USA > Massachusetts > Hampshire County > Amherst > The history of the town of Amherst, Massachusetts, pt 1 > Part 21
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The trustees of Amherst Academy, at a meeting held May 8, 1821, " Voted unanimously that the Rev. Zephaniah Swift Moore be, and is hereby elected President of the Charity Institution in this town." The salary of the president, who was also to serve as professor of theology and moral philosophy, was to be $1200 per annum and " the usual perquisites." At the same meeting it was voted to build a house for the president, if sufficient donations in money, material and labor could be procured. Zephaniah Swift Moore was, at the time he received the invitation to become the first president of the new institution, president of Williams College. He had taken great interest in the movement made to relocate the college in Hampshire county, and when it failed he determined to resign from the presidency. In his letter accepting the call to Amherst, he wrote : "I should be wholly averse to becoming united with any institution which proposes to give a classical education inferior to that given in any of the Colleges in New England." That the trustees were in sympathy with this declaration is shown by the fact that, at their meeting in June, they voted that the qualifications of candidates for admission to the institution, and the course of studies to be pursued during the four years of membership, should be the same as those established in Yale College. The trustees also elected Rev. Gamaliel S. Olds to be professor of mathematics and natural philosophy, and Joseph Estabrook to be professor of the Greek and Latin languages.
September 18, 1821, the exercises of dedication and inauguration were held in the church-building of the First parish. The exercises included, introductory remarks by Noah Webster, Esq .; prayer by Rev. Mr. Crosby. of Enfield ; a sermon by Rev. Dr. Leland, of Charleston, S. C .; the induc- tion into office of the president and one of the professors, the other pro- fessor being absent: brief addresses by President Moore and Professor Estabrook, and a concluding prayer by Rev. Mr. Snell of North Brookfield. At the close of the exercises a collection was taken for the benefit of the institution and the corner-stone of the president's house was laid. The
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FOUNDERS OF THE COLLEGE.
following day the college was opened, and after examinations were held, forty-seven students were admitted, some into each of the four classes : of this number, fifteen accompanied Dr. Moore from Williams College.
In an address delivered at the celebration of the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the organization of the First Congregational church of Amherst, Nov. 7, 1889, Professor William S. Tyler made the statement that the officers and members of the church and congregation were the founders of Amherst Academy and Amherst College. This statement might have been broadened to include the citizens of Amherst generally, but it is true that the leaders in the First church at that time were leaders as well in establishing the elder as well as the younger institution. There was help from without the town, help that was both generous and necessary, but the brunt of the burden fell upon Amherst men, and Amherst women. The town, as a town, had no part in the enterprise. From the beginning, the relations between the church and the academy and college were most intimate and cordial. The first meetings for prayer and conference in the village and the social religious meetings of the First parish was held for many years in the academy building. When the college was first organized, morning and evening prayers were held in the meeting-house on the hill ; the bell in the same structure summoned the students to their daily exercises, and on the Sabbath the faculty and students worshiped with the people of the parish. The people of Amherst were proud of the college which they had done so much to establish ; they have never lost that pride, although in later years the bonds of fellowship between town and college have been less closely drawn.
Zephaniah Swift Moore, the first president of Amherst College, was born in 1770, in the town of Palmer. He was graduated from Dartmouth College in 1793 : after graduation he taught in an academy at London- derry, N. H .; studied theology at Somers, Conn .; was licensed to preach in 1796; was pastor of the church in Leicester, Mass., eleven years ; pro- fessor of languages at Dartmouth College, four years until IS15, when he was elected to the presidency of Williams College. During his presidency at Williams College that institution prospered greatly ; on his removal to Amherst, he was followed by a little less than one-fifth of the whole number in the three classes to which they belonged at the Berkshire College.
Before proceeding further with the history of the college, it is desirable that a little space be devoted to brief sketches of those who may with propriety be styled its " working founders." Among these, Professor Tyler accords the place of honor to Rufus Graves, familiarly known as "Colonel " Graves. Mr. Graves was born, in Sunderland in 1758, and was graduated from Dartmouth College in the class of 1791. The precise date of his removal to Amherst is unknown, but in 1817 he united with the First
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HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF AMHERST, MASS.
