Meahan, Bryan F – Meeker, Benjamin B
Meahan, Bryan F
lawyer, legislator, was born May 1, 1857, in New London, Conn. In 1882 he was elected a member of the Connecticut legislature from New London, and received the reelection. He is prosecuting attorney of New London. a
Means, Alexander
educator, college president, poet, was born Feb. 6, 1801, in Statesville, N. C. He taught school for for a while; and practiced medicine for six years in Covington, Ga. In 1834 he was elected rector of the Georgia conference manual labor school; and in 1853 was elected president of the Masonic Female college. The following year he was elected to the presidency of Emory college. He was the author of a volume entitled A Cluster of Poems for the Home and Heart; and also published numerous sermons, addresses and scientific papers.
He died June 5, 1883, in Covington, Ga.
Means, Hugh
banker, iron manufacturer, state legislator, was born Oct. 14, 1812, at Spartanburg, S. C. He has been president of the Ashland National bank in Kentucky since its foundation. In 1843 he was elected to represent Adams county in the Ohio legislature, and served one term.
Means, John Hugh
soldier, governor, was born Aug. 18, 1812, in Fairfield, S. C. He was governor of that state from 1850 to 1852. He was colonel in the confederate army, and was killed at the second battle of Bull Run. He died Aug. 28, 1862, in Manassas, Va.
Mears, John William
clergyman, educator, author, was born Aug. 10, 1825, in Reading, Pa. He was a presbyterian clergyman, professor in Hamilton college in 1870-81, and the author of The Bible in the Workshop; The Martyrs of France; The Beggars of Holland; The Story of Madagascar; The Heroes of Bohemia; and From Exile to Overthrow. He died Nov. 10, 1881, in Clinton, N. Y.
Mease, James
physician, author, was born in 1771 in Philadelphia, Pa. He was the first vice-president of the Philadelphia Athenæum and an active member of the Philosophical society. His publications are Geological Account of the United States; Picture of Philadelphia; On William Penn's Treaty with the Indians. He died May 15, 1846, in Philadelphia, Pa.
Mease, John
soldier, was born in 1746 in Ireland. He subscribed four thousand pounds for the army in 1780. For the last thirty years of his life he was one of the admiralty surveyors of the port of Philadelphia. He died in 1826 in Philadelphia, Pa.
Mebane, Alexander
state legislator, congressman, was born Nov. 26, 1744, in Hawfield, N. C. He was a member of the convention that met in 1776 to frame the state constitution. He served a number of years in the North Carolina legislature, and was in congress from North Carolina during the years 1793 and 1794. He died July 5, 1795, in Orange county, N. C.
Medary, Samuel
journalist, governor, was born Feb. 25, 1810, in Montgomery county, Pa. He was governor of the territory of Minnesota in 1857 and 1858; governor of Kansas in 1859 and 1860, and was a peace democrat during the rebellion. He died Nov. 7, 1864, in Columbus, Ohio.
Medberry, Rebecca
author, was born in 1808 in Roxbury, Mass. She was the author of several memoirs and Sunday-school books. She died in 1868, in Lynn, Mass.
Medill, Joseph
proprietor of The Chicago Tribune, was born April 6, 1823, in New Brunswick, Canada. In the winter of 1854-55 he bought a large interest in The Chicago Tribune, and this newspaper, then bankrupt, was placed by the new owners upon a paying basis. In 1874 he bought full control and The Tribune has since made his fortune. In 1870, as a member of the Illinois constitutional convention, Mr. Medill became the author of the clause securing minority representation, and proposed other important provisions, which were adopted. The annexation of various suburbs to Chicago, in order to aid in securing the World's Fair for Chicago, originated with him.
Medill, William
lawyer, legislator, congressman, governor, was born in 1805 in New Castle county, Del. He was elected to the Ohio state legislature, serving à number of years, and was twice elected speaker. He was elected a representative in congress from that state from 1839 to 1843. He was appointed assistant postmaster-general, and subsequently held the office of commissioner of Indian affairs.
