USA > Illinois > Morgan County > History of Morgan county, Illinois : its past and present, containing a history of the county; its cities, towns, etc.; a biographical directory of its volunteers in the late rebellion; portraits of its early settlers and prominent men [etc., etc.] > Part 40
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The condition of the schools shows a steady progress and increasing efficiency of the public schools as an educational force in the community.
ILLINOIS COLLEGE.
From the December, 1877, Number of Illinois Schoolmaster .- By Professor Rufus C. Crampton.
Illinois College is, in many respects, singularly fortunate in its loca- tion. Jacksonville is a beautiful, half rural city, of twelve thousand people. Beyond any other city of equal size it is adorned by fine church edifices, and by large public and educational buildings.
In 1829, before any college had been established in the State, Illinois College was founded here. It became the nucleus around which clustered the Jacksonville Female Academy, Illinois Conference Female College, and later, the Young Ladies' Atheneum and Illinois Conservatory of Music. The trustees of the college have also under their control Whipple Academy and Jacksonville Business College. At an early day, such character was given to the place that it was selected as the home of the great charitable and educational institutions of the State, for the insane, for the deaf and dumb, and for the blind. In the midst of these schools of literature, science, art, and commerce, Illinois College is surrounded by most favorable social influences.
The college campus is a beautiful inclosure, of about twelve acres, on College Hill, at the west end of the city. It is elevated ninety feet above the general level of the highly cultivated farms of rolling prairie around it, and is unsurpassed for healthfulness.
The college buildings are shown, some of them poorly, in the accom- panying cut. They are in good repair, well warmed and ventilated, and and well adapted for the uses for which they were built. The original building, erected partly in 1829 and partly in 1830, is now occupied by the halls and libraries of the two literary societies, the Sigma Pi and the Phi Alpha, by the college library, the cabinet of natural history, and the Greek recitation room.
College Hall, built in 1856, contains the chapel, six recitation and lecture rooms, and the apparatus room.
The dormitory building, completed in 1874, contains twenty-eight suites of rooms, with excellent accommodations for fifty-six students. The rooms are heated by steam and lighted by gas. Each study-room is fur- nished with a large study table, and each bedroom with a woven wire mattress bed.
The janitor's cottage and the club house are the only other buildings on the campus.
Yours Truly Lewidenham JACKSONVILLE
3 81
HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY.
The building erected for Whipple Academy, now occupied by the Business College, is three-fourths of a mile from the college, and near the business center of the city.
The philosophical and chemical apparatus is extensive, and adequate to full courses of experimental lectures. The college library contains eight thousand volumes, and the society library about three thousand more. A reading room, free to all, is maintained by the members of the Sigma Pi Society. A very creditable beginning has been made in the cabinet of mineralogy and natural history.
These are the externals of Illinois College. They present a goodly appearance, but it is hoped that soon other buildings will adorn the campus, and additional appliances serve the uses of scientific education.
The first board of trustees was elected December 5, 1829, at a meet- ing held in the first college building, then nearly finished. This meeting represented two separate efforts in the cause of the higher education. One of these efforts originated in the Christian zeal and public spirit of a few individuals residing in Illinois, prominent among whom were Rev. John M. Ellis, Rev. Thomas Lippincott, Col. Thomas Mather, William Collins, Hon. Samuel D. Lockwood, John P. Wilkinson, and William C. Posey. Of these the three last named were elected trustees. The remaining seven of the original trustees represented an association of theological students in Yale College, who had resolved to make some one of the Northwestern States their future home and the field of their evan- gelical labors. Becoming acquainted with the plans of Mr. Ellis and his friends, they agreed to unite with them in founding Illinois College at Jacksonville, and to furnish, through their eastern friends, $10,000 in aid of the project. Their names were Theron Baldwin, Julian M. Sturtevant, Mason Grosvenor, John F. Brooks, Elisha Jenney, William Kirby, and Asa Turner.
Application for a charter was made to the legislature in the Winter of 1830-31, but a charter was refused, on account of prejudices then existing against institutions with educational, charitable, or religious aims. Four years later the application was renewed, and at this time the friends of Illinois College were joined by those who had just founded Shurtleff College, at Alton, and McKendree College, at Lebanon. Like charters were granted to all at the same time. The names of John G. Bergen, John Tilson, and Gibeon Blackburn were added to the trustees of Illinois College.
