graver in New York. He afterward devoted him- self entirely to pictorial work, and was especially successful in his landscapes. He has been em- ployed by the Western Methodist book concern (1846-'74) and by various firms in New York. Among his plates, executed in the line manner, are portraits of Florence Nightingale (1857), Ulysses S. Grant, and Henry W. Longfellow, the latter after Alonzo Chappel, and the landscapes " Coast of Mount Desert," after William Hart (1862); " Mount Washington," after Sanford R. Gifford (1862) ; Albert F. Bellows's " A Quiet Nook " (1864) ; " Life's Day." three subjects (1865) ; Thomas Mo- ran's " Florida " (1878) ; and Walter Satterlee's "Tempus Fugit" (1880).— William's son, James, engraver, b. in Jersey City, N. J., 20 Nov., 1855 ; d. there, 14 March, 1880, followed the profession of his father, whose pupil he was. At the time of his death he was a member of the firm of William Wellstood and Co., and was a successful and prom- ising engraver. His principal plates were " The Pointer,' and " Safe in Port," after Thomas Moran.
WELSER, Bartholomeus, Prince, German
banker, b. in Augsburg about 1475; d. there in
1559. He was the head of the banking-firm of
Welser Brothers, who claimed descent from the
Byzantine general Belisarius. They possessed great
riches, and Bartholomeus was created a prince of
the empire and made privy councillor to the
emperor, to whom he lent large sums, for the repayment
of which he was granted, in 1527, the newly
discovered province of Venezuela. He was to
conquer the country at his own expense, enlist only
Spanish and Flemish troops, fit out two expeditions
of four vessels, and build two cities and three forts
within two years after taking possession. As the
country was reputed to contain gold-mines, he later
obtained permission to send out 150 German miners.
In virtue of this contract, Welser armed a fleet,
which sailed from San Lucar de Barrameda early
in 1528, under the command of Ambrosio Alfinger
(q. v.), whom he appointed captain-general. After
Alfinger's death in 1531, Georg von Speier (q. v.)
became captain-general, and fitted out a new
expedition, which sailed in 1534. After Speier's death
in 1540 the crown of Spain claimed the right to
appoint the governor, and finally, in 1546, Charles V.
revoked Welser's charter. Welser did much to
establish trade between the Low Countries,
Germany, and South America. His enterprise has
been commended by many writers, and is eulogized
by Henry Ternaux-Compans in his collection, but
it was detrimental to the interests of the banker,
whose losses in his colonization schemes were
estimated to reach the sum of 3,000,000 florins.
Welser's banking-house still exists, as does also the old
family mansion, which is one of the curiosities of
the city of Augsburg.
WELSH, Alfred Hix, educator, b. in Fostoria,
Ohio,* 7 Sept., 1850. He spent his early life in
manual labor, contributing to the support of his
widowed mother and sisters. He was graduated
at Baldwin university, Ohio, in 1872, was professor
of mathematics the following three years in Buchtel
college, became teacher of rhetoric in the Colum-
bus high-school in 1876, and since 1885 has been
professor of English literature in Ohio state uni-
versity. Prof. Welsh is well known for his series
of school-books on rhetoric, grammar, and mathe-
matics. He has also published " The Conflict of
Ages" (Columbus, 1877); "The Development of
English Literature and Language " (Chicago,
1882); and "Man and His Relations" (Cincinnati,
1888). He has in preparation a "Manual of Eng-
lish Literature."
WELSH, John, merchant, b. in Philadelphia, Pa., 9 Nov., 1805 ; d. there, 10 April, 1886. His father, of the same name, was a Philadelphia mer- chant. The son received a collegiate education, but was not graduated. After conducting a mer- cantile business of his own, he entered,in 1874, into partner- ship with his brothers in the West India trade, and was at the time of his death the se- nior member of the firm, which had been es- tablished since 1834. Formany years he was ac- tive in public affairs, giving largely of his timeandmeans, from his first service as mem-
ber of the select
 | An image should appear at this position in the text. To use the entire page scan as a placeholder, edit this page and replace "{{missing image}}" with "{{raw image|Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1889, volume 6).djvu/465}}". Otherwise, if you are able to provide the image then please do so. For guidance, see Wikisource:Image guidelines and Help:Adding images. |  |
council of Philadelphia. For twenty years he was a member of the sinking fund commission, and for the same length of time a trustee of the University of Pennsylvania, of which he was also a patron. He was president of the Philadelphia board of trade and of the Merchants' fund for fifteen years. He was one of the founders of the Episcopal hospital and its largest contributor. In 1862 he was appointed commissioner of Fairmount park. During the civil war he was active in measures of relief, and in 1864 he became president of the executive committee of the sanitary fair, which disbursed over $1,000,000 for the use of army hospitals and ambulances. His best- known work was as president of the Centennial board of finance, to which he was elected in April, 1873. The success of the exhibition was in a great measure due to his executive ability, in recognition of which he was presented by the city with a gold medal and with 150,000. With this sum he endowed the John Welsh chair of English literature in the University of Pennsylvania. Mr. Welsh was an active Republican, and in 1878 was appointed minister to England, but he resigned within two years. The degree of LL. D. was conferred upon him by the University of Pennsylvania in 1878, and by Washington and Lee in 1880, and many foreign decorations were given him for courtesies that he extended during the Centennial exhibition. — His brother, William, philanthropist, b. in Philadelphia about 1810; d. there, 11 Feb., 1878, was also a merchant in his native city, where he occupied many public posts, among them those of president of the board of trusts, director of Girard college, and trustee of Wills hospital. He was also largely identified with the philanthropic interests of the city, especially as a member of the Indian peace commission during Gen. Grant's administration, which place he resigned upon meeting with difficulties in the Indian bureau. For several years he was proprietor of the "North American" and the "Philadelphia Gazette," which he had purchased in order to elevate the morals of the daily press. Mr. Welsh published, besides various papers, " Lay Co-operation in St. Mark's Church " (Philadelphia, 1861); " Letters on the Home Missionary Work of the Protestant Episcopal Church "
