Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 12.djvu/706

McKEAN. 626 McKENDREE COLLEGE. was educated privately at New Castle, Del., where he settled. He studied law, was admitted to the Delaware bar iu 1755, was immediately appointed register of probate, and in 1756 be- came assistant attorney for Susse.x County. From 1757 to 1759 he was clerk of the Delaware As- sembly, and in 17G2 was commissioned with Citsar Rodney (q.v.) to revise all the laws of Delaware ])asscd prior to 1752. In the same year lie began his long service as a member of the Delaware Assembly, where he served continuonslj' by reelection until 1779. In 1705 he was elected to the Stamp Act Congress {see St.mp Act), where he was instrumental in securing an equal vote for eaeli of the provinces represented and assisted in drawing up the memorial to Parlia- ment. He was elected in the same year a judge of the Common I'leas, and boldly ruled that only unstamped paper should be used in his court. In 1771 he was collector of the port of New Castle, and about the same time opened an office for the practice of law iu riiilndelphia. He con- tinued to reside for part of the lime in Delaware, however, and in 1774 was elected a delegate from that i)rovince to the Continental Congress. In the proceedings of that body he took a leading part, serving until 1783 anil being the only mem- ber sitting continuously tliroughout the war. He favored tiie adojilion of the Di'i-hiration of Inde- jiendenee, an<l, though absent when that document was signed, he was later ( prol)ably in 1784) al- lowed to affix his signature. He also helped to draft the Articles of Confederation, which he signed. In 1781 he was president of Congress. While still a member of the Delaware Assembly, and one of the Delaware delegates in Congress, he became prominently identified willi Pennsylvania alTairs, was cliaivman of the Cominiltee of Safety in that State in 1770, and in 1777 was chosen Chief .histice, a jiosition which he held until 1799. In the latter year, having become one of the lead- ers of the Kepublican Party, and a strong sup- porter of .Jefrerson, he was elected Oovernor of Pennsylvania, serving until 1808. With .Tames Wilson he was the author of Comiiiriilarics on the Cuiisliliition of the United States (1790). McKEESPOBT, m'-kes'port. A city in Al- legheny County, Pa., 15 miles southeast of Pitts- burg; at the confluence of the Monongahela and Youghiogheny rivers, both of which are navi- gable, and on the Baltimore and Ohio, the Penn- sylvania, and the Pittsburg and Lake Erie rail- roads (Map: Pennsylvania, B .3). It is in the heart of the natiral gas and the bituminous coal regions of the State, and is the seat of a vast iron and steel industry, the plant of the National Tube Works, which alone employs 8500 men, being one of the largest in the world. Other nianufaetures are railroad cars, locomotives and su|ij)lies, glass, and lumber. There is a large trade in coal and lumber. The city has the Douglass Industrial College, McKeesport Hospi- tal, Carnegie Library, Yoiuig Men's Christian Association Hall, a fine high school building (cost .$108,000), and several bridges that are of interest architecturallv. The government is vested in a mayor, elected every three years; a bicameral council: and administrative officials as follows; police, street commissioner, and board of health, ajipoinled by the mayor with the con- sent of the council ; water commissioners, city solicitor, and chief of fire department, elected by the council; and treasurer, comptroller, board of assessors, and school board, chosen by popular election. The jirincipal items of annual expendi- ture are about .$155,000 for schools, .$35,000 for the fire department, $55,000 for the police depart- ment, and $55,000 for the water-works, which are owned and operated by the city, having been built in 1882 at a cost of about $425,000. Set- tled in 1795 and luimed in honor of .lohn McKee, its foiuider, ilcKeesport was incorporated as a borough in 1842. Until 1830, when coal-raining began in the district, it was a straggling village. Population, in 1890, 20,741; in 1900, 34,227. McKEES ROCKS. A borough in Allegheny County, Pa., on the Ohio Kiver, opposite Al- legheny, and on the Pittsburg and Lake Erie and the Pittsburg, Chartiers and Youghiogheny railroads (Map; Pennsylvania, A 3). It is known for its extensive iron and steel interests, and there are also railroad machine shops, and nianufact(n-ies of glass, lumber, Hour, etc. The rapid growth of its population is sliown as follows: in 1890, 1087; in 1900, 0352. MacKEL'LAR, Tiio.mas (1812-99). An American poet, born in New York City. He learned the trade of printing in the llarjiers' pub- lishing house, and then entered the firm of Law- rence Johnson & Co., Philadelpliia, as a proof- reader. He rose to be a partner, and the head of the establishment, later known as the firm of MacKcllar, Smith & Jordan. His works include: Droppings from the Heart (1844) ; Tarn's Fort- night Ramble (1847) ; Lives for the Oentle and Loving (1853); and Rhymes Aticccn Times (1873). The last volume contains his popular poem, "Let ile Kiss Him For His Jlother." which is founded on an episode of the Civil War. McKEN'DREE, William (1757-1835). A Methodist E]iiscopal bishop. He was born in King William County, Va., July G, 1757; served in the Revolutionary War ; was converted and joined the Methodist Church in 1787; became presiding elder in 1790, and bishop, the first one born in America, in 1808. He died near Nash- ville, Tenn., March 5. 1835. By reason of his travels with Bishop Asbury and as superintend- ent of the societies in Virginia, Kentucky, Ten- nessee, Ohio, and Illinois, before he became bishop, and his travels after that, he was well known to Methodists, especially in those States. His Life by Paine (Nashville, 1809; new ed. 1875) is consequently an important source of early Methodist history. McKENDREE COLLEGE. An institution of learning at Lebanon, 111., under the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Church, organized in 1828 as Lebanon Seminary, and one of the ear- liest institutions in the West dedicated to higher education. Its name was changed in 1830 in honor of Bishop McKendree, who devised his es- tate to the college. A new charter was secured in 1839 with the cooperation of Abraliam Lin- coln, granting the institution full university privileges. The college proper offers a classical and a scientific course; it has also graduate and law departments and a conservatory of music. It confers the bachelor's degree in arts, science, law. and music, and the master's and doctor's decrees for graduate work. Students are ad- mitted on examination or on certificate from ap- ]n-oved schools. In 1902 it had a faculty of 12 instructors. The student enrollment comprised 42 in the college, 105 academic, and 76 in music.