It is natural that the character of an institution of learning should be determined by the spirit and aims of its founders. These were men of the purest piety and patriotism. They were trained under the social and educational influences of New England. They regarded learning as an handmaid of religion, and the Christian religion as the most efficient promoter of learning. They intended that Illinois College should do for Illinois what the colleges of New England have done, are doing, and are destined to do for her. But neither had they, nor have their successors, ever had any thought of making the college an instrument of denomina- tional propagandism.
Those who co-operated in founding Illinois College, and in sustaining it during the early years of its history, attained greater usefulness than commonly falls to the lot of man. They were among the foremost of those
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HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY.
strong men who gave such character to the then rising State. Theron Baldwin, D.D., was the first principal of Monticello Female Seminary, and was largely instrumental in founding it. He was afterward, for many years, secretary of the Society for the Promotion of Collegiate Education at the West. Rev. Mason Grosvenor, after a long life of varied useful- ness, now gives a portion of his time to the college of which, in his youth, he was almost the originator, as Professor of Moral Philosophy. Edward Beecher, D.D., was the first president. Appointed in 1832, he resigned in 1844. His ability and his history are well known to the American public. J. M. Sturtevant, D.D., LL.D., was the first instructor in Illinois College, and has spent his entire life in its service. He is well known throughout the country as a man of the purest life, of vigorous and inde- pendent thought, and of eminent ability. To his unwearied efforts and self-sacrificing devotion the college owes very much of what it is and of what it may become in the future. He was appointed president in 1844. Having resigned that office in June, 1876, he still renders most valuable service as instructor in studies of the senior class. Early associated with him in the work of instruction was Samuel Adams, A.M, M.D., a man of great learning and worth, long ably filling the chair of Chemistry and Physics ; Truman M. Post, D.D, now pastor of the First Congregational Church of St. Louis, and J. B. Turner, now so well known as a leading agriculturist and reformer.
These men, both trustees and faculty, were wise master-builders. They and their associates laid well the foundations of the present and future greatness of the State. To them is largely due the pre-eminence which Illinois has long enjoyed among her sister States of the Northwest. And no small part of their work was done through Illinois College. Her students and graduates, in all parts of Illinois, and in many instances in neighboring States, have been leaders in thought and action, both in church and civil state. Hon. Richard Yates, the first graduate, as a most patriotic and efficient governor during the war, won laurels for himself and great honor to our Commonwealth.
Richard Yates was born January 18, 1818, on the banks of the Ohio River, at Warsaw, Gallatin County, Kentucky. In 1831, his father removed to Illinois, and, after stopping at Springfield, settled at Island Grove, Sangamon County. After attending school awhile, Richard joined the family here. Subsequently, he entered Illinois College, at Jacksonville, where, in 1835, he graduated with first honors. He chose for his profession the law, and began at once its study with General John J. Hardin as instructor. Gifted with a fluent and ready oratory, he soon entered the arena of political life, and being an ardent admirer of Henry Clay, he joined the political party of his leader. In 1840, he engaged with great ardor in the "hard-cider campaign," for General Harrison. Two years after, he was elected to the legislature from this county, then a Democratic stronghold. He served four years here, and in 1850 was elected, after an exciting contest with Major Thomas L. Harris, to Con- gress. At the expiration of his term, he was re-elected, and coming into the political field the third time, was defeated by a small majority, owing to his decided stand against the repeal of the Missouri Compromise act, and his strong anti-slavery views, which, in a speech of great power and brilliant oratory, he advanced, and which gained for him a national repu-
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ILLINOIS COLLEGE.
