OpenLLM-France/wikimedia huggingface dataset:
# Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography/Platt, Zephaniah

Edition of 1900.
​PLATT, Zephaniah, member of the Continental congress, b. in Dutchess county. N. Y., in 1740; d. in Plattsburg, N. Y., 12 Sept., 1807. He received a classical education, studied law, and practised. He was a delegate from New York to the Continental congress in 1784-'6, and was judge of the circuit court for many years. He was one of the originators of the Erie canal, and founded the town of Plattsburg. — His son, Jonas, jurist, b. in Poughkeepsie, N. Y., 30 June, 1769; d. in Peru, Clinton co., N. Y., 22 Feb., 1834, was educated in the public schools, admitted to the bar in 1790. and the next year settled in Whitesboro, N. Y. He was a member of the assembly in 1796, of congress in 1796-1801, and of the state senate in 1810-'13. He was an unsuccessful candidate for governor in 1810, a member of the council in 1813, and in 1814-'23 a justice of the New York supreme court. He then engaged in practice in Utica, and subsequently in New York city. — Another son, Zephaniah, jurist, b. in Plattsburg, N. Y., in 1796: d. in Aiken, S. C., 20 April, 1871, removed to Michigan in early life, studied and subsequently practised law, and was appointed by the U. S. government its attorney to settle its claims on the Pacific coast. He was state attorney-general for several years, and took high rank at the bar. He removed to South Carolina at the close of the civil war, and from 1868 until his death was judge of the 2d circuit.
# Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography/Pleasants, James

Edition of 1900.
​PLEASANTS, James, senator, b. in Goochland county, Va., 24 Oct., 1769; d. at his residence, “Contention,” Goochland county. Va., 9 Nov., 1839. He was a first cousin of Thomas Jefferson. He was educated by private tutors, studied law, was admitted to the bar of his native county, and enjoyed an extensive practice, especially as an advocate. He was a member of the legislature in 1796, having been elected as a Republican, clerk of the house in 1803-'ll, and from the latter date till 1819 was in congress. He then became U. S. senator, served in 1819-'22, when he resigned, and was governor of Virginia for the succeeding three years. During his term of office, in 1824, Lafayette visited Virginia. He was a delegate to the Virginia constitutional convention in 1829-'30, and subsequently declined the appointment of judge of the circuit court and of the Virginia court of appeals. The county of Pleasants, now W. Va., is named in his honor. John Randolph of Roanoke said of him: “James Pleasants never made an enemy nor lust a friend.”—His son, John Hampden, journalist, b. in Goochland county, Va., 4 Jan., 1797; d. in Richmond, Va., 27 Feb., 1846, was educated at William and Mary college, and was admitted to the bar at an early age, but abandoned law for journalism, and founded and became editor of the Lynchburg “Virginian.” He subsequently removed to Richmond, Va., and in 1824 founded the “Constitutional Whig and Public Advertiser,” and was its chief editor for twenty-two years. He was killed in a duel with Thomas Ritchie. Jr., of the “Richmond Enquirer,” a Democratic organ. Mr. Pleasants was a brilliant editor and paragraphist, and his journal was the principal exponent of the Whig party in Virginia. His brother Whigs erected a monument to his memory, on which his gallant and self-sacrificing patriotism is recorded.
# Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography/Plée, Auguste

Edition of 1900.
​PLÉE, Auguste, French botanist, b. in Pointe à Pitre, Guadeloupe, in 1787; d. in Fort Royal, Martinique, 17 Aug., 1825. He occupied a high official post, but was devoted to natural history. and embarked in 1819 for South America, charged by the government with the mission of exploring the continent as a botanist. After travelling extensively, and forming numerous collections of plants, he fell sick and returned to Martinique. His principal works are “Le jeune botaniste, ou entretiens d'un père avec son fils sur la botanique et la physiologie végétale, etc.” (2 vols., Paris, 1812); and a “Journal de voyage du botaniste Auguste Plée, à travers les Antilles, les Guyanes et le Brésil” (2 vols., Paris, 1828). The administration of the Paris museum published in 1830 a catalogue of Plée's collection in 3 vols.
# Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography/Pohl, Johann Emanuel

