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WILMINGTON, July 28th, 1882.
HISTORY OF DELAWARE COLLEGE.
TS ORIGIN .- In the year 1833 the Leg - islature of Delaware granted a charter to Ephraim J. Bee, George S. Bryan, William W. Ferris, Peter B. Delany, Luke C. Graves, Manlove Hayes, John B. Le Fevre, Alfred P. Robinson, William D. Sherrerd and Edwin S. Stevens under the title of Newark College, said charter to continue twenty years. By the terms of the Act of In- corporation, the Delaware College" Fund, which was raised, or was intended to be raised, under the provisions of the Acts of Assembly of 1818, 1821, and 1824, and which was de- signed for the founding and support of a col- legiate institution of Newark or in its vicinity, was transferred to the Trustees of Newark College.
It was also provided that the Board of Trus- tees should consist of not more than thirty- three members; and the gentlemen named as Corporators, were among the most eminent and influential citizens of Delaware and Mary- land. The object of establishing the College was declared to be "for instructing students in Languages, Arts, and Sciences." The faculty
of the College, with the approbation of the Trustees, was authorized to confer Degrees. Pursuant to the directions of the Charter, a majority of the gentlemen named as Trustees met in Newark, in April 1833, and organized ; Willard Hall being appointed Chairman, and James R. Black Secretary of the Board. Dur-
ing the subsequent part of that year, the main portion of the present edifice was erected, and the necessary arrangements made for opening the Institution for the reception of Students. As it was not deemed expedient to elect a President of the College at first, Mr. Nathan Munroe was elected a Professor, and author- ized to act as Principal, on the 20th of Decem- ber, 1833 ; and having duly accepted the posi- tion, was formally inaugurated on the 8th of May, 1834, and the collegiate course there- upon properly commenced.
The first President of the College, Rev. E. W. Gilbert, D. D., was elected in September, 1834, and appears to have accepted and enter- ed upon his duties in October following. Thus the Institution was fully organized as a Col- lege, and prepared to pursue the objects of its founders.
In reviewing its past history, when we con- sider the difficulties it had to contend with, and which are incident to all new institutions ; its long-established and powerful rivals for public favor ; and its slender endowment, we are bound to admit that the College has achieved a good degree of success. Many of its graduates and former students are useful and honorable members of society, and can bear testimony to the faithfulness and ability with which they were instructed. In the year 1851, the Trustees of Delaware College were re-incorporated, and the objects and powers of the Institution, as set forth in the Charter of
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PUBLISHING & ENGRAVING CO.
DELAMISJJHE COLLEGE, NEWARK, DEL,
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HISTORY OF DELAWARE.
1833, were reiterated. At the same session of the Legislature, the Trustees were authorized to establish, in connection with the College, a "Scientific School," for such students as might not desire to pursue the regular Collegiate Course. This was accordingly done, and many young men availed themselves of the oppor- tunity offered ; and the prosperity of the Col- lege was consequently enhanced, and its prac .- tical usefulness greatly increased.
TEMPORARY SUSPENSION .- In 1852, the Trustees, thinking to increase the popularity and usefulness of the Institution, adopted a system of scholarships. The injurious effect of the system was not at once apparent, but in the course of a few years, when the greater portion of the certificates had been transferred by their original holders, and students began to enter under them, it was manifest that the rates at which they had been issued were wholly inadequate, and that the enterprise was faulty ; and, in fact, it finally resulted in such serious financial trouble as to compel the clos- ing of the College, in the summer of 1859.
The Trustees called in the certificates of scholarships, and promptly redeemed them ; but the College remained closed from that time to the re-organization.
During the late civil war, the necessary effect of which was to embarrass and discour- age such institutions of learning in this section of the country, several efforts were made to resuscitate the College, but without success.
RE-ESTABLISHMENT .- At length, the nu- merous friends of the college were rejoiced to believe that the opportune moment had ar- rived for its revival. At a meeting of the Board of Trustees, held on the 19th of Febru- ary, 1867, the Board was led to consider the Act of Congress donating public lands to such of the States and Territories as should provide Colleges for the benefit of Agriculture, and the Mechanic Arts; and their attention was also called to the fact that the State of Dela- ware had accepted the said grant on her part, and was prepared to direct the proceeds to such Institution within her limits, as might reasonably undertake to comply with the re- quirements of the Act of Congress. Conse- quently a committee was appointed with in- structions to visit the Legislature, then in ses- sion, and to make an arrangement by which Delaware College should receive for her sup-
port, the annual interest arising from the pro- ceeds of the said donation; the Trustees agreeing to carry out the Act of Congress, and to convey to the State a joint and equal inter- est in all the College property of every de- scription.
