by every member of the U. S. senate and house of representatives, and President Grant at one time intended to comply with the request, but circumstances arose that rendered the retention of George Bancroft desirable. Mr. Orth soon afterward declined the office of commissioner of internal revenue. In 1876 he was the Republican candidate for governor, but withdrew from the canvass. He had frequently been a member of the congressional committee on foreign affairs, and in March, 1875, was appointed minister to Austria, after declining the mission to Brazil. He returned to the United States in 1877, and was again elected to congress, serving from 18 March, 1879, until his death.
ORTIZ, John F., clergyman, b. in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in 1798; d. there, 20 Jan., 1858. He studied in the College of Durango, was ordained in 1822, appointed pastor of San Juan de los Caballeros in 1828, and transferred to Santa Fe in 1825. In 1829 he was named "Cura Propio de Santa Fe," and in 1832 he was appointed administrator of New Mexico. When Bishop Lamy was chosen to take his place in 1850, the prejudice against citizens of the United States was very strong in New Mexico, and, but for the devotion of Father Ortiz, the new vicar-apostolic would have been in great difficulties. He received Dr. Lamy with respect, placed his house at his disposal, and accompanied him in all his journeys. Father Ortiz remained pastor of Santa Fe till 1853.
ORTIZ, Tomas, South American R. C. bishop, b. in Calzadilla, Estremadura, late in the 15th century; d. in Tocuyo, Venezuela, in 1538. He entered the order of Dominicans in their convent of Salamanca in 1510, came soon afterward to the missions of Hispaniola, and in 1525 was appointed vicar-general of his order for New Spain. He was later appointed first commissary of the Inquisition, and when the disturbances between Hernan Cortes and the treasurer, Alonso de Estrada, occurred in 1526, Ortiz, together with the Franciscan provincial, Martin de Valencia, appeased the contending parties and restored peace. As some of his monks had died, Ortiz returned to Spain in 1528, and through the president of the council of the Indies, Cardinal Loayza, obtained many favorable concessions for his order, returning with twenty monks to Mexico. In 1534 he was appointed to the newly created diocese of Venezuela, where he died. He wrote "Relacion curiosa de la Vida, Leyes, Costumbres y Ritos, que los Indios observan en su policia, religion y guerras" (1527), which remains in manuscript in the archives of Simancas.
ORTON, Azariah Giles, theologian, b. in Tyringham, Berkshire co., Mass., 6 Aug., 1789; d. in Lisle, Broome co.. N. Y., 28 Dec, 1864. He was graduated at Williams in 1813, and at Princeton theological seminary in 1820. On completing his theological course he was commissioned by the board of missions of the Presbyterian assembly "to preach to destitute places in Georgia." In 1822 he was ordained pastor of the Presbyterian church at Seneca Falls, N. Y., where he remained until 1835. After preaching three years at Lisle, N. Y., he accepted a call from a Congregational church at Greene, N. Y., which connection he maintained from 1838 till 1852. He then returned to Lisle, and labored there until 1860. He received the degree of D. D. from the University of the city of New York in 1849 and from Union college in 1850. In 1838 he published a reply to Prof. Moses Stuart on the constitution of the United States in its relation to slavery. In 1842 he prepared the memorial of Chenango county, N. Y., to the state senate, praying that the bill for the abolition of capital punishment might not become a law, by the timely reception of which the final passage of the bill was prevented. He was also the author of an article on the Scripture argument for capital punishment, parts of which were printed in the "Genesee Evangelist" of 1849. In 1854 he delivered an address at Miami university on "Nature and Revelation," which was published. He also was the author of several poems. Dr. Orton was a man of profound scholarship. — His son, James, naturalist, b. in Seneca Falls, N. Y., 21 April, 1830; d. on Lake Titicaca, Peru, 25 Sept., 1877, was graduated at Williams in 1855, and at Andover theological seminary in 1858. After spending some time in travel in Europe and the East, he was ordained pastor of the Congregational church in Greene, N. Y., on 11 July, 1860. In 1861 he accepted a charge in Thomaston, Me., where he remained until 1864, when he became pastor in Brighton, N. Y. He was appointed instructor in natural sciences in the University of Rochester in 1866, and in 1869 was called to the chair of natural history at Vassar college, which he held until his death. In 1867 he visited South America at the head of an expedition of students that were sent out under the auspices of Williams college. On this occasion he crossed the continent by way of Quito, the Nabo, and the Amazon, discovering the first fossils that were found in the valley of the latter river. He made a second journey in 1873, and crossed from Para, by way of the Amazon, to Lima and Lake Titicaca. In 1876 he undertook the exploration of the Great Beni river, which carries the waters of eastern Bolivia to the Amazon by way of the Madeira, and he died on this journey during the passage of Lake Titicaca, on his way to Puno. Prof. Orton was regarded as the best authority on the subject of the geology and physical geography of the west coast of South America and the Amazon valley. No one since the time of Alexander von Humboldt has contributed so much to the exact knowledge of that country. He was a member of scientific societies in the United States and in Europe, whose transactions he enriched with papers on the natural history of South America. His publications include "Miners' Guide and Metallurgists' Directory" (New York, 1849); "The Proverbalist and the Poet (Philadelphia, 1852); "The Andes and the Amazon" (New York, 1870); "Underground Treasures: How and Where to find Them" (Hartford, 1872); "Liberal Education of Women" (New York, 1873); and "Comparative Zoology" (1875).
ORTON, Edward, geologist, b. in Deposit, N. Y., 9 March, 1829; d. in Columbus, Ohio. 16 Oct., 1899. He was graduated at Hamilton, at Lane and Andover theological seminaries, and at the Lawrence scientific school of Harvard. In 1856-'9 he was professor of natural science in the New York state normal school at Albany. He was called to the chair of natural history in Antioch college in 1865, and became its president in 1872. A year later he accepted the presidency of the Ohio state university, which he held until his resignation in 1881. Since that time he had filled the chair of geology in that institution. Prof. Orton was assistant state geologist of Ohio in 1869-'75. and since 1881 had entire charge of the survey. The degree of Ph. D. was conferred on him by Hamilton in 1876, and in 1881 that of LL. D, by Ohio state university. He was a member of scientific societies, and was president of the State sanitary association of Ohio in 1884-'5. Besides various addresses, scientific papers, and contributions, he is the author of the article on Ohio in the "Encyclopaedia Britannica."
