This he resigned in May, 1852, and two years later, having studied theology, was ordained a priest of the Protestant Episcopal chui'ch. He became rector of Christ church, Bay Ridge, Long Island, and for several years had charge of St. Andrew's and afterward of Ascension parish, Staten island. In 1874 he again engaged in teaching, becoming rector of a young ladies' school in New York city. He received the degree of A. M. from Columbia in 1837, and that of LL. D. from Union in 1851. Be- sides contributing frequently to periodical litera- ture, Mr. Irving was the author of " The Conquest of Florida by Hernando de Soto" (Philadelphia and London, 1835 ; revised ed., uniform with the collective edition of Washington Irving's works, New York and London, 1851) ; " The Fountain of Living Waters " (New York, 1854 ; 4th ed., 1855) ; "Tiny Footfalls" (1869); and "More than Con- queror" (1873). — John Treat's son, John Treat, author, b. in New York city, 2 Dec, 1812, was graduated at Columbia in 1829, studied law, and was admitted to the bar. He is the author of " Sketches in an Expedition to the Pawnee Tribes " (2 vols., Philadelphia and London, 1835) : " Hawk Chief" (Philadelphia and London, 1836); "The Attorney " and " Harry Harson, or the Benevolent Bachelor," the last two being first published in the " Knickerbocker Magazine " over the signature of " John Quod " in 1842-'3 ; and " The Van Gelder Papers and Other Sketches " (New York, 1887). IRWIN, Jared, statesman, b. in Mecklenburg county, N. C, in 1750 ; d. in Union, Washington co., Ga., 1 March, 1818. He removed in early boyhood with his parents to Burke county, Ga., was an ardent patriot, and served in a Georgia regiment during the last four years of the Revolu- tionary war, afterward commanding a detach- ment of Georgia militia on the frontier, and against the Creek Indians. About 1788 he removed to Washington county, Ga., was a member of the first legislature that convened after the independence of the colonies was established, was in that body almost continuously, except while he was governor for the state, from 1790 till 1811, and frequently was president of the senate. He was a member of the State constitutional conventions of 1789, 1795, and 1798, and was president of the last named. In 1796 he became governor, and his administra- tion was marked by the rescinding of the " Yazoo law " that had been passed by a previous corrupt legislature. He was re-elected governor in 1806. IRWIN, John, naval officer, b. in Pennsylva- nia, 15 April, 1832. He was commissioned mid- shipman in 1847, passed midshipman in 1853, lieutenant in 1855, captain in 1875, and commo- dore in 1886. During the civil war he served on the frigate " Wabash " at the battle of Port Royal, and with a detachment of officers and seamen of the ship participated in the bombardment and capture of Fort Pulaski. His conduct on this occasion was commended in the official report. He was on duty in California, and was promoted rear admiral. 20 May, 1891.
IRWIN, John Scull, banker, b. in Pittsburg,
Pa., 4 April, 1825. He was graduated at the West-
ern university of Pennsylvania in 1842, and in
medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in
1847. He practised till 1853, when he abandoned
the medical profession on account of failing health,
and entered a banking-house in Fort Wayne, Ind.,
continuing in that business for twenty years. In
1865 he became treasurer of the Fort Wayne school
board, and in 1875 superintendent of the city
schools, and a member of the state board of educa-
tion. On resigning from the board of trustees of
Indiana university he received the degree of LL. D.
He is a member of the national council of the Edu-
cation association, and has been active in the coun-
cils of the Protestant Episcopal church.
IRWIN, Mathew, soldier, b. in Ireland in
1740 ; d. in Philadelphia, Pa., 10 March, 1800. He
emigrated to the United States in 1767, and was
a successful importer in Philadelphia till the be-
ginning of the Revolution, when he entered the
army as captain and quartermaster in the Penn-
sylvania line. He served in various capacities
until 1783, and in December, 1777, when the army
at Valley Forge was destitute of clothing and pro-
visions, was one of sixty citizens of Philadelphia
to provide funds for its temporary support, his sub-
scription being £5,000. In 1785 he became re-
corder of Philadelphia, and from the adoption of
the constitution of 1790 was master of rolls of the
state of Pennsylvania until his death. — His son,
Thomas, jurist, b. in Philadelphia, 22 Feb., 1785;
d. in Pittsburg, Pa., 14 May, 1870, was educated
at Franklin college, Pa., but, in consequence of the
death of his father, who left a heavily encumbered
estate, was not graduated. In 1804 he became
editor of the " Philadelphia Repository," studied
law, and in 1808 was admitted to the bar. In this
year he accepted an appointment in the Indian
department at Natchitoches, La., and also prac-
tised law there for two years. Failure of health
necessitating his return in 1810, he settled in
Uniontown, Fayette co., N. Y., was a member of
the legislature in 1824-'6, and during his term of
office framed the bill for the extension of the
Chesapeake and Ohio railroad. In 1828 he was
elected to congress as a Democrat, serving till his
appointment in 1830 as judge of the western dis-
trict of Pennsylvania, which office he held till his
death. His opinion regarding the fugitive-slave
act of 1850 had a large circulation.
IRWIN, Nathaniel, clergyman, b. in Fagg's
Manor, Chester co., Pa., 17 Oct., 1756; d. in
Bucks county, Pa., 3 March, 1812. He was
graduated at Princeton in 1770, was ordained to
the Presbyterian ministry in 1774, and was pastor
of the Nesharniny church, Bucks county, Pa.,
from that year until his death. He was clerk of
the " old synod " in 1781-5, and moderator of the
general assembly in 1801. Mr. Irwin was the
first to encourage John Fitch, the steamboat
builder, and the inventor's autobiography, which
is now in the Philadelphia library in manuscript,
is addressed " to the Rev. Nathaniel Irwin."
Irwin combined great business shrewdness with
devotion to his profession, and was an eloquent
orator. He exercised much influence in local
politics, and a caricature, printed at the time of the
location of the Bucks county court-house, repre-
sents him without his hat and in his shirt-sleeves,
striving with all his might to pull the building
in the direction of Doylestown.
IRWIN, William, governor of California, b.
in Butler county, Ohio, in 1827 ; d. in San Fran-
cisco, Cal., 15 March, 1886. He was graduated at
Marietta college in 1848, and, after teaching for
three years at Port Gibson, Miss., and holding a
tutorship at Marietta, went to Chicago, where he
read law for a few months. After passing two years
in Oregon, he settled in Siskiyou county, Cal., and
engaged in mining, lumbering, and publishing a
newspaper. He was elected to the legislature as a
Democrat in 1861, was its president pro tempore
during his second term, in 1874 became lieutenant-
governor, and in 1875 governor of California.
IRWING, Mary Katie, English adventuress, b. in the island of Guernsey in 1678 ; d. in Port