Edition of 1900.
​POHL, Johann Emanuel, Austrian botanist, b. in Vienna, Austria, in 1784; d. there, 22 May, 1834. He was educated as a physician, and then devoted his attention to botany. In 1817 he accompanied the Archduchess Leopoldine to Brazil on the occasion of her marriage to Dom Pedro I., and then spent four years in exploring that country under orders from his government. On his return to Vienna he was appointed curator of the Brazilian museum. His works include “Tentamen floræ Bohemicæ” (2 vols., Prague, 1814); “Expositio anatomica organiauditus per classes animalium” (Vienna, 1819); “Plantarum Brasiliæ icones et descriptions” (2 vols., 1827-'31); “Beiträge zur Gebirgskunde Brasiliens” (1832); “Brasiliens vorzüglichste Insekten” (1832); and “Reise ins innere Brasilien” (1882).
# Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography/Platt, William Henry

Edition of 1900.
​PLATT, William Henry, clergyman, b. in Amenia, Dutchess co., N. Y., 16 April, 1821. He received a good education, was admitted to the bar in 1840, and for four years practised in Alabama. He was ordained deacon in the Protestant Episcopal church in 1851, and priest in 1852, held rectorships in Selma, Ala., Petersburg, Va., Louisville, Ky., and San Francisco, Cal., and became rector of St. Paul's church, Rochester. N. Y., in 1882. William and Mary gave him the degree of D. D. in 1878, and also that of LL. D. Dr. Platt's publications include “Art Culture” (New York, 1873); “Influence of Religion in the Development of Jurisprudence” (1877); “After Death, what?” (San Francisco, 1878); “Unity of Law or Legal Morality” (1879); “God out, and Man in,” a reply to Robert G. Ingersoll (Rochester, 1883); and “The Philosophy of the Supernatural.”
# Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography/Merriam, George

Edition of 1900.
​MERRIAM, George, publisher, b. in Worcester, Mass., 20 Jan., 1803; d. in Springfield, Mass., 22 June, 1880. The Merriam family were printers, book-makers, and booksellers in Worcester county in the latter part of the 18th century. George worked on his father's farm in West Brookfield until he was fifteen years of age, then entered his uncle's printing-office, and on reaching his majority became a partner. In 1831 he removed to Springfield with his brother Charles, and established in 1832 the publishing house of G. and C. Merriam. Their earliest publications were law-books, editions of the Bible, and school-books. After the death of ​Noah Webster, the lexicographer, the Merriams purchased the right of future publication of Webster's dictionary, many successive editions of which they have since issued. — His brother Charles, publisher, b. in West Brookfield, Mass., 21 Nov., 1806; d. in Springfield, Mass., 9 July, 1887, learned printing at an early age. He was active in benevolent works and contributed $5,000 and numerous books for the establishment of a public library in Springfield. He bequeathed $50,000 to missionary, Bible, and other religious societies.
# Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography/Merry, Ann

Edition of 1900.
MERRY, Ann, actress, b. in Bristol, England, 30 May, 1769; d. in Alexandria, Va., 28 June, 1808. She was the daughter of John Brunton, an actor and manager of the Norwich theatre. In February, 1785, Miss Brunton first appeared at the theatre in Bath as Euphrasia in “The Grecian Daughter,” which was followed by other leading parts, and on 17 Oct. of the same year she made her début at Covent garden theatre in London as Horatio in “The Roman Father.” Here she attained great distinction, and by many was rated second only to Mrs. Siddons. In 1792 Miss Brunton married Robert Merry, known in literature as “Delia Crusca,” a lieutenant in the horse-guards, who was an amateur playwright and a man of letters. He had rapidly run through his patrimony, but at that time still figured in fashionable circles. She at once retired from the threatre, and went with her husband to Paris, but when their means were entirely exhausted she wished to return to her former occupation. Family considerations on the part of Mr. Merry prevented her return to the London stage, but an offer that was made through Thomas Wignell, of the Philadelphia theatre, was readily accepted. The couple arrived in New York city, 19 Oct., 1796. Mrs. Merry renewed her career at the playhouse in Philadelphia on 5 Dec. of the same year as Juliet in “Romeo and Juliet.” From 1797 until 1808 she performed with undiminished success in the large cities of the Union. Mr. Merry died in 1798, and in 1803 his widow married Thomas Wignell, who died soon afterward. In 1806 she became the wife of William Warren. Among her important roles were Calista in “The Fair Penitent,” Alica in “Jane Shore,” Isabella in “The Fatal Dowry,” and Monominia in “The Orphan.” She was the first actress of eminence that crossed the Atlantic, and easily held her own against all rivalry. His sister, Louisa Brunton, with whom she is sometimes confounded, was a distinguished performer on the London stage in later years, and became Countess of Craven.
# Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography/Messer, Asa