Congregational church in this town. He was a man of intellect and great ambition, the originator of many schemes which for some reason persisted in refusing to yield good financial returns. When the plan of raising a charitable fund for the education of indigent young men for the gospel ministry was adopted by the trustees of Amherst Academy, they determined to employ Colonel Graves as their agent. No choice could have been more fortunate ; in his character were embraced qualities that particularly fitted him for the task in hand. He was earnest, enthusiastic, persistent ; he knew how to appeal, exhort, command. When the project was simply the enlargement of Amherst Academy by the addition of a professorship of languages, he met with little encouragement, but when it was decided to lay the foundations for a collegiate institution he gave himself to the enter- prise with an enthusiasm that commanded success. He went to every part of the state, interviewed thousands of people of all conditions in life, argued with them, pleaded with them, and, if necessary, almost constrained them to contribute sums ranging in amount from ten dollars to one thousand dollars. To his earnestness and enthusiasm was due in large measure the raising of the charity fund, the real corner-stone of Amherst College.
Associated with him, but in a different line of work, were Samuel Fowler Dickinson and Hezekiah Wright Strong. Concerning these two men more will be related in following chapters ; at present they will be considered only in their relation to the establishment of the college.
Samuel Fowler Dickinson was graduated from Dartmouth College in 1795 ; being an educated man he naturally took an interest in educational affairs. He was one of the incorporators of Amherst Academy, and when the attempt was made to raise the charity fund it was at his suggestion that the object was changed from the founding of a professorship to the establishment of a collegiate institution. He was among the first sub- scribers to the fund and one of the signers of the $15,000 guarantee bond. It is doubtful if, without his aid, the first college building could have been completed. Time and again when the funds were exhausted, he pledged his private property at the bank that the work might go on. When there was no money to pay for teams to draw the brick or men to handle them. he sent his own horses and his own laborers to assist. He boarded some of the laborers, paying their wages out of his own pocket. He actually made himself poor that the work in 'which he was so deeply interested might prosper.
Hezekiah Wright Strong was son of Judge Simeon Strong. and although not a college graduate took a deep interest in all educational matters. He, also, was among the incorporators of Amherst Academy. When the proposition was first made to remove Williams College to Hamp- shire county he, in common with many others, determined that it should
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THE FIRST COMMENCEMENT.
come to Amherst. He selected College hill as the proper site for the institution, and, one moonlight evening, accompanied by Col. Graves, he visited the grounds, measured the land and marked out the spot where the first building was to stand. He was one of the men who signed the $15,000 guarantee bond, and served for many years as one of the over- seers of the charity fund.
The first year of President Moore's administration was a busy and prosperous one at the college. Instructors and students entered upon their work with an earnestness and enthusiasm that commanded success. From the beginning, President Moore inspired all with whom he came in contact with respect and admiration. A scholarly man, of deep religious convictions, giving himself unreservedly to his work, he possessed attri- butes of mind and heart which won the affection of his fellow laborers, his pupils and the community in which he lived. Needless to say, the gaining of an education at Amherst College in its earlier years was attended with difficulties which, to a student of later years, would seem insurmountable. Class-rooms and recitation-rooms were lacking, there. was scarcely anything in the way of equipment. Recitations were held in the rooms occupied by the students ; the college library, contained in a case scarcely six feet wide, was placed in an entry of the first building. The first catalog of the institution was issued in March, 1822 ; it was a single sheet, 12x14 inches in size, printed only on one side. The faculty comprised the president, three professors, of whom one was never installed, and one tutor. The
number of students was 59, of whom three were seniors, six juniors, nine- teen sophomores and thirty-one freshmen. The first commencement exercises were held Aug. 28, 1822, in the meeting-house of the First parish. The graduates were two in number, Ebenezer S. Snell and Pindar Field : a third member of the senior class, Ezra Fairchild, left before the close of the year and did not receive his degree until 1852. As the institution had no charter, and no authority to confer degrees, the graduates were given certificates in Latin that they had honorably completed the usual college course.
