Archive:20th Century Biographical Dictionary, Volume 7
Archives > Archive:Extracts > 20th Century Biographical Dictionary, Volume 7
The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans. 10 vols. Rossiter Johnson, ed., Boston: The Biographical Society, 1904. [A corrected edition of The Cyclopedia of American Biography (1897-1903) and Lamb's Biographical Dictionary of the United States (1900-1903).] (Republished by Gale Research Company, Book Tower, Detroit, 1968) Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 68-19657. Vol VII: Lodge--Moul.
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McKEON, John, representative, was born in Albany, N.Y., in 1807. His father, Capt. James MeKeon, a member of the United Irishmen, came to the United States directly after the rebellion of 1798, settled in Albany, N.Y., was a soldier in the war of 1812, and removed to New York city soon after, John was graduated from Columbia, A.B., 1825, A.M. 1831. He studied law in the office of his brother James in New York before entering college, and in the office of Judge John L. Macon, 1825-25. He was admitted to the bar in 1828; was a member of the state assembly, 1832-34, and a Democratic. representative in the 24th congress, 1835-37; was defeated for the 25th and 26th congresses by the Native American candidate, and was a representative in the 27th congress, 1841-43. He was. appointed district attorney for the city and county of New York in 1845, and the office having become elective in 1847, was retained in the office, serving, 1846-51. He visited Europe in 1851, and in 1853 was appointed by President Pierce U.S. attorney for the southern district of New York, to fill out the unexpired term of Charles O'Conor, resigned. He resumed practice in New York city, and in 1858 associated himself with Frederick Smyth in practice. He was a delegate to the Democratic national convention at Chicago, Aug. 29, 1864, and to the Union convention in Philadelphia, 1866. He was again, elected district attorney for the city and county of New York in 1881, and held the office until his death. He was married to Mrs. Whitney, daughter of Rear-Admiral John D. Sloat, U.S.N. He died in New York city, Nov. 23, 1883.
p.248
MARBLE, Manton, journalist, was born in Worcester, Mass., Nov. 16, 1834; son of Joel and Nancy Chapin (Coes) Marble, and a descendant of Deacon Solomon and Jerusha (Greenwood) Marble of Millbury Mass., through Samuel and Freegrace Marble of Marble Ridge, near Andover, Mass., and of Thaddeus and Lucy (Whitney) Chapin. Solomon Marble fought at Bunker Hill, Saratoga and Yorktown. Manton Marble was graduated at Albany academy, 1853; University of Rochester, 1855; was assistant editor of the Boston Journal, 1855-56; editor of the Boston Traveler, 1856-57; served on the staff of the Evening Post, 1858-60, and World, New York city, 1860-62, and was editor and proprietor of the World, 1862-76. He sustained the government, but opposed exorbitances of executive power, a federal revenue tax, the substitution of greenbacks for money, negro suffrage and the impeachment of the executive. He wrote the Democratic state platform in 1874, the Democratic national platform in 1876 and most of the platform of 1884. He supported the negotiations leading to the Washington Treaty and to the Geneva arbitration. He was sent to Europe in 1885 by President Cleveland as special envoy to confer with the governments of Great Britain, France and Germany, and reported the opposition of the British ministry to the resumption of free bi-metallic coinage as fatal to hopes for its adoption by the other powers. He gave early publicity in the United States to the writings of Herbert Spencer; was elected a member of the Century association in 1860; was a founder of the Manhattan club, 1865; was made an honorary member of the Cobden club, 1872, and the Round Table, 1878, and was president of the Manhattan club, 1884-89. He is the author of: The Presidential, Counts (1877); Notes on the Outlook on Life; being selections from private MSS. of Alexander Gardiner Mercer, S.T.D. (1899), and articles in the World under his own signature, including: Letters to Abraham Lincoln and A Secret Chapter of Political History (1878).
p.290
MASON, Lowell, musician, was born in Medfield, Mass., Jan. 8, 1792; son of Johnson and Katy (Hartshorn) Mason; grandson of Barachias and Love (Whitney) Battelle Mason, and a descendant of Robert Mason of England, who came to America with John Winthrop's company, 1630, and was an original landholder in Dedham, Mass., in 1642. Johnson Mason was one of the pioneers in the straw-weaving trade of Medfield; a colonel of the Massachusetts militia and a representative in the general court, 1809-11, 1821 and 1843. Lowell taught himself to play every instrument that came within his reach and at the age of sixteen trained and conducted a church choir in Medfield. He was employed as a bank clerk in Savannah, Ga., 1812-27; gave lessons in singing, conducted choirs, and arranged a series of sacred music, which contained some of his own compositions, and was published by the Handel and Haydn society as the "Boston Handel and Haydn Society's Collection of Church Music" (1822). He removed to Boston, Mass., in 1827, and was elected president of the Handel and Haydn society, 1827-32. He established singing-classes, and taught a system which was an application of the Pestalozzian principles. With George James Webb, he established the Boston Academy of Music in 1832, and he promoted schools for instrumental music, for voice culture, and for the training of teachers in different parts of the United States. He visited Europe in 1837 to make himself acquainted with didactic methods, especially those used in Germany. In 1838 he was granted the privilege of teaching his method in the public schools of Boston. During his later years he tried to establish congregational singing in churches, and gave his time to musical study and composition. After a second visit to Europe, 1850-51, he settled in New York, and in 1854 he removed to Orange, N.J., where he was a founder of the Valley Church. He received the degree of Mus.D. from the University of the City of New York in 1855. At his death his valuable musical library was presented by his heirs to Yale university. He was married, Sept. 3, 1817, to Abigail Gregory and had four sons Daniel Gregory, Lowell, William and Henry. He compiled, composed and published numerous collections of songs, sacred, secular and educational, most of which had a wide circulation. The Juvenile Psalmist (1829) was said to he the first music book ever published for Sunday schools. Of his American Tune Book (1841) more than 600,000 copies had been sold at the time of his death, which occurred at Orange, N.J., Aug. 11, 1872.
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MORSE, Anson Daniel, educator, was born in Cambridge, Vt., Aug. 13, 1846; son of Harmon and Elizabeth (Buck) Morse; grandson of Daniel and Delia (Northrup) Morse, and of Anson and Eunice (Whitney) Buck, and a descendant (maternally) from John Mass, born in England about 1619, who settled at New Haven, 1639. He was graduated at Amherst, A.B., 1871, A.M., 1874; taught at Williston seminary, 1872-75; studied in Heidelberg university one year. 1875-76, and was an instructor and professor of political economy at Amherst, 1876-78, and of history, 1877-78, when he became Winkley professor of history. He received the degree of LL.D. from Union college in 1895. He was elected a member of the American Historical association, the American Academy of Political antiSocial Science and other organizations. He is the author of: The Political Work and Influence of Andrew Jackson (1886); The Cause of Secession (1887); Alexander Hamilton (1890); The Place of Party in the Political System (1891); The Democratic Party (1891); The Republican Party (1892); Politics of John Adams (1893); The Significance of the Democratic Party in American Politics (1900); and articles published in periodicals.
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