Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 1).djvu/720

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COGGESHALL
COGSWELL

in that of 1880, and one in 1882. He first exhibit- ed in the National academy. New York, in 1881. in 1886 he was awarded the Hallgarten prize of f 300 for his picture in the National academy. His most notable works are " Une academie de pein- ture moderne " and " Un auberge en Bi'etagne " (1879); "Joueur de Mandoline" and "Le Pere Jean " (1880) ; " An Examination " (time of Louis XIII.). and " The Close of Day " (1881) ; " Portrait of a Gentleman " (1882) ; " Reflections " and " Five O'clock in the Morning " (1884) ; " Lady in Black " and " Day-Dreams " (1885) ; '• Moonlight in Har- vest " and " The Hayfield " (1886).


COGGESHALL, George, sailor, b. in Connecticut in 1784. He went to sea when quite young. In the second war with Great Britain he commanded two privateers. He published "Voyages to Various Parts of the World from 1799 till 1844 " (New York, 1852) ; " History of American Privateers and Letters of Marque during our War with England, 1812, '13, '14 "(New York, 1856; 2d ed., 1861) ; " Historical Sketch of Commerce and Navi- gation from the Birth of our Saviour down to the Present Date " (New York, 1860) ; and " Religious and Miscellaneous Poetrv."


COGGESHALL, William Turner, journalist, b. in Lewistown, Pa., 6 Sept., 1824; d. in Quito, Ecuador, 2 Aug., 1867. He went in 1841 to Ohio, connected himself with the Cincinnati “Gazette,” published “The Genius of the West” in 1854-'6, and was state librarian in 1856-'62. At the beginning of the civil war he volunteered, and was appointed on the staff of Gov. Dennison, with the rank of colonel. He was detailed to perform secret service in Virginia and other places, and while on duty caught a cold that led to consumption, and finally ended his life. He bought the Springfield “Republic” in 1862, but sold it in 1865, and took charge of the “Ohio State Journal,” published at Columbus. He was on Gov. Cox's staff in January, 1866, and in June of that year accepted the mission in Ecuador, hoping that the pure air of Quito might restore his health. He published “Signs of the Times,” a book on spirit-rappings (Cincinnati, 1851); “Easy Warren and his Contemporaries” (New York, 1854); “Oakshaw, or the Victim of Avarice” (Cincinnati, 1855); “Home Hits and Hints” (New York, 1859); “Poets and Poetry of the West” (Columbus, Ohio, 1860); “Stories of Frontier Adventure” (1863); “The Journeys of A. Lincoln as President-elect and as President Martyred” (1865); and contributed largely to periodical literature. - His daughter, Jessie, b. in Wadsworth, Ohio, 22 Sept., 1851; d. in Guayaquil, Ecuador, 10 Jan., 1868, accompanied her father to Ecuador as secretary of legation, and had entire charge of the office for four months after his death.


COGSWELL, Jonathan, clergyman, b. in Row- ley, Mass., 3 Sept., 1782; d. in New Brunswick, N. J., 1 Aug., 1864. John Cogswell, the founder of the American branch of the family, sailed from Bristol, 23 May, 1635, in his own ship " The An- gel Gabriel." Her cargo consisted of his prop- erty, and comprised a large part of his valuable es- tate. The vessel arrived off the coast of Maine in a fearful tempest, and was wrecl^d at Pema- quid bay, 15 Aug. The crew and passengers were all saved, but a large part of her cargo was lost. After camping out for a few days, Mr. Cogswell chartered a small bark, which landed him, with his family, furniture, silver plate, and such books as he had saved, at Ipswich, Mass., where many of his descendants still reside. Later in the same year he purchased an extensive tract of land and erected the third house built at Ipswich. The reasons for leaving his English home for a log house in the wilderness of a new world were identical with those that led to the foundation of Plymouth colo- ny fifteen years before. Among John Cogswell's descendants was Nathaniel, who studied medicine with Dr. Perkins, one of the celebrities of Boston, and an intimate friend of the philosopher Benja- min Franklin. He was present when Franklin killed a pigeon with his new electric battery. Jona- than was Nathaniel's youngest son. In early life he resolved to become a minister, and persisted in his purpose, although his father opposed it and withheld pecuniary aid, wishing him to follow his own profession. He was graduated with honor at Harvard in 1806, standing second in his class. From 1807 till 1809 he was a tutor at Bowdoin, pursuing his theological studies at the same time, but finishing them at Andover theological semi- nary, where he was graduated with the first class that completed the course in 1810, and included his life-long friends, Richard S. Storrs and Gardner Spring. The same year he was ordained as a Con- gregational minister and settled as pastor of the church in Saco, Me. Here he remained for eighteen years, when his health compelled him to resign. During this period he saved a sura of nearly |1,000 with a view to purchasing a house ; but when the work of foreign missions was established and an eloquent appeal was made in his church for aid, he gave everj" dollar of his savings to the cause. From 1829 till 1834 he was pastor of the New Britain church in Berlin, Conn. In 1832 he was ap- pointed trustee of his brother Nathan- iel Cogswell's large estate, of which he and his family were the principal heirs. In May, 1834, he accepted the chair of ecclesiastical his- tory in the Theo- logical institute of Connecticut at East Windsor Hill,

filled this position gratuitously for ten years, but contributed liberally to the institution not alone in money, but by giving most of his large and valuable library. He resigned his professorship in 1844 and removed to New Brunswick, N. J. There, in company with Dr. Janeway and John R. Ford, he erected a tasteful edifice known as the 2d Presbyterian church, contributing a large pro- portion of the cost, in addition to giving one half of the cost of the parsonage and a thousand dollars toward the support of a minister, followed by frequent gifts to the pastor and people up to the time of his death. He was one of the early members of the New York historical society, a life director of the American Bible society, a life member of the American tract society, and connected with numerous other organizations, to all of which he contributed liberally. He founded scholarships in the College of New Jersey and in Rutgers college, and was a regular annual contributor to the various boards of the church with which he was connected for threescore years. Christian beneficence marked the whole course of his long life. As a preacher Dr. Cogswell was peculiarly zealous