384
HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY.
tation. Six years afterward, he was elected to the chair of State, and dur- ing the most critical period of the nation's history, held that important place. Here his true patriotism shone with a brilliancy and strength of will, and saved the State in the threatened crisis. He, like Governor Morton, of Indiana, earned the title of the " War Governor." The fate of the nation was involved in the destiny of the State. Governor Yates was equal to all emergencies ; and when a Democratic House attempted to thwart his purposes, and place the State where many of its members wanted it, he promptly squelched that body by his famous act of proro- gation. His loyalty was as undoubted as true, and through all the long and bitter contest he was a close and intimate friend of President Lin- coln, and one of his most earnest supporters. What Illinois did in that great conflict, can be partially learned by the reader in the history of the State, elsewhere in this volume, though volumes could be written on this subject, and yet not exhaust it. Morgan County's record is shown in the names of her volunteers, also printed in these pages.
Governor Yates' public career briefly resumed, shows : " Six years in the Legislature of Illinois, four years in the Congress of the United States, four years governor of Illinois, and six years senator of the United States ; twenty years in political public life, with few men his superior, in any field of duty." He died in St. Louis, on November 28, 1873, at the age of fifty-five years. He had been viewing the Cairo and Ful- ton Railroad, as one of its commissioners, having been appointed to that important position by the government. He had been to Little Rock, Arkansas, and was on his way home, when, becoming too weak to travel, he stopped to rest in St. Louis, where, in the midst of his many friends, he quietly passed away. His remains were brought home the next evening, and, after being viewed in the parlor of his own house by thousands, were carried to the grave, followed by an immense assembly.
Newton Bateman, LL.D., for eight years Superintendent of Public Instruction, did more than any other man for our noble system of public schools, and is now the second of the graduates of Illinois College to become president of Knox College. But space will not permit even the mere mention of names to show how much the college has done to make Illinois what it is. The good work already accomplished would amply repay its friends for all their labors and self-sacrifice in its behalf.
But the college has not yet completed its first half century. The best of our American colleges have not been the creation of a day. They have had their origin with the communities in which they were founded. They have often struggled for existence while material pros- perity was being developed around them, until accumulated wealtlr should flow into them. This college is no exception to the rule. With the struggles of the past we are now concerned no further than to know that they are safely passed, and that future prosperity seems well assured. Aside from grounds, buildings, and other appliances, the invested endow- ment fund is about $110,000, with from $10,000 to $15,000 available in the future.
The present faculty consists of ten earnest, faithful men, each of marked ability and experience in his department, fully alive to the increas- ing demands of the times upon those who would be found worthy to represent the higher culture.
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385
HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY.
The standard of attainment for admission to the classical course is not so high as in Yale or Harvard, but it is the same as in the majority of, Eastern colleges. The work of instruction is done entirely by professors, and throughout the whole course the students come into close daily contact with teachers of experience and of enthusiasm, who take a friendly personal interest in their pupils. Habits of good order and industry pre- vail, and cases of serious discipline are extremely rare. The faculty regard it of prime importance to maintain a high standard of scholarship. The student is required to pass through examinations, for the most part written, on all the studies required for graduation. The graduates of Illinois College, in respect to mental culture and intellectual ability, do not suffer in comparison with those of the older Eastern colleges. The present number of students is one hundred and thirty-seven.
The Scientific Course .- The true American college seeks to lead public sentiment in all matters pertaining to education. It would be very gratifying if all who desire to avail themselves of the advantages of the college could be induced to pursue, in full, the classical course. But in a country comparatively new, there are many young men who have not time and means for such an education. They want the best education they can get in three or four years. In none of our high schools or academies can they enjoy the benefits of a faculty of experienced teachers, of apparatus, and other appliances that are found in the college. To meet the wants of these, our scientific course is a necessary and useful adapta- tion. For admission, the student is examined in the common-school studies, and in algebra to quadratics. The course embraces all the studies of the classical course, except Greek. It includes three years' instruction in Latin, and adds special studies in history, German, geology, meteorology, and the higher mathematics. Physics are taught by recita- tions and full courses of lectures. It is in contemplation soon to require for admission, physical geography, four books of geometry, and one year of Latin.
Whipple Academy .- Every Western college finds a preparatory department a necessity. In 1869, Dr. S. L. Whipple founded the academy, by a donation of $10,000. At present it is carried on in the College buildings, with a separate study hall, and with a principal whose whole time is devoted to its care. He is assisted in the work of instruc- tion by some of the College faculty, who hear recitations, each in his own department.