Such an arrangement was entered into, and the Legislature, on the 14th of March, 1867, passed an Act to consummate it. That Act re-incorporated the Institution under its old name of "Delaware College," provided for a Board of Trustees to consist of thirty mem- bers, one-half of whom should be appointed by the Governor of the State, and the other half be members of the old Board, or be ap- pointed by it, the Governor and the President of the Faculty, thereafter elected, should ex- officio be members of the new Board ; and the College was required to provide gratuitous in- struction for one pupil from each Hundred in the State. It was also stipulated, "that said Institution shall never be managed or con- ducted in the interest of any party, sect or denomination."
A subsequent amendatory Act was passed in February, 1869, defining more fully and ex- plicitly the powers and duties of the Trus- tees ; and in March of the same year a sup- plementary Act passed, giving the appoint- ment of the beneficiary pupils to the members of the General Assembly from the several Hundreds.
The Governor, exercising the authority vested in him by the law, appointed as Trus- tees on behalf of the State, some of her most distinguished and honored citizens : and the Trustees holding under the old organization filled the vacancies in their number with gen- tlemen well known for their intelligence, busi- ness capacity, and devotion to the cause of education.
The new Board met and organized on the 12th of January, 1869 ; Rathmell Wilson, Esq., was elected President of the Board, and Hon. John Hickman, Vice President, and Geo. G. Evans, Esq., Secretary and Treasurer ; and at the same meeting the Trustees took the neces- sary steps to perfect their organization by the appointment of Committees, &c.
Since its re-organization the College has had about seventy. graduates In 1872, the Trustees admitted girls to the College classes, and quite a number have availed themselves
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of the privilege. They board in the town and attend recitations in the College building. The Faculty is composed of five members, among whom the work of instruction is dis- tributed. Courses of lectures on literary and scientific subjects are delivered by distin- guished non-residents, and by a rule of the Faculty the students are admitted free of charge to all such lectures.
The friends of the Institution are convinced that at no time in the history of the College has there been more faithful and thorough in- struction given, and they trust that its useful- ness and influence will be extended and per- petuated. The present faculty consists of the following gentleman, viz.
William H. Purnell, A. M., LL. D., President. Professor of Mental, Moral and Political Science.
Professor of Agri- culture, Physics and Civil Engineering.
Rev. William D. Mackey, A. M., Ph. D., Professor of Ancient Languages and Classical Literature.
Theodore R. Wolf, M. A., Ph. D., (Heid.,) Professor of Chemistry, Geology, Mineralogy, and Natural History.
Rev. Wm. McCaulley Jefferis, M. A., Pro- fessor of Mathematics and Modern Languages.
Rev. J. L. Polk, A. M., Ph. D., Principal of Newark Academy.
Theodore R. Wolf, Librarian and Ex-Officio State Chemist.
Professor Jefferis, Secretary of the Faculty. Dr. L. P. Bush, of Wilmington, is President of the Board of Trustees.
ACADEMY OF NEWARK.
Newark Academy had its origin in the efforts made in the early part of the last century, to establish a system of education by which young men who were called to the ministry might be properly trained for their high and noble mis- sion.
In 1739, the Synod of Philadelphia, which represented at that time the Presbyterian Church of America, adopted an overture, hav- ing in view the organization of a Seminary of Learning, but owing to the sparsity of popu- lation, inconveniences of communication, and want of necessary funds, but little was done towards carrying out the design. About this time the Rev. Francis Allison, a native of Ire- land, and a distinguished graduate of the University of Glasgow, came to this country and entered the family of John Dickinson, Governor of Delaware, as tutor to his son. Soon after, he received a call to become pas- tor of the New London Church, and having been installed pastor there, he received a num- ber of young men into his family as students, and companions for Gov. Dickinson's son.
From this beginning originated an Acad- emy, the first of its kind in the country, and at which many leading men of that day re. ceived their education.
