his death. In the latter city he appeared chiefly in the high court, confining himself to cases arising out of the violations of commercial law, and the discussion of questions of equity. An excep- tion to this rule was his defence of Gen. Daniel Adams, who killed his antagonist in a personal encounter in the streets of Vicksburg in 1844. In politics Mr. Yerger was a stanch advocate of the principles of the Whig party, and in the canvasses of 1840-'4 took an active part in support of its candidates for the presidency, but never sought nor filled any public office. While engaged in a deer-hunt, Mr. Yerger shot a large buck, and had just run up to secure him, when he fell dead, from heart-disease, upon the dying stag. He published "Reports of Cases Argued and Determined in the Supreme Court of Tennessee, December, 1818. to December, 1837 " (10 vols.. Nashville, 1832-'8).
YEWELL, George Henry, artist, b. in Havre
de Grace, Md., 20 Jan., 1830. He studied at the
National academy and under Thomas Hicks, and
in 1856 became the pupil of Thomas Couture in
Paris. During 1867-78 he lived in Italy, excepting one winter spent in Egypt. His works include
"Children on the Sea -Shore" (1861); "The
Wounded Drum mer- Boy " ; "Roman Shepherd-
Boy"; some Venetian subjects, including interior
views of the Church of St. Mark; "Santa Maria
della Salute" (Louisville art-gallery): "In the
Church of San Pietro, Perugia" (1877); and "In
the Carpet Bazaar, Cairo," and "Mosque of Kait-Bey, Cairo " (1878). He has of late been engaged frincipally on portraits, among which are those of
saac Davis, Alexander Mitchell, Frederick Layton (Layton art-gallery, Milwaukee), John Chambers and Ralph P. Lowe (capitol at Des Moines,
Iowa), Robert Lucas, and Charles Mason, his earliest patron, through whose aid he began his art studies. He was elected an associate of the National
academy in 1862, and an academician in 1880.
YOAKUM, Henderson K., lawyer, b. in Claiborne county, Tenn., in 1810; d. in Houston, Tex., 29 Nov., 1856. He was graduated at the U. S.
military academy in 1832, brevetted 2d lieutenant, and served in the Black Hawk expedition the same year, but was not at the seat of war. He
resigned from the army, 31 March, 1833, studied law, was admitted to the bar, and practised in Tennessee from 1835 till 1845. In 1839 he was
elected a member of the state senate. He removed to Texas in 1845, and continued to practise his profession at Huntsville from 1846 till
1856. From June till September of the former year he served in the Mexican war as 1st lieutenant of Texas mounted rifle volunteers. In 1850-'6
he was colonel of Texas militia. Col. Yoakum was a contributor to various periodicals, and published " A History of Texas from its First Settle-
ment under La Salle in 1685 to its Annexation to the United States in 1845 " (New York, 1855).
YODER, Jacob, pioneer, b. in Reading, Pa., 11 Aug., 1758 : d. in Spencer county, Ky., 7 April, 1832. He was of Swiss descent. After serving through the Revolutionary war in the Pennsylvania line, he
built a large boat at Fort Red Stone (now Brownsville), on Monongahela river, which he freighted with flour and carried to New Orleans in May, 1782.
With the profits of this venture he bought peltries which he sold in Havana, investing the proceeds in sugar for the Philadelphia market. This
was the first attempt to navigate the Ohio and Mississippi rivers for commercial purposes. Subsequently he settled in Spencer county, Ky., and
took part in equipping and keeping in the field the military forces in the northwest territory.
YOU, Dominique, soldier, b. in Hayti in 1775:
d. in New Orleans, La., in 1830. Little is known
of his early life, but he is supposed to have fol-
lowed the sea at first. Subsequently he served in
the artillery corps during the wars of the French
republic, and in 1802 accompanied Gen. Victor
Leclerc to Santo Domingo. Afterward he found
his way to New Orleans, where he was employed
by the brothers Jean and Pierre Lafitte, and soon
became the pirates' principal captain. He was
nicknamed "Captain Dominique by the French
and " Johnness by the Americans, and won repu-
tation for boldness and daring. When Venezuela
declared her independence, Capt. Dominique pro-
cured letters of marque from the patriots and did
much damage to Spanish commerce in the Gulf of
Mexico. During the following years he took part
in the unlawful operations of the Lafittes in the
bayous, and in July, 1814, was indicted by a grand
jury for piracies in the Gulf; but could not be
apprehended. At the subsequent raid on the pi-
rates' establishments in Barataria he escaped to
the swamps of the interior ; but when the English
invaded Louisiana he offered his services to the
American authorities, and was appointed com-
mander of a company of artillery, which he formed
with the best gunners of the pirates' ships and
which did such good service in the battle of New
Orleans, 8 Jan., 1815, that they were mentioned in
Gen. Andrew Jackson's general order of 21 Jan.
as " having shown uncommon gallantry and skill
in the field." On the strength of this, all pro-
ceedings against Dominique You were dropped,
and he settled quietly in New Orleans, where he
enjoyed great popularity as a politician and after-
ward strongly supported Gen. Jackson. You's ex-
ample did much to pacify Louisiana and secure
the good-will of the lawless population, and when
he died he was given a military funeral at the
public expense. See Charles Gayarre's " Histoire
de la Louisiane " (New Orleans, 1847).
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YOUMANS, Edward Livingston, scientist, b. in Coeymans, N. Y., 3 June, 1821; d. in New York city, 18 Jan., 1887. In childhood his parents removed to Saratoga county, where his youth was passed. He attended the common school, and was an insatiable reader, but at thirteen years of age was attacked with ophthalmia. In 1840 he went to New York for treatment, and the city became his home. His blindness lasted several years, but he finally recovered partially. During these years of suffering and deprivation he was a constant worker and an assiduous student of books and events. He studied elementary chemistry and physics with the aid of his sister, and when he was left to himself his leisure was spent in writing with a pocket-machine of his own contrivance. In 1851, while studying agricultural chemistry, he prepared a chemical chart that made clear by means of colored diagrams the laws of chemical science as they were then expounded (revised and enlarged, 1856). He studied medicine during this period and received