In the summer of 1822, work was begun on the second college building, afterwards known as North College; a subscription of $30,000 was opened to pay for this building, to settle debts already contracted and defray other necessary expenses. In the winter of 1822-23, this building was completed and occupied. Two rooms in the fourth story of the new building were left without partitions between them or the entry adjoining, and were converted into a hall which served as a chapel and lecture-room. The second catalog, published in October, 1822, contains the names of the overseers of the charity fund, as well as faculty and students. The teaching force had been enlarged by the addition of two tutors ; the
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HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF AMHERST, MASS.
students numbered 98, including five seniors, twenty-one juniors, thirty-two sophomores and forty freshmen. The term bills including tuition, room- rent, etc., were from ten to eleven dollars a term ; board was from one dollar to one dollar and a-quarter a week, wood from one dollar and a-half to two dollars a cord, washing from twelve to twenty cents a week. Two literary societies, the Alexandrian and Athenian, and a society afterwards called the "Society of Religious Inquiry " were organized soon after the opening of the institution. The college felt the influence of its first religious revival during the spring term of 1823 ; as a result of this revival there were twenty-three conversions, only thirteen students remaining with- out a personal faith and hope in Christ.
The labor and responsibility that devolved upon President Moore in the government and management of affairs of the new institution were more than any one man could undertake with safety to himself. In addi- tion to his duties as president of the college and chairman of the board of trustees, he heard all the recitations of the seniors and a part of those of the sophomore class. He was also active in promoting the financial interests of the institution, and was compelled to make several journey's to Boston in its behalf. The revival, which was welcomed by him as by all friends of the institution, added greatly to his labors and responsibilities. The strain proved too great for his constitution, naturally strong, and on June 25, 1823, he was attacked by illness which, four days later. resulted in his death. The college could not, at that time, have suffered a greater misfortune. The students were so deeply impressed with their loss, and so fearful of what the future had in store for the college, the members of the senior class requested of the trustees that they be released from participat- ing in any commencement exercises and from all further connection with the college. At the earnest request of the trustees they consented to remain and were graduated in due form.
In July, IS23, Rev. Heman Humphrey was chosen to the presidency of the college. Dr. Humphrey was born in West Simsbury, Conn., March 26, 1779. He was graduated from Yale College in IS05 : studied theology with Rev. Mr. Hooker at Goshen, Conn .; was ordained and installed as pastor of the church in Fairfield, Conn., March 16, 1807 : became, in 1817, pastor of the church at Pittsfield, Mass., and was still engaged in the duties of this pastorate when summoned to the presidency of Amherst College. The circumstances attendant upon the inauguration of the new administration were far from auspicious. The college had yet to gain a place among the recognized institutions of learning in the state : its financial resources were inadequate to provide for its numerous and pressing needs ; its students, who had come to regard President Moore as the embodiment of all good in the college, were at first inclined to look
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PRESIDENT HEMAN HUMPHREY.
with little favor upon his successor. He accepted the call to Amherst with reluctance, and only after he was thoroughly convinced that it was in the line of his duty. He was installed as president, Oct. 15, 1823. His inaugural address was remarkable for its sound common sense, its practical wisdom, its vigor of thought and felicity of expression ; it convinced all who listened to it that the trustees had made no mistake in their choice, that the right man had been inducted into office.
The total number of students at the college when Dr. Humphrey acceded to the presidency was 126, of whom 19 were seniors, 29 juniors, 41 sophomores and 37 freshmen. The faculty consisted of the same persons who had been associated with President Moore, with the addition of Samuel M. Worcester as tutor. In 1824, Rev. Nathan W. Fiske succeeded Joseph Estabrook as professor of the Latin and Greek languages. Dr. Humphrey's duties were many and arduous ; he was the sole teacher of the senior class, presided at the weekly declamations in the chapel, preached occasionally at the First parish meeting-house so long as the students worshiped there, and when a separate organization was formed became the pastor of the College church. He drew up the first code of written and printed " Laws of the Collegiate Charity Institution," and did much to introduce order and system into the still imperfectly organized seminary; at the same time he was actively engaged in the endeavor to raise funds and to secure a charter for the institution.
