BLEN'NERHASSET, HARMAN, 1704-1831; b. England. He was bred to the law in Ireland, but sold his estates in England for more than $100,000 and came to the United States. He remained in New 1 ork a short time, and finally settled on an island in the Ohio river, just below Parkersburg, Va., where he built a delightful residence, and dispensed the most elegant hospitality. Here Aaron Burr interested him in his scheme for seizing Mexico, where, in case of success, Burr was to be emperor, and B. a duke and ambassador to England. B. expended large sums in fitting out an expedition, and. though discouraged when he learned Burr's real design, the intriguer had such influence with his wife that B. still adhered to him. He was arrested and held for trial, but Burr's acquittal set all the suspected persons free. His beautiful island and home had been sacrificed by creditors, and he returned to Natchez a bankrupt. He undertook
a cotton plantation, but the war with England ruined commerce, and he then removed to Montreal, where he practised law. In 1822, he went to Ireland to secure certain property, but failed, and continued to fail in every project. In his last years he was supported by tin aunt who left a sn.,.11 estate to his wife and children. B. married a daughter of Gov. Agnew of the Isle of Man. She was a woman of superior culture, and authoress of several poems, among them The Deserted Isle, and The Widow and the Rock. She came to the United States after her husband's death, and petitioned congress for a grant in reparation of her great losses, but she died' before final action was taken, and was buried by the sisters of charity in New York. A son, Joseph Lewis, was a lawyer in Missouri. The Blennerhasset Papers, with a memoir, were published in 1864.