included in the purchase. A palisaded fort was built, with the "red lion, rampant," of Holland aflfixed to its gate, and the country was named Swaanendael, while the water was called Godyn's bay. The estate was further extended, on 5 May, 1630, by the purchase of a tract twelve miles square on the coast of Cape May, opposite, and the trans- action was duly attested at Fort Amsterdam. The existence of the little colony was short, for the Indians came down upon it in revenge for an arbitrary act on the part of Hosset, and it was destroyed, not a soul escaping to tell the tale. According to acknowledged precedent, occupancy of the wilderness served to perfect title; but before the Dutch could reoccupy the desolated site at Lewes, the English were practically in possession.
BLONDIN, Emile Gravelet, funambulist,
b. in St. Omer, France, 28 Feb., 1824; d. in London, Eng., 22 Feb., 1897. In 1855 he was engaged by William Niblo to perform with the Ravel troupe in New York, and was subsequently part proprietor of a circus. On 30
June, 1859, he accomplished the remarkable exploit
of crossing the Niagara river on a tight rope, and
afterward crossed with a man on his back, and
performed similar feats in other parts of America and
Europe. The rope on which he crossed, a short
distance below the falls, at a height of 150 feet from the
water, was 1,300 feet long and 3¼ inches in diameter.
BLOODGOOD, Delavan, surgeon, b. in Springville, Erie co., N. Y., 20 Aug. 1831. He was graduated at Madison University, Hamilton, N. Y., in 1852, studied medicine in the college of physicians and surgeons. New York city, Michigan University,
and Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, where
he received his degree of M. D., and entered the
U, S. navy as assistant surgeon 13 March, 1857.
In his first cruise, in the steam frigate "Merrimac," of the Pacific squadron, he volunteered his services when a supposed epidemic broke out among
the employes of the Pacific steam navigation company at Tobago. At the beginning of the civil war he was on duty in the gulf of Mexico, and
afterward in Hampton Roads, receiving promotion
as surgeon, 24 Jan., 1862. He was subsequently
attached to the West India flying squadron when
yellow fever broke out on board, and to the Carolina blockading squadron when a severe epidemic of
small-pox occurred. He was ordered to the "Jamestown" at Panama in February, 1867, and was one of the few survivors of the virulent epidemic of yellow fever that raged among the men. He was promoted, 22 Aug., 1884, to medical director, and assigned to the naval laboratory in Brooklyn, N. Y.
BLOODGOOD, Simeon De Witt, merchant and
author, b. in Utica, N. Y.. in 1799 ; d. in New York city, 14 July, 1866. He wrote "The Sexagenary, or Reminiscences of the American Revolution"
(Albany, 1833), and a treatise "On Roads" (1838), and contributed largely to the periodical press. A few months before his death he was appointed consul-general for the United States of Colombia.
BLOODWORTH, Timothy, statesman, b. in
1736 ; d. near Washington, N. C, 24 Aug., 1814. He was for thirty years a member of the legislative assembly of North Carolina; member of the continental congress in 1786-'7; a member of congress in 1790 and 1791 ; U. S. senator, 1795-1801, and afterward collector of the port of Wilmington. He was brought up in poverty, followed by turns the callings of farmer, smith, preacher, doctor, wheelwright, and politician, and was noted for his benevolence.
BLOOMER, Amelia Jenks, reformer, b. in
Homer, N. Y., 27 May, 1818; d. in Council Bluffs. Iowa, 30 Dec, 1894. She married, and lived in Seneca Falls, N. Y., where she wrote frequently
on the enfranchisement of women, and on 1 Jan., 1849, issued the first number of "The Lily," a semi-monthly publication, devoted to temperance
and woman's rights, which attained a circulation of 4,000. In 1853 she removed with her husband to Mt. Vernon, Ohio, where she continued the publication of "The Lily," and was also associate editor of the "Western Home Journal," a literary weekly. In 1855, on account of her husband's
business interests, they removed to Council Bluffs, Iowa, where it was impracticable, for lack of manufacturing and postal facilities, to continue the publication of the paper, which she therefore sold to
Mary B. Birdsall. She advocated women's rights
on the lecture platform as well as in the columns
of her paper, and took a prominent part in the
movement for woman suffrage. She also lectured
on temperance in the principal cities of the northwest, and adopted and publicly recommended a
sanitary dress for women, known as the Bloomer
costume, which was first introduced by Elizabeth
Smith Miller, daughter of Gerrit Smith. It consisted of skirts reaching just below the knee and
Turkish trousers. In the winter of 1855 Mrs.
Bloomer addressed the territorial legislature of
Nebraska on the subject of conferring the ballot
on women. She took part in organizing the Iowa
state suffrage association, and was at one time its
president, but in later years withdrew entirely from
public life, devoting her time to her family.
BLOOMFIELD, Joseph, soldier, b. in Wood-
bridge, N. J. ; d. in Burlington, N. J., 3 Oct., 1823. He studied law until the beginning of the war of independence, when he was made a captain in Dayton's regiment, the 3d New Jersey, in 1776, and served through the war, attaining the rank of
major. He was subsequently admitted to the bar,
and, after practising for some time at Burlington,
became attorney-general of the state. He was governor of New Jersey in 1801-12, was brigadier-general during the war of 1812-'5, was a representative in congress during 1817-'21, and chairman of a committee on revolutionary pensions. He was a firm republican in politics, and a brave soldier.
BLOSSOM, Thomas, pioneer, d. in Plymouth,
Mass., in the summer of 1633. He was a deacon of the church of Plymouth, and a correspondent of Gov. Bradford, who speaks of him as one of "our
ancient family in Holland." The church records describe him as being "a holy man and experienced saint," and one "competently accomplished
with abilities."
BLOT, Pierre, cook, b. in France about 1818;
d. in Jersey City, N. J., 26 Aug., 1874. He aimed at popularizing good cookery and effecting economy in the preparation of food, published a series of magazine articles in which he imparted practical
information and discountenanced the consumption of game and fish out of season, and wrote a book on cookery, entitled "What to Eat, and how to Cook it" (New" York, 1863), containing over a thousand
recipes. He also lectured on that subject, established schools of instruction in the art, and engaged in business enterprises in Brooklyn and New
York, partly with the view of carrying into effect his views on the preparation of food.
BLOUNT, William, statesman, b. in North Carolina in 1744 ; d. in Knoxville, Tenn., 21 March, 1800. He was a son of Jacob Blount, who was a member of the provincial assemblies of 1775-'6. He was a delegate from North Carolina to the old congress in 1782-'3 and 1786-'7, member of the assembly from Newbern in 1780 and 1784, a signer of the'federal constitution in 1787, and in