The College Club, for the boarding of students who room in the dormitory, is an exceedingly well-managed and successful part of the college machinery. The dining-room is pleasant, the tables well fur- nished, and good board is had for $2 to $2.25 per week.
The entire annual college expenses of a student who rooms in the dormitory, for board, tuition, room-rent, fuel, gas, and text-books, are less than $175.
The faculty seek to pervade the entire institution with a strong moral and religious influence- utterly free, however, from all sectarian bias. All students are required to attend morning prayers and the Sabbath afternoon lecture. This is conducted by Dr. Sturtevant, whose pungent and powerful discourses produce lasting impressions. A weekly prayer- meeting is maintained by the students.
386
HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY.
The following is the present faculty of the college: Rufus C. Crampton, A.M., acting president, and Hitchcock professor of mathe- matics and astronomy ; Julian M. Sturtevant, D.D., LL.D., professor of mental science and science of government; Mason Grosvenor, D.D., professor of moral philosophy and evidences of Christianity ; Hiram K. Jones, A.M., M.D., lecturer on anatomy and physiology ; Edward A. Tanner, professor of Latin language and literature ; Collins pro- fessor of the Greek language and literature ; Henry E. Storrs, A.M., PH.D., Hitchcock professor of natural sciences, and instructor in German ; George W. Bailey, A.M., instructor in Greek ; S. S. Hamill, A.M., pro- fessor of elocution, rhetoric, history, and English literature; Alfred H. Sturtevant, A.M., principal of Whipple Academy, and instructor in mathematics ; Charles B. Reynolds, instructor in English studies and mathematics ; Henry B. Chicken, instructor in business penmanship.
The following table shows the number of graduates composing the alumni of the college :
1835-2
1844- 6
1853- 5
1862-10
1871-8
1836- 4
1845-11
1854-12
1863- * 1872-7
1837-3 1846-3
1855-7
1864- 7
1873-9
1838-9
1847- 8
1856-14
1865- 6 1874-6
1839- 8 1848- 7 1857-12
1866- -
7 1875-4
1840- 9 1849- 6
1858-14
1867- _
9
1876-9
1841- 4 1850- 2 1859-15
1868-11
1877-4
1842-7
1851- 5 1860-12
1869- 5
1843-10 1852- 7
1861-16
1870- 9
. The entire number of graduates is three hundred and forty. Of this number forty-six are in their graves. Many of them became prominent in state and national affairs, and many are now holding eminent positions in life. 1
JACKSONVILLE FEMALE ACADEMY.
From the Catalogue of 1876.
Jacksonville Female Academy grew out of the home missionary spirit which, some fifty years ago, began its beneficent enterprises in Illinois and other Western fields. Rev. John M. Ellis, the first pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Jacksonville, came to this State in the year 1828, and his mind was full of the idea of planting, not only churches, but institutions of learning. To him is due the inception of Illinois College and of Jacksonville Female Academy. During his pastorate here, of three or four years, his excellent wife opened, in their own house, a school for young ladies, which may be regarded as the germ of this insti- tution, the first organized one of the kind west of Ohio.
From the first record, it appears that "a meeting of gentlemen favor- able to the establishment of a female seminary in the Town of Jackson- ville, was held at the house of Mr. J. P. Wilkinson, September 29, 1830. A committee, consisting of Hon. S. D. Lockwood, Rev. John M. Ellis, and Rev. J. M. Sturtevant, was appointed to report on the subject, which they did at an adjourned meeting held October 2, 1830, as follows :
" WHEREAS, The vast importance and urgent necessity of extending
* No graduates on account of the absence of students in the Union army.
387
HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY.
the blessings of education to all classes of American citizens are felt and acknowledged by all enlightened patriots and Christians ; and whereas, the power of female influence over the intellectual and moral character of the community must ever be too great for any or all other causes entirely to counteract, commencing, as it does, with the first dawn of infant intelligence, and forming, perhaps, the most important and certainly the most desirable part of that character, before any other causes can begin to act upon it, and accompanying it through all the subsequent stages of its development ; considering, too, that in the present important crisis of our beloved Republic, not one effort ought to be withheld which can tend to give permanency to its foundations, the intelligence and virtue to the people, therefore,
" Resolved, That an academy ought to be immediately established in this State, to be devoted to female education ; and that Jacksonville, in Morgan County, is, in our opinion, a situation highly favorable for suc- cessful operation of such an institution."
