and with James Robertson was in reality in con- trol of all judicial and administrative functions in the settlement. He was elected colonel by the over-mountain people in the same year, enlisted every able-bodied mule between the ages of sixteen and fifty in the militia, and commanded that force in innumerable Indian fights. He entered the ter- ritory of the savages in 1779, burned their towns, and fought the successful battle of Boyd's Creek. With Col. Isaac Shelby, in 1780, he planned the battle of King's Mountain, raised 480 men, was ap- pointed their colonel, and in a critical moment of the action rushed on the enemy, up the slope of the mountain, within short range of their muskets, and turned the fortunes of the day. For this ser- vice he received thanks and a sword and pistol from the North Carolina legislature. A fellow-soldier says of him, in that battle : " His eyes were flames of fire, and his words were electric bolts crashing down the ranks of the enemy." He subsequent- ly rendered important services at Musgrove's mill and in defending the frontier against the ravages of the Indians. In 1781 he conducted several expe- ditions against the Chickamauga towns, was fore- most in many skirmishes as well as treaties and negotiations with the Indians, and was revered and loved by the settlers as their father and friend. At the close of the war the Watauga settlement had widely extended its borders, and contained a large and active population. But the vast terri- tory which is now the state of Tennessee, compris- ing about 29,000,000 acres, brought with its pos- session the obligation to bear a correspondingly large part of the Federal debt. Therefore, in June, , the legislature of North Carolina ceded it to the general government. When the news of this act reached the settlers they determined to form a government of their own, and then apply for ad- mission into the Union. They were the more ready to do this as they considered themselves neglected by the North Carolina government. Accordingly, on 23 Aug., 1784, they called a convention, organized a constitution and state government, elected John Sevier governor, and named their state Franklin, in honor of Benjamin Franklin. In the mean time, be- fore the cession had been legally concluded, the leg- islature of North Carolina met again and made haste to undo what had been done at the former session. They gave the Watauga settlers a superior court, formed the militia into a brigade, and appointed Sevier brigadier - general. After this Sevier ear- nestly opposed the scheme of a separate govern- ment, and advised all his compatriots to take no further steps toward it ; but public opinion was strongly against a return to North Carolina, and he finally consented to accept the governorship of the new state, taking the oath of office on 1 March, . Within sixty days he established a superior court, reorganized the militia, and founded Wash- ington college, the first institution of classical learn- ing west of the Alleghanies. He also entered into treaties of peace with the Cherokee Indians after continued warfare for fifteen years, and for two years governed with unbroken prosperity. But dissatisfaction arose in North Carolina, and at the end of that time Gov. Richard Caswell issued a proclamation declaring the new government to be a revolt and ordering that it be at once abandoned. Violence followed the attempt to subdue it. but the settlers finally submitted to a superior force. Sevier was captured and imprisoned, but rescued, and the country was ceded to the U. S. government under the title of the " territory south of the Ohio river." Sevier then took an oath of allegiance to the United States, was commissioned brigadier- general of that section in 1789. and in 1790 chosen to congress as the first representative from the val- ley of the Mississippi. He conducted the Etowah campaign against the Creeks and Cherokees in 1793, which completely broke the spirit of the In- dians, so that they did not attack the French Broad and Holston settlements again during Sevier's life- time, and in 1796, when the territory was admitted into the Union as the state of Tennessee, he was chosen its first governor. He served three consecu- tive terms, was re-elected three successive times after 1803, and was chosen a member of congress in 1811, and was returned to that body for a third term in 1815, but died before he could take his seat. Near the close of his congressional career he was appointed by President Monroe to act as U. S. commissioner to settle the boundary- line between Georgia and the Creek territory in Alabama. But the labor was too great, and he died in his tent, attended only by a few soldiers and In- dians. His biographer, James R. Gilmore, says of him : " He was in the active service of his country from a boy of eighteen till he died at the age of seventy years. During all this period he was a leader of men. and a prime mover in the important events which occurred beyond the Alleghanies. His sway was potent and undisputed in civil as well as military affairs. As long as he lived he was the real seat of power. A rule like his was never before nor since known in this country." A monu- ment to his honor is erected in Nashville, and Se- vier county, Tenn., is named for him. See " The Rear -Guard of the Revolution," by James R. Gilmore (New York, 1886). and "Life of John Sevier," by the same author (1887). His nephew, Ambrose Hundley, senator, b. in Greene county, Tenn., 4 Nov., 1801 ; d. in Little Rock, Ark., 31 Dec., 1848. received little early education, removed to Arkansas territory in 1822, studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1823. He was clerk of the territorial legislature and a member of that body in 1823-'5, a delegate to congress in 1827-'36, hav- ing been chosen as a Democrat, and U. S. senator from the latter year till 1848. During this serviri> he was chairman of the committee on Indian af- fairs for many years, of that on foreign relations, and in 1848 was a U. S. commissioner to negotiate peace with Mexico.
SEVILLA, Jose, philanthropist, b. in Peru, S.
A., about 1820; d. in New York city in March,
1888. He settled in New York city late in life,
and bequeathed his property, valued at upward of
$1,000,000, for the establishment of an unsectarian
home for unfortunate children. Both sexes were
to be freely admitted and educated in such a man-
ner as to become self-supporting.
SEWALL, Samuel, jurist, b. in Bishopstoke,
England, 28 March, 1652 ; d. in Boston, Mass., 1
Jan., 1730. His early education was received in
England before his parents came to New England.
They went to Newbury, Mass., and his lessons were
continued there. He was fitted to enter Har-
vard in 1667, and took his first degree in 1671, his
second in 1675. He studied divinity and had
preached once before his marriage, but after
that event, which took place on 28 Feb., 1677,
he left the ministry and entered public life. His
wife was Hannah Hull, the daughter and only
child of John and Judith (Quincy) Hull. The
position which his father-in-law held as treas-
urer and mint-master undoubtedly had some-
what to do with the change in the young
man's plans. One of his first ventures after his
marriage was to assume charge of the printing-
press in Boston. This was under his manage-