In 1744, the Synod adopted Dr. Allison's school as its own, and appointed him Rector, a position which he held until 1752, when he was appointed Vice Provost and Professor of Moral Philosophy, in the Philadelphia Acad- emy now the University of Pennsylvania.
The Rev. Alexander McDowell succeeded him as the principal of the Academy. and hav- ing been called to become pastor of the Churches of "White Ciay Creek" and " Elk River," he removed the Synod's school to Elk- ton, for a short time.
In 1767, it was located permanently at Newark, where it has since remained in regu- lar operation, except for a short time during the Revolutionary War, when the Academy building was used for manufacturing shoes for General Washington's army.
In 1769, the Academy was chartered by Thomas and Richard Penn, proprietaries of
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Pennsylvania and the "Lower Counties." In |
The influence of the school thus early the original Board of Trustees are found the founded has been felt throughout the whole names of men celebrated in the early relig- ious, educational and political history of our country. surrounding region of Delaware and the ad- joining States. Probably five thousand young men have been educated within its walls, most In 1773, the Rev. Dr. Ewing and Dr. Hugh of whom have finished their course, but many Williamson, men distinguished for their piety still remain scattered through Delaware, Mary- and learning, were sent to England and Scot- land, Virginia, and, perhaps, in almost every land to secure funds for the Academy, and the State in the Union. result of their labors, and the generous dona- ;
FACULTY OF INSTRUCTION .- Rev. J. L. Polk, tions of the Penns and of Dr. Benjamin Rush, A. M., Ph. D., Principal. Prof. H. S Goldey, of Philadelphia, formed the basis of its present endowment.
Prof. W. S. Prickett, Miss S. C. Grinnell.
TEACHER OF MUSIC .- Miss G. Benneson.
WILMINGTON CONFERENCE ACADEMY.
ISTORY .- The thought from which this School grew was first put in language in an essay, read by the REV. C. W. BUOY, A. M., at the Peninsular Convention, held in Smyrna, in 1870. The following spring, the Conference, at its session in Dover, appointed a commission to consider the suggestion, and, if it was thought feasible, to secure a location. This commission selected Dover, and so re- ported to the Conference held in Laurel, Del., in 1872. A Board of Trustees was then elected. The following winter a charter for the Academy was granted by the Legislature of Delaware, and in August, 1873, the ground was broken for the building. The building is in the form of a cross. The entire front is 89 feet and the total depth of centre is 94 feet ; the width of centre 42 feet, and of wings 39 feet. It is built solidly of brick, and is four stories high besides the cellar. This runs under the entire building. There are alto- gether fifty-four rooms, besides pantries, store rooms, etc. Of these thirty-five are dormi- tories, devoted exclusively to students and teachers. The building is heated by hot air throughout, is lighted with gas, and supplied with hot and cold water, bath-tubs, water- closets, &c. The ventilation is complete. A cupola surmounts the building, thirty-six feet high above the roof, making a total height of one hundred feet from the ground. There are six acres of Grounds. These are laid off hand-
somely in walks and plats, and trees are planted. Ample room is allotted to students for play grounds. The Academy is situated in the north part of Dover, in full view of the Delaware Railroad, and about half a mile from the depot.
Its Board of Trustees, elected by the An- nual Conference, consists of Laymen and Clergymen. Its pupils are of both sexes, and its curriculum is of a character to satisfy the friends of advanced education.
It has been very successful under the able management of Principal Skinner, and its future looked to as assured. The Wilmington Annual Conference of the Methodist Episco- pal Church is deservedly proud of its now flourishing Institution. The following is the faculty of the Academy :
Robert H. Skinner, A. M., Principal, Pro- fessor of Mental and Moral Science. W Lam- bert Gooding, A. M., Associate Principal. Chas. S. Conwell, A. M., Professor of Latin and Eng- lish Literature. Coates Caldwell, A. B., Pro- fes sor of Greek and Higher Mathematics. Emma R. Potter, B. P., Preceptress, French, Drawing and Painting. Miss Jennie L. Corbett, Eng- lish and Mathematics. Miss Jennie C. Wilson, A. B., Instrumental Music.
Professor of Violin and Vocal Music.
For further information respecting institu- tions of learning, see "History of Cities and Towns," in which they are located, as pub- lished in this volume.
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ECCLESIASTICAL.
PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
BY RIGHT REV. ALFRED LEE, D. D., Bishop of the Diocese of Delaware.
HE Protestant Episcopal Church in the State of Delaware is derived from a two-fold source. While in much the larger proportion it is descended, as in most of the older states, from the church of England, it has a connection of great interest with the Swedish colonists whose arrival ante- dated that of the British immigrants. The oldest of the houses of worship in which her liturgy is used, perhaps the oldest Protestant place of worship in the United States, is the venerable Swedes' Church, in the city of Wil- mington. In Benjamin Ferris' "History of Original Settlements on the Delaware," we have the following interesting description. " Almost the only monument remaining to show that there ever was a Swedish colony on our shore, is the old Swedes' Church on the bank of the Christiana. Very few of their old dwelling houses remain. Their posterity, a mixed race, cannot now be distin- guished : But there stands their venerable old Church !" (See Engraving.)
that at the church within the fort the emi- grants gathered themselves together for prayer and praise, until the erection of the church at Crane Hook, on the south side of the mouth of the Christiana. "This church was not built until 1667, and was supplied with religious services by Lock, the only Swedish clergyman in the Colony, who also had to supply as well as he could, the congregation that still met in the fort, and that at Tini- cum, near the mouth of the Schuylkill. He died, or returned to Sweden, in 1688, after which they had no preacher among them but Jacob Fabritius, a Dutch clergyman, who came from New York and officiated, principally at Wicaco, Penna. fourteen years, the last nine of which he was totally blind. From 1691 when Fabritius retired, until the arrival of the mis- sionaries Biorck, Rudman and Auren they had no regular service.
William Penn showed his liberality and kindness by sending them a parcel of books and catechisms with a folio Bible for their church, and by petitioning the Swedish am- bassador in London for ministers and books for them. (Rudman's Memoirs.) In their letter the Colonists asked spiritual aid not tem - poral.
When the first Swedish Colony under Min- uet, in 1638, landed at the point of rocks on the shore of the Christiana, (originally the Minquas,) the site of the present church and burial ground, and erected there a fort named They came not before the King " as suppli- ants for pecuniary favors, but as asking for what, as fellow members of the Church, they had a reasonable right to claim." Measures were at once taken by the Archbishop to Fort Christina, one of their first cares was to provide a house for divine worship, which was built within the walls of the fort. Minuet was accompanied by a clergyman named Tor- killus who officiated till his death in 1643, so |procure suitable persons who might be willing
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to venture their lives in such a perilous under-[ telligible to the hearers, and the congrega- taking-for such it then seemed to be. Three tions in Pennsylvania and Delaware, were able to sustain themselves. persons were found who had the requisite zeal and courage. They were Andrew Rudman, Eric Biorck and Jonas Auren, who reached the shores of America, June 2, 1697, when they anchored in James river, Virginia. Then it was quite a voyage up the Chesapeake to Elk river, so that some weeks elapsed before they were joy- fully welcomed by those to whom they came. The people came from 50 to 60 miles to receive their new pastors, and could hardly believe the tidings were true until they really saw them. Of the three missionaries Biorck took charge of the congregations on the Christiana. This was in the Crane Hook church, but he says, that site being often overflowed, he had per- suaded them to build a stone church in a more convenient place. The corner stone of the proposed building, the present church, was laid March 28th, 1698, on the site of the orig- inal house of worship, and was formally dedi- cated on Trinity Sunday, of the year follow- ing, 1699, and was named Trinity Church. Eric Biorck served his congregation as their faithful friend and pastor for 16 years, when he returned to Sweden. He was succeeded by Andrew Hesselius, sent over by Charles XII, 1712, who acted as pastor until his recall in 1723. "During this period the English Episcopal churches and the Swed- ish Lutheran churches found themselves so nearly united in doctrine and sentiment that there was no obstruction to free religious intercourse, and they occasionally officiated in each others' churches. His brother Samuel succeeded him 1723-1731. The next minister was John Eneburg, who continued until 1742.
