ada by defeating every competitor in the tourna- ment. The year following he gained the cham- pionship cue in New York, then first offered, which he lost by being defeated by Deery and Rudolphe in succeeding tournaments, but regained in 1871 from Frank Poster, .and held until, after three es- says, Maurice Daly defeated him. He contested the championship in fifteen-ball pool with Wahl- strom in 1877, but was worsted.
DIRCK, Cornelius Lansing. clergyman, b. in
Lansingburg, N. Y., S March, f785 ; d." 19 March.
1857. He studied theology, was ordained at Onon-
daga, N. Y., in December, 1807, and held various
pastorates in the northern states, in addition to
which he was connected with Auburn seminary as
trustee in 1820-'30 and 1835-57, vice-president of
the board of trustees in 1820-'4, and professor of
sacred rhetoric and pastoral theology in 1821-'6.
He served without salary, and as financial agent
raised large sums for the seminary. He published
"Sermons on Important Subjects" (1825).
DISBROWE, Samuel, magistrate, b. in Eltisley, Cambridgeshire, England, 30 Nov., 1G19; d. in Eifworth, Cambridgeshire, England, 10 Dec, 1690. He was the brother of John Disbrowe, who gained distinction by his marriage with the sister of Oliver Cromwell and by his active service during the commonwealth, becoming major-general in 1648 and governor of the west in 1050. During the civil
war, Samuel Disbrowe and a number of colonists sailed from England in a ship of 350 tons for Connecticut. After a long voyage they arrived in New Haven about 1 July, 1639. In August they purchased from the Indians the tract of land comprising the present town of Guilford, the contract be-
ing formally made on 26 Aug., and the deed dated
30 Sept., 1639. These papers and a map made by
the Indians of the territory sold and of the adjoin-
ing coast are still preserved in the Massachusetts
historical society in Boston. The first settlers of
Guilford came to New England when the hold of
the Dissenters was broken from the mother coun-
try, so that they settled as an independent repub-
lic. Their constitution is on record in the hand-
writing of Samuel Disbrowe. This document is
complete in ail its parts, providing for executive,
legislative, and judiciary departments, the order of
its courts, manner of holding its meetings, etc.
In 1650 he returned to England, and through the
infiuence of his brother was sent to Scotland in the
employment of the state. Soon after his arrival
he was appointed to represent the town of Edin-
burgh in parliament, and on 4 May, 1655, was chosen
by Cromwell to be one of the nine counsellors of
Scotland. In the following year he was a mem-
ber of the British parliament. Cromwell was so
pleased with his services that, on 16 Feb., 1657, he
gave a patent for the office of keeper of the great
seal of Scotland to him or to his deputy during his
lifetime, " subject to such regulations with regard
to fees or otherwise as should be made by his high-
ness or his successors with the advice of the privy
council of England." Disbrowe was continued in
all his offices by the protector, Richard Cromwell,
and prudently embraced the royal proclamation
sent from Breda. On 21 May, 1660, he signed his
submission to the king, and on 12 Dec. obtained
his pardon. Alter that he retired to his home in
Eifworth, Cambridgeshire.
DISNEY, Richard Randolph, Canadian clergyman, b. in North-East, Cecil co., Md., in 1835. His parents had formerly been slaves, but at the time of his birth were free. When he was eight years old liis father died. Afterward he was a barter in Baltimore, and while there united with the African Methodist Episcopal church. He was
graduated with honors at Osgood seminary, Spring-
field, in 1857, and at once began his ministerial
work. He soon removed to Chatham, Ontario,
where a large colored population was settled, and
subsequently was stationed as a preacher at Peel,
Buxton, Windsor, Hamilton, St. Catharines, To-
ronto, and Chatham. On the death of Bishop Naz-
rey he was appointed to the vacant bishojsric in the
African Methodist Episcopal church.
DISOSWAY, Gabriel Poillon, antiquary, b.
in New York city, 6 Dec, 1799 ; d. on Staten Island,
9 July, 1868. He was graduated at Columbia in
1819, went to Petersburg, Va., where he resided
for several years, returned to New York, and be-
came a merchant. He was one of the founders of
Randolph-Macon college, established at Ashland,
Va., in 1832. He contributed frequently to the
newspaper and periodical press, and published
"The Earliest Churches of New York and its Vicinity" (New York, 1865).
DiSSTON, Henry, manufacturer, b. in Tewkes-
bury, England, 21 May, 1819 ; d. in Philadelphia,
16 March, 1878. He came to the United States at
the age of fourteen with his father, who died soon
after landing in Philadelphia. The boy turned
his attention to mechanics, and began business in
Philadelphia. It is said he wheeled the coal that
he required from the wharf to his place of busi-
ness. He was the first manufacturer that competed
successfully with the English in hand and back
saws, and to him belongs the credit of effectually
checking the importation of foreign saws. He in-
vented more than twenty improvements in saw
manufacture, among them the movable or inserted
teeth. His business increased until his buildings
covered more than 250.000 square feet of ground
and contained over 400 workmen. He was the in-
ventor and manufacturer of the Disston saw.
DISTLIRNELL, John, compiler, b. in Lansing- burg, N. Y., 6 Oct., 1801 ; d. in New York city, 1 Oct., 1877. He began life as a printer in Albany, N. Y., but removed to Troy and afterward to New York city, where he opened a book-store and be- came a map-publisher. In 1829 he issued the first Troy Directory. In 1840 he compiled and printed "The Traveller's Railroad Guide," wiiich was the first work of the kind that was published in the United States. He was the author of " New Yoi'k as it was and as it is," and for twenty years pub- lished annually the " United States Register or Blue Book." He published also a work on the "Influence of Climate in North and South Ameri- ca" (New York, 1859) ; " The Great Lakes or Inland Seas of America" (1S63): and "The Travellers Guide to the Hudson River " (1NG4).
DITSON, (xeorge Leighton, traveller, b. in Westford, Mass., 5 Aug., 1812. He was educated at Westford academy, and began the study of medicine in Boston, but gave it up on account of impaired health. After many years' absence from the United States he returned, and took his medi- cal degree at Vermont university in 1864, but never practised. Dr. Ditson has travelled widely in Europe, Asia, and Africa. While in Russia he crossed the Caucasus range, a feat that had been accomplished by no other foreigner not connected with the Russian army. While living in the island of Cuba he was several times acting U. S. consul at Nuevitas under Presidents Tyler and Polk, and he opened and developed the copper mines at Bayatavo. While a resident of Puerto Principe, in i842-'3, he was professor of English in the Dupuis college there. Dr. Ditson is a member of the Geological society of France, the Theosophi-
