MEARNS, Duncan (son of Alexander Mearns, minister of Cluny, Aberdeenshire). b. the manse of Cluny 23 Aug. 1779; ed. at King’s coll. Aberdeen, M.A. March 1795; studied in the divinity hall 1795–9; D.D.; assistant minister of parish of Tarves 13 Nov. 1799, then minister; professor of divinity Univ. and King’s coll. Aberdeen 12 Oct. 1816 to death; moderator of general assembly 1821; chaplain to the king for Scotland 1825 to death; author of Principles of christian evidence. Edinb. 1818; Report of speech in synod of Aberdeen on the settlement of ministers. Aberdeen 1834, 4 ed. 1840. d. 2 March 1852. H. Scott’s Fasti, vol. 1 part 1 p. 397 (1866).
MEATH, John Chambre Brabazon, 10 Earl of (youngest son of 8 earl of Meath 1721–90). b. 9 April 1772; succeeded his brother the 9 earl 26 May 1797; K.P. 19 July 1821; lord lieut. of co. Dublin and custos rotulorum of co. Wicklow 1831; created baron Chaworth of Eaton hall, Hereford in peerage of United Kingdom 10 Sep. 1831; P.C. Ireland 1831. d. Great Malvern 15 March 1851. G.M. xxxv 547 (1851).
MEATH, William Brabazon, 11 Earl of (2 son of the preceding). b. Merrion sq. Dublin 25 Oct. 1803; styled lord Ardee or lord Brabazon 1826–51; M.P. co. Dublin 1830–32 and 1837–41; contested co. Dublin 22 Dec. 1832 and 16 July 1841; sheriff of Wicklow 1848 and lord lieutenant 1869 to death; col. Dublin county militia 10 May 1847 to 1881; succeeded as 11 earl 15 March 1851; built the town hall of Bray at his own expense; Mr. Gladstone on his first visit to Ireland stayed with him at Kilruddery. d. Kilruddery, Bray, Wicklow 26 May 1887. bur. at Bray, will proved Aug. 1887 above £25,000. Times 27 May 1887 p. 6, 3 June p. 6.
MECHI, John Joseph (3 son of Giacomo Mechi). b. London 22 May 1802; clerk in a house in Walbrook in the Newfoundland trade 1818–28; a cutler at 130 Leadenhall st. 1828–30, at 4 Leadenhall st. 1830–69, partner with Charles Bazan 1859–69; cutler at 112 Regent st. 1869 to death; made a fortune by his magic razor strop 1830–40; purchased for £3400 a farm of about 130 acres at Tiptree Heath, Essex 1841, where he introduced deep drainage and use of steam power, so that it became a model farm; sheriff of London 1856, alderman for Lime st. ward 1858 to Aug. 1866; failed in business 14 Dec. 1880; author of Letters on agricultural improvements 1844; On the principles which ensure success in trade 1853, another ed. 1856; How to farm profitably 1859, 4 ed. 1864; On the sewerage of towns as it affects British agriculture 1860; Mr. Mechi’s Farm balance sheets, also his lectures and papers on farming 1867 and 12 other books. d. Tiptree hall, Essex 26 Dec. 1880. Biograph, i 250–4 (1879); I.L.N. xxx 337 (1857) portrait, xxxi 317 (1857), lxxviii 37 (1881) portrait; Pictorial World 29 Jany. 1881 pp. 355, 361, portrait.
MECREDY, Henry Sandys. b. 1823; ed. at Trin. coll. Dublin, B.A. 1845, M.A. 1856; solicitor in Dublin 1845; vice president of Irish incorporated law society 1885; governor of Royal Irish academy of music; with C. A. Stanwell edited The Incorporated law society’s calendar. Dublin 1887. d. Colwyn Bay, North Wales 30 July 1891.