Eneburg was succeeded by Peter Tranberg, who had for about ten years previous labored at Raccoon Creek, N. J. He died in 1748, and was interred in front of the chancel, where his epitaph may be read on a marble slab. The successor of Tranberg was the justly distin- guished historian of the colony, Israel Acre- lius, who officiated from 1748 to 1756, when he was recalled. He died in Sweden aged 86 years, A. D. 1800. Eric Unander followed and continued pastor until 1760. Andreas Borell was rector in 1762, and died in 1767. Laurence Gereleus was the last, and returned to Sweden about the year 1790. By this time the Swedish language liad ceased to be in-
Thus terminated the long intercourse be- tween the Swedish Churches in America and the ecclesiastical establishment in the father- land. Like the intercourse between parent and child it had been warm and affectionate, and the final separation was with filial grati- tude on the one hand, and with parental benediction on the other. After the departure of the last Swedish Missionary, Trinity Church naturally came under the care of clergymen of the Protestant Episcopal Church.
In the second Convention of the Diocese of Delaware, Dec. 18th, 1792, of three clergymen attending, one was the Rev. Joseph Clarkson, Rector of Trinity Church, Wilmington, from whose report it is inferred that he began his ministry there, Sept. 25th, 1792. He reports 500 adults as parishioners. In the Convention of 1794 Mr. Clarkson presided, the Rev. Sydenham Thorn, President of the preceding Conventions, having deceased. The last Con- vention attended by Mr. Clarkson was in 1799. In 1800 the Rev. William Pryce was present as Rector of Trinity Church and was elected Secretary. In the Convention of 1804 Mr. Pryce presided, and in several subsequent Conventions. He was a Clerical Deputy from the Diocese to the General Convention of 1814. He was succeeded in Trinity Church by the Rev. William Wickes, who was also Clerical Deputy in 1817. Next came Rev. Levi Bull, who was elected President of the Diocesan Convention of 1818, and under whose brief but earnest ministry, the church greatly prospered. It is not until 1818 that I find the congregation represented by Lay Delegates and remitting its quota for Conven- tional expenses. From which it may be in- ferred that while ministered to by clergymen of the Episcopal Church, the full union of the Parish as such with the Convention, was not perfected until that time. It was then repre- sented by John Ramsey and William D. Brinckle.
After the regions bordering on Delaware Bay came under English rule, in 1664, there was an influx of immigrants from that country, many of whom were members of the Church of England. While they would of course de- sire the worship and teaching to which they
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had been accustomed, it does not appear that effectual steps were taken to supply this want until the foundation of "The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel," chartered by King William III, June 16th, 1701. The for- mation of this society was an era in the his- tory of the Mother Church, and gave an im- pulse to the spread of the Gospel and the planting of the Episcopal church on this continent of which we feel to this day the beneficial results. It is the oldest existing English Missionary Association, and had for its object both the spiritual needs of scattered members of the household of faith and the conversion of the heathen.
·The former has been its principal work. An extensive missionary exploration was made on behalf of the society in 1702 by the Rev. George Keith and the Rev. John Talbot. Mr. Keith originally embraced the principles of the Society of Friends, and was at one time associated with Penn and Barclay. He came to this country in 1688, and was a zealous and indefatigable preacher. In 1692 he withdrew from the Friends, and in 1700 was ordained a minister of the Church of England by the Bishop of London. From Mr. Keith's narra- tive of his tour we get the earliest authen- tic information respecting the foundation of the English branch of our church. In his "Summary account of Travels, Services and Successes in North America,"he says, I traveled and preached in all the dominions and gov- ernments belonging to the Crown of England betwixt North Carolina and Piscataway river in New England, in length about eight hun- dred miles, in ten distinct governments." Mr. Talbot writes, "Mr. Keith and I have preached the gospel to all sorts and conditions of men; we have baptized several scores of men women and children." He speaks of church buildings to be erected, and says, "They are going to build three more in these lower counties about New Castle, besides those at Chester, Burling- ton and Amboy." From a letter of the Rev. George Ross we learn that inhabitants of New Castle of the Communion of the Church of England, feeling the want of a person in holy orders petitioned the Bishop of London to take compassion on their deplorable circumstances. This was done Aug., 11, 1703, and in confidence of a favorable answer they took measures to build a house of public worship. In the year
1704 Emanuel Church was founded, and by the charitable contributions of several gentle- men in Pennsylvania, as well as by large col- lections from inhabitants of New Castle, not only churchmen but Presbyterians, was finished and opened in 1706 with the solemnity of a sermon preached by the Rev. Andrew Rud- man, Swedish Missionary at Oxford, Pa. The congregation consisted of about 20 families. The Rev. Evan Evans of Philadelphia de- scribed the church as "a large and fair struc- ture."
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