Edition of 1900.
MESSER, Asa, educator, b. in Methuen, Mass., in 1769; d. in Providence, R. I., 11 Oct., 1836. He was graduated at Brown in 1790, and in the next year chosen tutor there. After six years of service in this post he was advanced in 1796 to the professorship of learned languages. In 1799 he was transferred to the chair of mathematics and natural philosophy, and on the resignation of Jonathan Maxcy in 1802 was appointed president of the college. In this office he remained until 1826, when he resigned. After his retirement he was elected by the citizens of Providence to several important civil offices. He was ordained to the Baptist ministry in 1801, received the degree of D. D. from Harvard in 1820, and that of LL. D. from the University of Vermont in 1812. Dr. Messer's publications consisted of several discourses, orations, and baccalaureate addresses.
# Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography/Messinger, Robert Hinckley

Edition of 1900.
​MESSINGER, Robert Hinckley, poet, b. in Boston, Mass., in 1811; d. in Stamford, Conn., 1 Oct., 1874. He was educated in the Boston Latin-school, and entered mercantile life in New York city, where he resided many years. His poems were written between 1827 and 1832, and appeared in the New York “American.” The principal one, “Give me the Old,” suggested by the famous saying of Alphonso of Castile, “Old wine to drink, old wood to burn, old books to read, and old friends to converse with,” was published in that journal on 26 April, 1838. It may be found in Griswold's “Poets and Poetry of America” (Philadelphia, 1842). Mr. Messinger, who was a friend of Fitz-Greene Halleck, subsequently resided in New London, N. H.
# Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography/Metcalf, Theron

Edition of 1900.
​METCALF, Theron, jurist, b. in Franklin, Mass., 16 Oct., 1784; d. in Boston, Mass., 12 Nov., 1875. He was graduated at Brown in 1805. In 1839 he was appointed reporter of the Massachusetts supreme court, and he sat on the bench of that court from 24 Feb., 1848, till 1865. Brown gave him the degree of LL. D. in 1844, and Harvard the same in 1848. His annotations were considered valuable for their philosophical investigation and discriminating analysis. Judge Metcalf gave to Brown a set of fifty volumes of ordination sermons that he had collected. His publications include “A Digest of the Cases decided in the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts from 1816 to 1823, including the Five last Volumes of Tyng's and the first of Octavius Pickering's Reports” (Boston, 1825); “Reports from 1840 till 1849” (13 vols., 1840-'51); the first volume of “Digest of Decisions of Courts of Common Law and Admiralty in the United States” (1840); and a “Supplement to the Revised Statutes of Massachusetts till 1844,” with Luther S. Cushing (1844). He edited “The General Laws of Massachusetts till 1822,” by Asahel Stearns and Lemuel Shaw (2 vols., 1823); George Maule and William Selwyn's “Reports”; Russell on “Crimes”; Starkie on “Evidence”; and Yelverton's “Reports.” Judge Metcalf contributed able articles to the “American Jurist” on the “Law of Contracts,” and delivered an oration at Dedham, 4 July, 1810, and an address before the Phi Beta Kappa society of Brown in 1832.
# Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography/Meyer, Bernhard

Edition of 1900. This is a fictitious person.
​MEYER, Bernhard (mire), German missionary, b. in Erfurt in 1537; d. in Liege in 1609. He became a Jesuit, was attached for several years to the missions of Cuba, went in 1571 to New Spain, where he learned the Aztec and Maya languages, and afterward became president of an Indian commandery in Yucatan, which he held for twelve years. His humane policy toward the Indians was in striking contrast with their cruel treatment by the Spaniards, and as he forwarded a protest to the holy see against the dealings of the latter in the New World, the authorities asked for his relief, and his superiors sent him back to Germany in 1599. Meyer settled in Liege, and, with the materials that he had collected in the New World, wrote a history of the Spanish domination in America; but, his intention having become known, great pressure was exerted on the general of the Jesuits, who forbade the publication of the work. Meyer hesitated to obey, and application was made to the prince bishop of Liege, who ordered the arrest of the courageous missionary. During the latter's imprisonment in a convent his manuscripts and papers were forwarded to Rome, and what became of them is not known. He published “Origines gentis Aztecorum” (Liege, 1601) and “Epistola ad præpositum generalem Societatis Jesu, qua statum in provincia Novæ Espaniæ exponit” (1602).
# Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography/Meyer, Hermanus

Edition of 1900.
​MEYER, Hermanus, clergyman, b. in Bremen, Lower Saxony, 27 July, 1733; d. near Pompton, N. J., 27 Oct., 1791. He was educated at the Latin-school and gymnasium in Bremen, and at the theological academy of Groningen. Having received a call to the Dutch church of Kingston, N. Y., he was ordained on 31 March, 1763, and sailed for New York with Rev. John R. Hardenbergh. In 1764 he was compelled by the civil authorities to take the oath of allegiance to Great Britain. He found the church divided by the old quarrel of the Coetus and Conferentie parties as to whether ordination should take place in this country or in Holland. He sympathized with the former in favor of a ministry trained in America, and his pungent preaching caused dissatisfaction. The ecclesiastical difficulties culminated in his suspension from active duties by an illegal body of Conferentie ministers in 1766, and for nearly seven years he remained in Kingston, preaching to his adherents in private houses. He was a member of the convention of 1771, which reunited his church, and in 1772 he removed to New Jersey as pastor at Pompton and Totowa (now Paterson). The general synod elected him to two chairs in their theological institution — that of Hebrew in 1784, and that of lector in divinity in 1786, which he held until his death. In 1789 he received the degree of D. D. from Queen's (now Rutgers) college. He left in manuscript a Latin translation of the Psalms of David, with commentaries and emendations.
# Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography/Messein, Charles Francis Bailly de

Edition of 1900.
​MESSEIN, Charles Francis Bailly de, R. C. bishop, b. in Canada in 1741; d. in Quebec in 1794. He received his early education in Canada, but finished his theological studies in France. Here he met Lord Dorchester, afterward governor-general of Canada, who was so much struck with his ability that he invited him to England to become tutor to his children. On his arrival in Canada he was sent as missionary to the Micmac Indians, and was also appointed grand vicar of New Brunswick, Cape Breton, and Prince Edward island. He was afterward named curé of Pointe-aux-Trembles, near Quebec. In 1789 he was consecrated coadjutor bishop of Quebec, notwithstanding the opposition of the clergy and people, with whom he was unpopular on account of his attachment to the English interest. After his consecration he insisted on sharing the episcopal authority with Bishop Hubert, titular bishop of Quebec. The latter refused to allow him to take any part in the administration of the diocese. De Messein then returned to Pointe-aux-Trembles, and in 1790 published a letter in the “Gazette de Quebec,” in which he gave strong expression to his dissatisfaction. This letter was followed by another, in which he attacked bitterly the administration of Bishop Hubert, and demanded the abolition of most of the holidays observed by Canadian Catholics. When an effort was made by the government to establish an undenominational university in Quebec, and endow it out of the property of the Jesuits, the movement was warmly supported by De Messein, but resisted by the rest of the clergy, and their hostility to him was increased by the letters that he wrote in 1791 in its favor. He had formed a small party among the priests, and succeeded in forcing Bishop Hubert to issue a pastoral the same year abolishing several festivals, some of which were ordered to be restored the following year by the pope. His health was broken by these controversies, and the failure that attended most of his plans.
# Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography/Merian, Marie Sibylle

Edition of 1900.
​MERIAN, Marie Sibylle (may-ree-ong), naturalist, b. in Frankfort, Germany, 2 April, 1647; d. in Amsterdam, 13 Jan., 1717. She was a daughter of Matthew Merian, the Swiss engraver, and in 1665 married André Graff, an artist of Nuremberg. She was early noted for her knowledge of botany and entomology, and attained great reputation as a naturalist. She went to Surinam with her daughter in 1699 and returned in 1701, bringing with her a very large collection of drawings of the insects, shells, and plants of that colony. After her return she published “Metamorphosis Insectarum Surinamensium” (Amsterdam, 1705), which was followed after her death by “Dissertatio de Generatione et Metamorphosibus Insectorum Surinamensium” (1719). She had previously issued in Latin other works which were afterward published together in French under the title “Histoire des insectes de l'Europe” (1730). Both works appeared in French under the title “Histoire generale des insectes de Surinam et de toute l'Europe” (3 vols., Paris, 1771). Many of the plates in these works were her own work and possess great merit. Some of her beautiful designs on vellum are in the British museum. — Her daughters, Jeanne Marie Helène and Dorothée Marie Henriette, assisted their mother. The former was sent to Surinam on a second expedition in 1702.
# Ballads and Barrack-Room Ballads/Gunga Din

