in Groton, Conn., 9 March, 1818. He was famous
as a teacher, and instructed as many as 1,500 per-
sons in navigation. He published a treatise on
arithmetic, entitled the " Schoolmaster's Assistant "
(New London, 1799), which was for a long time a
standard text-book ; also the " Practical Naviga-
tor." In 1773 he began the annual publication of
the " Connecticut Almanac." — His son, Nathan,
b. in Groton, Conn., in 1782 ; d. there in 1863, was
a member of the Connecticut house of representa-
tives in 1832-'3, of the senate in 1835-'6, and judge
of probate in 1843-'5. He was joint author of
- ↑ In a work like this there is always difflculty in deciding where to place many of the names that begin with De. The general rule is, that if the name retains' its original form, it should be placed under the initial letter of the main word ; but if the particle has coalesced with the main word, it should be found under D. If the reader misses any well-known name here, he should look for it under another letter.