MEDHURST, Walter Henry (son of William Medhurst of Ross, Scotland, innkeeper). b. London 29 April 1796; ed. at St. Paul’s sch. from 1807; went to Malacca as a missionary printer in service of London missionary soc. 1816; ordained at Malacca 27 April 1819; missionary in Penang 1820 and Batavia 1822–36; established an orphan asylum at Parapattan; worked in Batavia 1838–42, and at Shanghai 1842–56; D.D. from an American univ. 1843; one of the delegates to revise Chinese version of new testament June 1847 to July 1850 and of old testament 1851–3; edited G. Happart’s Dictionary of the Favorlang dialect of the Formosan language 1840; translated Ancient China, The Shoo-King or the historical classic 1846; The Chinaman abroad, an account of the Malayan archipelago by Ong-Tae-hae 1849; author of An English and Japanese and Japanese and English vocabulary. Batavia 1830; A dictionary of the Hok-Këèn dialect of the Chinese language. Macao 1832; China, its state and prospects 1838; Chinese and English dictionary 2 vols. Batavia 1842–3, and English and Chinese dictionary 2 vols. Shanghae 1847–8; Chinese dialogues. Shanghae 1844; left Shanghai 10 Sep. 1856, arrived in England 22 Jany. 1857. d. Pimlico, London 24 Jany. 1857. bur. Abney park cemetery 30 Jany. J. O. Whitehouse’s Register of missionaries (1877) 41.
MEDHURST, Sir Walter Henry (son of the preceding). b. Batavia, Java 3 Nov. 1822; attached to Sir Henry Pottinger’s suite Aug. 1841; present at taking of Amoy and Chusan; consular interpreter at Shanghai 7 Oct. 1843; consul at Foo-choo-foo 9 Nov. 1854, at Tangchow 21 Dec. 1858, at Hankow 25 Jany. 1864 and at Shanghai 23 July 1868, retired 1 Jany. 1877; knighted at Windsor castle 20 March 1877; helped to form British North Borneo company 1881, organised a system of emigration from China into the company’s territories 1882; author of Curiosities of street literature in China. Shanghai 1871; The foreigner in far Cathay 1872. d. Formosa, Torquay 26 Dec. 1885.
MEDLEY, John (only son of George Medley of Grosvenor place, Chelsea). b. London 19 Dec. 1804; ed. at Wadham coll. Oxf., B.A. 1826, M.A. 1830, B.D. and D.D. 1845; C. of Southleigh, Devon 1828–31; Inc. of St. John’s, Truro 1831–8; V. of St. Thomas, Exeter 1838–45; preb. of Exeter 8 April 1843 to May 1845; bishop of Frederickton, New Brunswick 24 April 1845 to death, consecrated in Lambeth palace chapel 4 May 1845, installed in his partly built cathedral 11 June 1845; metropolitan of Canada 11 Jany. 1879 to death; attended the Lambeth Pan-Anglican conference 1889; hon LL.D. Cambridge and D.D. Durham 1888; author of Advice to teachers in Sunday schools 1833; The episcopal form of church government 1835, 2 ed. 1837; Elementary remarks on Chinese architecture 1841; Sermons. Exeter 1845; with H. K. Cornish translated The homilies of St. John Chrysostom on Corinthians 2 vols. 1839. d. Frederickton 9 Sep. 1892. W. Q. Ketchum’s Life of Medley. St. John’s N.B. (1893); Appleton’s American Biography, iv 285 (1888) portrait.
MEDLEY, Julius George. b. 19 July 1829; lieut. Bengal engineers 11 June 1847, lieut.-col. 2 Jany. 1871 to death; assist. engineer public works department India 12 March 1849; consulting engineer for government railways; field engineer with force against the Bozdars on Derajat frontier 1857; field engineer before Delhi and leader of first attacking column 1857; field engineer under Outram at siege of Lucknow 1858; principal of civil engineering college, Calcutta; under sec. to government in public works; principal of Roorkee college 1863–71; contributed to professional papers of Thomasson Civil engineering college, Roorkee 1863–73, compiled a Manual of engineering for the students; consulting engineer for guaranteed railways at Lahore during 8 years, then inspecting officer; A.I.C.E. 28 May 1861; major general Jany. 1884; author of A year’s campaigning in India 1858; An autumn tour in the United States and Canada 1873. d. on board P. and O. steamer Ravenna at Port Said 12 Aug. 1884. Min. of proc. of Instit. of C.E. lxxx 343–7 (1885); I.L.N. lxxxv 292 (1884), portrait.
MEDLEY, Samuel (son of Samuel Medley, baptist minister 1738–99). b. 22 March 1769; exhibited 28 pictures at R.A. 1792–1805; a stock broker from 1805; one of founders of London University 1826; painted a large group of portraits representing The Medical Society of London, which is in the society’s rooms, 11 Chandos st. Cavendish square, it has been engraved by C. Branwhite. d. Chatham 10 Aug. 1857.