pistols ensued. Gen. Read was shot dead, but Gen. Dearing lingered until a few days after the surrender of Lee, when he died in the old City hotel at Lynchburg, Va.
DEAS, Charles, painter, b. in Philadelphia in
1818 ; died insane. His maternal grandfather
was Ralph Izard, the South Carolina patriot. He
showed an early taste for art, and studied under
John Sanderson in his native city, and in the
schools of the National academy of design, New
York. In 1840 he visited the " far west " of that
day, and spent several years at St. Louis in the
successful practice of his profession. He was a
man of decided ability; but mental derangement
cut short his career many years before his death.
Among his more important pictures that have be-
come widely known through engravings are " The
Turkey Shoot," " Walking the Chalk," " Long
Jake," " The Wounded Pawnee," " Indian Guide,"
" A Group of Sioux," " Hunters on the Prairie,"
and " The Last Shot." His " Council of the Sliaw-
nees at North Bend " portrays an incident in the
life of Gen. George Rogers Clarke.
DE AYOLAS, Juan. See Ayolas.
DE BAR, Benedict, actor, b. in London, Eng-
land, 5 Nov., 1813; d. in St. Louis, Mo., 14 Aug.,
1877. He made his debut at the Theatre Royal,
Margate, England, in 18;J3, and came to the United
States in 1834, appearing the following year at the
St. Charles theatre. New Orleans, as Sir Benjamin
Backbite in the " School for Scandal." In 1837 he
opened the old National theatre in New York city,
and in 1838 played at the old St. Louis theatre,
afterward appearing in various cities of the west.
In 1840 he played successively in New York and Lon-
don, and in the same year returned to New York,
where he played at the Bowery theatre. In 1842 he
became stage-manager for Hamblin at the Bowery,
in 1849 purchased the Chatham theatre. New York,
retaining it for three years, and afterward went on a
four years' starring tour, playing in the principal
cities of the United States. In 1853 he became pro-
prietor of the St. Charles theatre. New Orleans, and
in 1855 of the St. Louis theatre, leasing it in 1873,
when he bought a large interest in the Grand opera
house of that city. After the death of Hackett
the dramatic stage lacked a great Falstaff until
Mr. De Bar undertook its representation, making a
specialty of this character, which others had
adopted and soon relinquished. His appearance
in Brooklyn in this character, after his success in
the west and. south, was a dramatic event of note.
He acquired a large fortune, being successful both
as an actor and manager. — His wife, Florence, b.
in Philadelphia in 1828, made her drbut in 1839 as
a danseuse at the "Walnut street theatre, Philadel-
phia. Her maiden name was Vallee. She travelled
with Farmy Ellsler, and at the old Park theatre in
1848 played the " French Spy." She retired from
the stage in New Orleans in December, 1857.
DE BEGNIS, Giuseppe, opera-singer, b. in Lugo, Italy, in 1795; d. in New York city in August,
1849. He began his m.usical stttdies at the age
of seven years, and sang soprano till he was nearly
fifteen, when his voice broke. He then studied for
a comedian, and later resumed lessons as a baritone
vocalist. He made his first appearance as an opera-
tic buffo singer at Modena, in 1813, with sufficient
success to decide his continuance as a performer on
the lyric stage. In 1816 he married the noted
prima-donna and famous beauty, Signorina Ronzi.
They sang throughout Italy with great success, and
in 1819 made their first appearance at the Italian
opera in Paris, remaining three seasons. In 1821
they performed in London, and thereafter in the
various capital cities of Europe, in concerts and
operas. About 1845 De Begnis came to the United
States, appearing frequently in New York city in
concerts and operas with only moderate success.
His voice had lost its freshness, and his style seemed
antiquated. He was still notable as one of the
purest and most natural of Italian buffo singers;
but that kind of vocalist was not appreciated in
this country. In the old Rossinian comic operas
the flexibility of his voice and his rapid pronuncia-
tion were altogether remarkable. His countenance
was severely marked by small-pox ; but in his
make-up for performance he gave no evidence of
facial disfigurement. Disappointed in his recep-
tion by the American public, he longed to return
to the scenes of his early success ; but the horrors of
sea-sickness and hazards of the voyage prevented.
He died of cholera, not without means, but neg-
lected and almost forgotten.
DE BERDT, Dennis, colonial agent, b. early
in the 18th century ; d. in England, about 1771.
He was a London merchant, with extensive com-
mercial connections in this country. About No-
vember, 1766, when tlie colonial legislature of
Massachusetts dismissed Richard Jackson from its
service, the house elected the honest and aged
Dennis de Berdt as its own particular agent. From
this time Hutchinson, who had made pretence of
being a friend to colonial liberty, dated the revolt
of the American colonies, and his correspondence
and advice conformed to the opinion. Samuel
Adams divined the evil designs, now so near their
execution, and instructed De Berdt to oppose the
establishment of a military force in America, as
needless for protection and dangerous to liberty.
" Certainly," said he, " the best way for Great Brit-
ain to make her colonies a real and lasting benefit
is to give them all consistent indulgence in trade,
and to remove any occasion of their suspecting that
their liberties are in danger. While any act of
parliament is in force which has the least appear-
ance of a design to raise a revenue out of them,
their jealousy will be awake." The closing of the
affairs of Mr. De Berdt's firm in England, which
was found to be irretrievably bankrupt, was under-
taken by Joseph Reed, a young colonial visitor to
England, who had practised law in the New Jersey
courts, and later had held, as his first political
appointment, the office of deputy secretary for the
province of New Jersey. Pie had visited England
in 1763-5, and had met the family of Mr. De Berdt.
In May, 1770, he married Esther de Berdt. Dr.
Franklin was chosen to succeed Dennis de Berdt as
colonial agent at the time of his death.
DEBERRY, Edmund, politician, b. in Mount
Gilead, N. C, 14 Aug., 1787; d. there, 12 Dec, 1859.
He received a public-school education and engaged
in agricultural pursuits. He was a member of the
state legislature, with occasional intermissions, from
ISOl! t ill 1N28, and was elected to congress as a whig,
serving from 1829 till 1831. He was defeated
when a candidate for re-election, but was elected
again in 1833, and for each succeeding term till
1845, and was again in congress from 1849 till 1851.
DE BHAQUIÈRE, Peter Boyle, Canadian statesman, b. in Dublin, 27 April, 1784 ; d. in Yorkville (now a part of Toronto), 23 Oct., 1860. He was the youngest son of John, Lord de Bhaquiere, of Ardkill, county Londonderry, Ireland. He entered the navy when quite young, and served as a midshipman at the battle of Camperdown. He left the navy after a brief period of service, and in 1837 emigrated to Canada. From 1838 till his death he was a member of the legislative council. On the remodelling of Toronto university, he was appointed
