JEFFERSON
JEFFERSON
part in the occupation of California ; to the Con-
gress, of tlie Brazilian .squadron, 18-14-45, and
was an officer of the Vixen, 18-16-48, being present
in all the engagements in the Gulf during the
Avar witii Mexico. He was promoted master,
June, 1854, and lieutenant in 1855 ; was given
command of the Water Witch in 1856, and while
in charge of her he rescued the Spanish steamer
Cartagena, for wiiich service he was i)resented
with a sword by tiie queen. He commanded
the Water Witeli in 1858 when fired upon 1)}- the
fort at Pasode la Patria, Argentina, which caused
the U.S. government to send a fleet of 19 vessels,
with 200 guns and 2500 men under Vice- Admiral
Shubrick, who obtained apologies and pecuniary
indemnity, Feb. 5, 1859. When the civil war
broke out Lieutenant Jeflfers was detailed on
ordnance duty at Norfolk, and he was subse-
quently put in command of the Philadelphia.
He also commanded the Underwriter in the
Burnside exi)edition in 1862, and the Monitor in
its assault on Sewell's Point and Fort Darling,
Maj' 15, 1862. He was promoted lieutenant-com-
mander in July, 1862 ; commander in March,
1865 ; captain in 1870 ; was made chief of the
bui-eau of ordnance in 1873, and promoted com-
modore, Feb. 26, 1878. He introduced a sj^steni
of bi'onze and steel boat howitzers and made im-
provements in the Dahlgren 11-inch guns, con-
verting them into 8-inch rifles, and thereby
doubling their power. He also designed a com-
plete system of breech-loading guns. He pub-
lished : Short Methods in Navigation (1849) ; Theory
and Practice in Naval Gunnery (ISoO) ; Inspection
and Proof of Cannon (1864); Marine Surveying
(1871); Ordnance Instructions for the U.S. Navy.
He died in Washington, D.C., July 23, 1883.
JEFFERSON, Cornelia, actress, was born in Baltimoi-e, Md., Oct. 1, 1835 ; daughter of Joseph and Cornelia Frances (Burke) Jefferson and sister of Joseph Jefferson. She made her first appear- ance at Chanfrau's National theatre. New York city, May 17, 1849, as Little Pickle in T7te Spoiled Child. She acted in Laura Keene's theatre, New York, 1857-58, as Titania in A Midsum- vier Night's Dream. She was married to a Mr. Jackson, and retired from the stage for many years, returning in 1880, and in her brother's company successfully rendered Tilly Slowboy in Cricket on the Hearth. She died in New York city, Marcli 3, IsOO.
JEFFERSON, Joseph, actor, was born at Ply- mouth, England, in 1774 ; son of Thomas Jefferson, a well-known actor connected with the Drury Lane theatre, London, and proprietor and man- ager of the theatre at Plj'inouth, England. Joseph was carefully educated and trained for the stage by his ]iarents. and while a boy hearted in the Plymouth theatre. He came to America
in 1795, under a contract made with Charles
Stewart Powell, a theatrical manager, who liad
g(jne to England to i)rocure actors for the Federal
Street theatre, in Boston. Mr. Jefferson arrived
CHEST/NUT 5T. THEATRE '^ phil'a pa
l79£-/820
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in Boston and fuuiul the theatre closed and Mr.
Powell bankrupt. He then engaged to play at
the John Street theatre. New York city, and
made his first important appearance in America,
Feb. 10, 1765, as Squire Richard, in " The Pro-
voked Husband." He was married to Euphena
Fortune, daughter of a Scotch merchant. Mrs.
Jefferson made her first appearance at the Park
theatre. New York city, Dec. 22, 1800, and sul>
sequently removed with her husband to Phila-
delphia, where they acted together at the Chest-
nut Street theatre, at that time the most im-
portant play-house in America. On account of
failing health, Mr. Jefferson removed to Wash-
ington, where he conducted a theatre for a short
time. A biographer says of his art : " He was an
actor of great merit, and Cooper, Kean and For-
rest heartily, and with one accord, pronounced
him the funniest comedian of the age in which he
lived." He died in Harrisburg, Pa., Aug. 6, 1832.
JEFFERSON, Joseph, actor, was born in Piiil-
adel])liia, Pa., in 1804 ; son of Joseph and Eupliena
(Fortune) Jefferson. He was educated in Phila-
delphia and grew to
manhood there. His
father intended that
he should be an ac-
tor, but he preferred
the study of archi-
tecture and drawing
to that of the stage,
and received instruc- >,
tion in those branch- '^^S , ■ - / %
es and in painting :,'•' from Robert Coyle, \: an English scenic artist. Mr. Jefferson finally adopted the stage as a profes- sion, and made his
first successful appearance in 1814 at the Cliest- nut Street theatre. He was a member of the dramatic companj' of the Chatham Garden theatre, New York city, and held engagements
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