This was adopted, and a board of trustees immediately appointed, consisting of the following persons, viz. : Bezaleel Gillett, Dennis Rock- well, Ero Chandler, John P. Wilkinson, Julian M. Sturtevant, Joseph Duncan, John M. Ellis, Joseph M. Fairfield, Samuel D. Lockwood, David B. Ayers, Elihu Wolcott, James G. Edwards, Ignatius R. Simms.
At the same time a lot of land in Jacksonville was donated by Dr. Ero Chandler, on which to locate the institution, and the gift was accepted. In due time a small brick edifice was erected, and the school formally opened in the year 1833.
The academy was chartered by the legislature of Illinois during their session in the Winter of 1835.
The following are the names of the principals of the institution : Miss Sarah Crocker, 1833 to 1835; Miss Emily Price, 1835 to 1837 ; John Adams, LL.D., 1837 to 1843 ; Rev. W. H. Williams, A.M., 1843 to 1848; Miss Lucretia Kimball, 1848 to 1850; Miss Elizabeth Mead, 1850 to 1851 ; Rev. Chas. G. Selleck, A.M., 1851 to 1857; Mrs. Phebe Thompson, 1857 to 1858; Newton Bateman and Miss H. P. Murdock, 1858 to 1859; Benj. F. Mitchell, A.M., 1859 to 1865; Gilbert Thayer, A.M., 1865 to 1874; E. F. Bullard, A.M., 1874 to
From 1833 to 1844 no classes were formally graduated, though many young ladies passed through full courses of study. Classes have been regularly graduated from 1845 to the present time.
During the past year the names of the graduates, so far as they could be obtained, have been collected from the record, and are now for the first time published in the annual catalogue.
At the close of the last school year, the following card was issued and sent to the alumnæ, to which a large number have made a generous and hearty response :
" To the Graduates of Jacksonville Female Academy: At the close of the last academic year there was formed an Alumna Association of Jack- sonville Female Academy. In view of perfecting the organization you are requested to send to the secretary, Miss Ellis, any information you may possess respecting the name, residence, marriage, or death of your own class-mates, or of other graduates of whom you may have any knowl-
388
HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY.
edge. You can become a member of the association by sending your name to the secretary and the payment of one dollar.
" Your influence is also solicited in behalf of the present and future interests of the academy. This is now the oldest institution in Illinois for the education of young ladies, and it is the purpose of its managers to make it the best. All the arrangements for supervision and instruction are now thorough and complete, and unsurpassed by any school in the West. The teachers are all distinguished by a long and successful
JACKSONVILLE FEMALE ACADEMY.
experience and an enthusiastic devotion to the work of instruction. It is believed that this time-honored institution is now entering upon a term of greater usefulness and prosperity than it has ever known before.
" Will you now actively identify yourself with its friends, and do what you can to aid the institution that has conferred its highest honors upon you ? Will you heartily commend it to parents who have daughters to educate ? By so doing you will do a large service to the old academy and to the cause of Christian culture."
This circular was signed by
" MISS SUE F. ELLIS, and Secretary. MRS. KATE MURDOCK SMITH,
President of Alumna Association."
The alumni and friends of the institution are requested to furnish any information that will aid in perfecting the list of graduates, or that may add to the general interest of the Associate Alumni.
The whole history of the institution has been quiet and unobtrusive, marked by steady growth, advancing reputation, and healthful prosperity. Multitudes have enjoyed its advantages, and its beneficent fruits are widely scattered. It is now under the management of skillful and
389
HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY.
.
experienced teachers, whose lives are devoted to educational work, and it never gave better promise of usefulness than at present.
It makes no display to deceive, no large promises it can not fulfill. Its whole policy is open and honest, its whole workings quiet and earnest, and its high aim to confer all the benefits of a thorough course of study, to educate to a true womanhood, and to adorn with all the graces of a refined and Christian culture.
The following table exhibits the number of graduates sent from this institution since 1845 :
1845- 2
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