Layout 2
New York and London: Macmillan and Co., pages 153–156
GUNGA DIN
* ↑ Bring water swiftly.
* ↑ Mr. Atkins’ equivalent for ‘O brother.’
* ↑ Be quick.
* ↑ Hit you.
* ↑ Water skin.
Footnotes
# Ballads and Barrack-Room Ballads/Oonts

Layout 2
New York and London: Macmillan and Co., pages 157–160
OONTS
(NORTHERN INDIA TRANSPORT TRAIN)
Footnotes
# Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography/Shea, John Augustus

Edition of 1900.
​SHEA, John Augustus (i-hay). author, b. in Cork, Ireland, in 1802; d. in New York, 15 Aug., 1845. He emigrated to this country in 1827, and engaged in journalism. He published " Rudekki. an Eastern Romance of the Seventh Century, in Verse" (Cork, 1826); "Adolph, and other Poems" (New York, 1831); "Parnassian Wild Flowers" (Georgetown, 1836); and "Clontarf, a Narrative Poem" (New York. 1843). A volume of his "Poems" was published after his death by his son, George Augustus Shea (1846). He left in manuscript "Di Vasari," an unfinished tragedy, a life of Byron, and a poem entitled "Time's Mission." His most popular piece is "The Ocean." His son, George, lawyer, b. in Cork, 10 June, 1826 ; d. in New York city, 15 Jan., 1895, emigrated to the United States in early life and settled in New York. After being called to the bar, he attained distinc- tion in his profession, and was appointed corpora- tion attorney of New York from 1865 to 1867. He became chief justice of the Marine court of New York in 1870, and held the position up to 1882. He was associate counsel with Charles O'Conor in de- fending Jefferson Davis, and was counsel for the Kings county elevated railroad in Brooklyn, estab- lishing its charter by a decision of the court of ap- peals, reversing the special and general terms in Brooklyn. He wrote "Hamilton, a Historical Study " (New York, 1877). An enlarged edition w a> issued under the title " The Life and Epoch of Alex- ander Hamilton, a Historical Study " (Boston, 1880).
# Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography/Sherwin, Thomas

Edition of 1900.
​SHERWIN, Thomas, educator, b. in Westmoreland, N. H., 26 March, 1799; d. in Dedham, Mass., 23 July, 1869. He worked on a farm in Temple, N. H., served an apprenticeship to a clothier in Groton, Mass., and, after graduation at Harvard in 1825, taught an academy in Lexington, Mass., in 1825-'6. He was a tutor in mathematics at Harvard in 1826-7, and from 1828 till 1838 was submaster of the English high-school of Boston, of which he had charge from that date until his death. This school was reputed a model of its kind. He was an originator of the American institute of instruction in 1830, its president in 1853-'4, a member of the American academy of arts and sciences, was active in establishing the Massachusetts institute of technology, and was president of the Massachusetts teachers' association in 1845. He was the author of an “Elementary Treatise on Algebra” (Boston, 1841). His son, Thomas, was lieutenant-colonel of the 22d Massachusetts regiment during the civil war, and for meritorious services was breveted brigadier-general of volunteers on 13 March, 1865.
# Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography/Shellabarger, Samuel

Edition of 1900.
​SHELLABARGER, Samuel, b. in Clark county, Ohio, 10 Dec., 1817; d. 6 Aug., 1896. He was graduated at Miami in 1842, studied law under Gen. Samson Mason, was admitted to the bar in 1847, was a member of the first legislature in Ohio that met under the present constitution, and in 1860 was elected to congress as a Republican. He took his seat in a special session that met in accordance with President Lincoln's call, on 4 July, 1861, and served in 1861-'3, in 1865-'9, and in 1870-'3. He was chairman of the committees on commerce, that on charges by Frey against Roscoe Conkling, and that on the provost-marshal's bureau, and was on the special committees on the assassination of President Lincoln, civil service, and the New Orleans riots. He was U.S. minister to Portugal in 1869-'70, and in 1874-'5 was one of the civil service commission. He then resumed the practice of his profession in Washington, D.C.