1836), and of a "Narrative of the Expedition in H. M. Ship 'Terror '" (1838).
BACKUS, Azel, educator, b. in Norwich, Conn., 13 Oct., 17G5; d. 9 Dec, 1817. His parents were Congregationalists, but while at Yale he imbibed deistical opinions. He was graduated in 1787
with a high reputation for scholarship, and taught
school for a time at Wethersfield, Conn. Under
the influence of his uncle, the Rev. Charles Backus, he became a Christian and entered the ministry, although at one time he was on the point of joining the array. He was licensed to preach in 1789, and in 1791 became the successor of Dr. Bellamy at Bethlehem, Conn., where he also carried on a
successful school. Here he remained until, at the
foundation of Hamilton college, Clinton, N. Y., in
1812, he was chosen its first president, and was inaugurated on 3 Dec. of that year. Princeton gave
him the degree of S. T. D. in 1810. He took great
interest in the political questions of the day, and
published a number of sermons (1797-1813), among
which are the annual "election sermon," delivered
in 1798 before the Connecticut legislature, and one
on the death of Gov. Wolcott (1797).
BACKUS, Charles, theologian, b. in Franklin, Conn.. 9 Nov., 1749; d. in Somers, Conn., 30 Dec, 1803. He lost his parents early in childhood, and
was educated by his friends. After his graduation at Yale in 1709 he studied theology under Dr. Hart, of Preston, was licensed to preach in 1773,
and on 10 Aug., 1774, became pastor of the Congregational church in Somers, where he remained
until his death. Here he established a sort of
divinity school, receiving theological students into
his family. Nearly fifty were thus trained, among
them Dr. Woods, of Andover, President Moore,
of Amherst, President Davis, of Hamilton, and
other eminent divines. Dr. Backus was invited to
fill the chair of theology at Dartmouth, and afterward that at Yale, but declined in both cases. He
was a plain but impressive speaker, and a fervent
extemporaneous preacher. He published a large
number of sermons (1795-1801), including one to
freemasons (1795) ; " Five Discourses on the Truth
of the Bible " (1797), and an historical discourse on
the town of Somers (1801). He also published a
volume on regeneration. An article on his divinity school, by J. Vaill, appeared in the "Congregational Quarterly" for 1864.
BACKUS, Electus, soldier, d. 7 June, 1813. He was appointed major of light dragoons 7 Oct., 1808, and lieutenant-colonel 15 Feb., 1804. He
was in command of the American forces at Sackett's Harbor in 1813, when, hearing of a projected attack by the British, he summoned Gen. Brown, who gathered as many militia as possible and took chief command. The attack was made on 29 May, and, although the militia behaved badly, the British were finally defeated. Col. Backus fell mortally wounded while fighting bravely at the head of his men.—His son Electus (b. in New York in 1804; d. in Detroit, Mich., 7 June, 1862) was graduated at West Point in 1824. He was aide to Gen. Hugh Brady from 1828 to 1837, and became captain 17
Oct., 1837. In 1838-'40 he served in the Seminole
war, and afterward in the Mexican war, being brevetted major on 23 Sept., 1846, "for gallant and meritorious conduct at Monterey." In 1847 he was in command of the fortress of San Juan d'Ulloa. He became major in the 3d infantry on 10 June, 1850. served in the Navajo expedition in 1858, was made lieutenant-colonel 19 Jan., 1859, and colonel 6th infantry 20 Feb., 1862. Just before his death, in the early part of the civil war, he was
mustering and disbursing officer at Detroit.
BACKUS, Franklin Thomas, lawyer, b. in Lee, Mass., 6 May, 1813; d. in Cleveland, Ohio, 14 May, 1870. He lived on a farm near Lansing, N.Y., was graduated at Yale in 1836, studied
law in Cleveland, and was admitted to the bar in
1839. He was elected prosecuting attorney of the
county in 1841, and was sent to the Ohio house
of representatives in 1846, and to the state senate
in 1848. He was a delegate to the peace congress
at Washington in 1861. He supported
McClellan
for president in 1864, and was a delegate to the
national convention that met at Philadelphia in
1866 to form a new party. He gained especial
distinction in the early part of his career as
prosecuting attorney at the trial of Brooks, who was
sentenced to life-long imprisonment for wrecking
a train, and as attorney for the Oberlin rescuers,
who had assisted in the escape of a slave. In his
latter years he was much consulted in railroad
cases, and was influential in settling the principles
governing the Ohio courts regarding railroads.
BACKUS, Isaac, clergyman, b. in Norwich, Conn., 9 Jan., 1724; d. 20 Nov., 1806. He became identified with the "Separatist" movement, began
to preach in 1746, was ordained in Middleborough,
Mass., 13 April, 1748, and became pastoral Titicut,
in that town, of a new Congregational society,
which had been formed in consequence of a dispute regarding the settlement of a minister. In 1749 some of his congregation began to sympathize with the Baptists, and he finally united with these
and formed a Baptist church in Middleborough in
1756, having been immersed in 1751. He held
open communion for some years, but at length
abandoned it. Throughout his life he was an earnest and consistent advocate of the utmost religious freedom. In 1774 he was sent as the agent of
the Warren association of Baptist churches to
claim from congress, for the Baptists, the same
rights as those accorded other churches. He vindicated his course by a paper in the "Boston
Chronicle," 2 Dec, 1779, arguing against a proposed article in the Massachusetts bill of rights.
In 1788 he was a delegate to the convention that
adopted the federal constitution, and made a speech
in its favor. Dr. Backus was for. thirty-four years
a trustee of Rhode Island college, now Brown university. He was a voluminous writer, his most important work being a "History of New England, with Special Reference to the Baptists " (3 vols., 1777-'96), with an abridgment, bringing the work down to 1804. A new edition, carefully edited by Rev. David Weston, of Madison university, was
published under the auspices of the Backus historical society of Newton Centre, Mass. (2 vols., 1871). This work, though partisan, is still valuable to the student of New England history. Dr. Backus also wrote a history of Middleborough in the 3d volume of the Massachusetts historical collections. See Sprague's "Annals of the American Pulpit."
BACON, David, missionary, b. in Woodstock, Conn., in 1771; d. in Hartford, Conn., 27 Aug., 1817. His labors and sufferings as missionary to the Ojibbewa Indians in the territory of Michigan, and afterward as founder of a Christian town at Tallmadge, Ohio, have been narrated in a "Sketch of the Rev. David Bacon," by Rev. Leonard Bacon, D. D. (Boston, 1876).—His son, Leonard, clergyman, b. in Detroit, Mich., 19 Feb., 1802; d. in New Haven, Conn., 24 Dec, 1881. He was graduated at Yale in 1820, and studied theology at
Andover. In March, 1825, he was ordained pastor of the 1st church in New Haven, and continued in this office until his death—fifty-seven years. From 1866, being relieved of the main burden of
