History of South Hadley, (Hampshire County) Massachusetts United States of America

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Biographies:

Alfred Clark Chapin, commissioner, was born at South Hadley, Mass., March 8, 1848; son of Ephraim and Josephine (Clark) Chapin. In 1852 his parents took him to Keene, N. H., where he attended school until 1862, when he removed to Rutland, Vt. He was graduated at Williams college in 1869, and at the law department of Harvard college in 1871. In 1872 he was admitted to the bar, and in 1873 removed to Brooklyn, where he became prominent in local politics. In 1881 he was elected an assemblyman, was re-elected in 1882, and in 1883 was made speaker of the assembly. In 1883 he was elected state comptroller, and served a second term by re-election. In 1887 he was elected mayor of Brooklyn, and in 1889 was re-elected by the largest majority that had ever been given to a mayor of that city. He was appointed a member of the board of railroad commissioners of the state of New York in 1892.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

Samuel Finley Vinton, representative, was born in South Hadley, Mass., Sept. 25, 1792. He was graduated from Williams college in 1814; studied law in Middletown, Conn.; was admitted to the bar in 1816, and established himself in practice in Gallipolis, Ohio, in 1816. He was a Whig representative from Ohio in the 18th-24th congresses, 1823-37; a presidential elector on the Harrison and Tyler ticket in 1841; and a representative in the 28th-31st congresses, 1843-51. He was appointed appraiser of emancipated slaves in the District of Columbia in 1862. The honorary degree of LL.D. was conferred on him by Williams college in 1847. He is the author of: Argument for Defendants in the Case of Virginia vs. Garner and Others for an Alleged Abduction of Slaves (1865). He died in Washington, D.C., May 11, 1862.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

Theodore Strong, mathematician, was born at South Hadley, Mass., July 26, 1790; son of Joseph and Sophia (Woodbridge) Strong; grandson of Joseph and Jane (Gelston) Strong, and of John and Martha (Clark) Woodbridge, and a direct descendant of John Strong, who settled in Dorchester, Mass., in 1630; and from the Rev. John Woodbridge, who came to Massachusetts in 1634. He was graduated from Yale in 1812; was tutor of mathematics at Hamilton college, 1812-16; and professor of mathematics and natural philosophy there, 1816-27. He was married, Sept. 18, 1818, to Lucy, daughter of John and Huldah (Warren) Dix, of Boston, and they had two sons and five daughters. He declined the chair of mathematics at Columbia college and at the University of Pennsylvania in 1826, but in 1827 became professor of mathematics at Queen's (Rutgers) college, and in 1861 was made professor emeritus. His research work was confined to mathematics, and in that field he stood first in America, with the possible exception of Dr. Bowditch. He received the honorary degree of A.M. from Hamilton in 1815, and that of LL.D. from Rutgers in 1835. He belonged to many scientific societies, and was nominated by congress one of the corporate members of the National Academy of Sciences. He contributed largely to mathematical magazines, and delivered many interesting and original papers. He is the author of: A Treatise on Elementary and Higher Algebra (1859); A Treatise on Differential and Integral Calculus (1869). He died in New Brunswick, N.J., Feb. 1, 1869.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

Edwin White, artist, was born in South Hadley, Mass., May 21, 1817. His artistic talent manifested itself at an early age. He was made an associate of the National Academy of Design, 1848, and an Academician, 1849; continued his studies abroad, 1850-54 and 1869-75, and in the latter year located in New York city. His paintings, many of them representing historical subjects, include: in Age's Revery in the U.S. Military academy (1847); Washington Resigning his Commission, now the property of the state of Maryland; Milton's Visit to Galileo; Old Age of Milton (1848); Requiem of DeSoto; Pocahontas informing Smith of the Conspiracy of the Indians ; First Printing of the Bible; Evening Hymn of the Huguenots; Giotto sketching the head of Dante: Chapel in Church of St. ?egidius, Nuremberg; Caf? at Cairo; Moonlight on the Arno; Antiquary, in the Metropolitan museum of New York city; Leonardo da Vinci and his Pupils, at Amherst college (1868), where his unfinished canvas of the Signing of the Compact of the Mayflower also hangs, the last three paintings, bequests of the artist; Murillo Sketching the Beggar Boy, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (1868); Interior of the Bargello, Florence (1875). He died in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., June 7, 1877.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor