MEIGGS, HENRY, 1811-77; b. N.Y.; was in New York, engaged in the lumber busi ness, in 1835, and failed in the commercial crisis of 1837. He, however, made another effort in the same business in Williamsburg, L. I., was for a time successful, and was elected president of the board of trustees of the town; but in 1842 he again failed, and it was not until the outbreak of the gold excitement in California that he again became seemingly prosperous. He shipped lumber in large quantities to the' Pacific coast; and his trade so increased that he was encouraged to build a large number of vessels, until, at length, a financial stringency- in the San Francisco money market drove him to borrow Aigr, and eventually his business collapsed, and he fled to South America. He settled in Chili, and entered into the business of a contractor for building bridges, and, by one Of his contracts with the government of Chili, made a profit of $1,300,000. Ile afterwards
devoted himself to railroad construction, and in Peru . accomplished engineering works which are objects of general admiration. He made contracts for the construction of six railroads in that country, one of which, the (Alai). Lima and Oroya railroad, ranks among the first public works of the kind in the world. It is recorded to the honor of Mr. Meiggs that, having by his industry and enterprise succeeded in greatly improving his impaired fortune, he returned to San Francisco and arranged to discharge all the obligations which were in existence there against him. He was a nian of refined tastes; greatly interested in art, in which he was a connoisseur; and at the time of his residence in New York city was president of a prominent musical association.