In 1850 he was a member of the convention called to revise the state constitution, and was chosen chairman. In 1851 and 1852 he was elected lieutenant-governor of Ohio, and in 1853 was elected, governor of Ohio. He was appointed first comptroller of the United States treasury. He died Sept. 2, 1865, in Lancaster, Ohio.
Meech, Ezra
jurist, legislator, congressman, was born July 26, 1773, in New London, Conn. He settled in Vermont, and in 1822 and 1823 was elected chief justice of Chittenden county. He was a member of the constitutional conventions of 1822 and 1826, and in 1805 and 1807 was elected to the state legislature. He was a representative in congress from Vermont from 1819 to 1821, and again from 1825 to 1827. In 1841 he was a presidential elector. He died Sept. 23, 1856, in Shelburne, Vt.
Meech, Jeannette Dubois
educator, evangelist, was born Aug. 10, 1835, in Frankford, Philadelphia, Pa.
For many years she taught school in Philadelphia; was principal of the Industrial Art school in Vineland and in Jersey Shore, Pa., and for many years was a teacher in the Maryland State Industrial School for Girls. She was licensed to preach in South Vineland, where she was assistant pastor for seven years; has been county superintendent; national lecturer in narcotics for the Woman's Christian Temperance union; and has been president of various societies.
Meech, William Witter
clergyman, was born in 1825, in North Stonington, Conn. In 1848 he was licensed to preach by the First Baptist church of Norwich, Conn., and two years later was ordained. He has held pastorates in various cities, and since 1875 has been pastor in South Vineland, N. J. In 1862 he was appointed by Abraham Lincoln as hospital chaplain, and served at Newport News, Louisville and Bowling Green. He was afterward regimental chaplain, with the rank of major. He is the author of a book entitled Quince Culture; is a member of the New Jersey State Horticultural society, and secretary of the Vineland Horticultural society.
Meehan, Thomas
nurseryman, journalist, botanist, author, was born March 21, 1826, in England. He has devoted his life to scientific pursuits, and in early life had a love for natural history. He has had charge of a number of botanic gardens and in 1853 published Handbook of American Ornamental Trees. In 1854 he established the Meehan Nursery; and in 1860 founded the Gardener's Monthly, of which he was sole editor for thirty years.
In 1880 he established a publication entitled the Flowers and Ferns of the United States, which was subsequently merged into Meehan's Monthly, which is still published in Philadelphia, Pa. He is botanist of the board of agriculture of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. In science he became famous through his study of the relation of sex in plants, credit for which is given him in the Encyclopedia Britannica. His life work is the illustrated Native Flowers and Ferns of the United States, published by Prang and Company in book form, and then as a serial in Meehan's Monthly.
Meehan, William E
botanist, editor, author, was born Aug. 31, 1853, in Philadelphia, Pa. He is the eldest son of Thomas Meehan, the eminent botanist. He followed the florist business for several years; during 1885-87 he was editor of a newspaper in Germantown; then became a reporter on the Philadelphia Public Ledger, and since 1891 has been associate editor of that publication. In 1892 he was a member of the Peary Relief expedition to North Greenland, as its botanist. He is the author of In Arctic Seas; The Flora of Greenland; Fish, Fishing and Fisheries of Pennsylvania, and other works. He was the originator of the children's playground movement in Philadelphia.
MEEK, ALEXANDER BEAUFORT, jurist, journalist, author, was born July 17, 1814, in Columbia, S. C. He was an Alabama jurist and journalist, and the author of Red Eagle; Songs and Poems of the South; and Romantic Passages in Southern History. He died Nov. 30, 1865, in Columbus, Miss.
Meek, Fielding Bradford
palæontologist, author, was born Dec. 10, 1817, in Madison, Md. He was a palæontologist in government service, and the author of Paleontology of the Upper Missouri; Check List of North American Invertebrate Fossils; and Report on Fossils of the Upper Missouri Country. He died Dec. 21, 1876, in Washington, D. C.
Meeker, Benjamin B
lawyer, jurist. He was an early emigrant to the territory of Minnesota. In 1850 he was appointed a judge of the United States court for that district. His judicial decisions are to be found in the various law reports, and show great learning.
He took an active part in public affairs, and contributed numerous articles to literature, which have been a valuable acquisition to law literature of the times.