The first application to the Legislature for a charter was made during the winter session of 1823 ; in January of that year, the petition of Presi- dent Moore that the " Institution in Amherst for giving a classical education to pious young men may be incorporated " was referred to a joint committee of the two Houses. President Moore and other friends of the college appeared before this committee, suggesting as was common in such matters, that the question be referred to the next General Court. The committee so reported, but. contrary to precedent and to the expectation of the friends of the college, the report was not accepted and the petition was rejected by both Houses, nearly all the members voting against it, including the repre- sentative from Amherst. Aaron Merrick, who was elected representative from Amherst in May, 1822, and who served at the General Court session held in the winter of 1823, was son of James Merrick, who was one of the original members of the Second parish. The hard feelings that had been engendered by the organization of the Second church were still cherished by the members of the two parishes, and, as Amherst College was closely identified with the First parish, it is more than possible that the Amherst representative was influenced in his action by personal considerations.
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HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF AMHERST, MASS.
The friends of the college were not discouraged at the failure of their first effort to gain recognition from the state. At the session of the Legis- lature held in the spring and summer of 1823, a petition for a charter for the college was presented by its president and members of its board of trustees, accompanied by a memorial from the subscribers to the charity fund, stating that the institution at Amherst had already accomplished great good and praying that the petition of the trustees be granted. The petition and memorial were referred to a joint committee, which reported in favor of the petitioners having leave to bring in a bill. The House and Senate concurred in referring consideration of the report to the next General Court. This action was taken in June, and the next session of the General Court was to be held in January, 1824. The friends and opponents of the college spent the intervening time in preparing for the struggle that was to come. The friends of Williams and Harvard Colleges and of Brown University were active in their opposition to the granting of a charter to Amherst College. The trustee of Williams College were especialy prominent in their opposition foreseeing that the new institution must come in serious competition with the Berkshire college.
Jan. 21, 1824, the report of the joint committee in favor of granting a charter came up in the Senate ; it was debated during the greater part of three days by some of the ablest men in that body. The opponents of the charter argued that another college was not needed, that Williams College would be injured, that it was inexpedient to multiply colleges, that the petitioners would ask for money. There was also considerable oppo- sition to the new institution on account of its orthodoxy. The weight of argument was in favor of the college. and when the question was put to vote twenty-two out of thirty-seven senators were recorded in favor of granting the charter. The contest was renewed in the House of Represen- tatives, and after a debate lasting four days the subject was postponed for one week ; at the end of that time, after some further discussion, a vote was taken on the question of concurring with the Senate, and was decided in the negative by a majority of 19 votes out of 199.
The trustees and friends of the college was disappointed but not dis- heartened; they determined to renew the struggle for state recognition immediately. When the General Court met in May, 1824, a petition was presented for a charter for the college, signed by the trustees ; this was backed by another petition of the founders and proprietors, signed by about four-fifths of the subscribers to the charity fund. These petitions were referred to a joint committee of Senate and House, which, after listening to the arguments submitted by friends and opponents of the college, reported that the petitioners have leave to bring in a bill. This report was accepted by the Senate with little opposition. There was a
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THE CHARTER GRANTED.
determined effort made in the House to secure an indefinite postponement. or reference to the next General Court ; both these motions having been voted down by a large majority, it was decided, after extended argument, to refer the report of the joint committee and all the papers relating to the case to a committee of five members, with power to send for persons and papers, to sit at such time and place as they should deem expedient, and to inquire in substance, Ist, what reliable funds the institution had : 2d, what means had been resorted to by the petitioners, or by persons acting in their behalf, to procure subscriptions ; and 3d, what methods had been adopted to obtain students. The members appointed to serve on this committee were intelligent and fair-minded men, but none of them were in sympathy with the orthodox religious opinions held by the founders of the college.
The committee met at Boltwood's hotel in Amherst, Oct. 4. The trustees and friends of the college had made thorough preparation for the rigid investigation which they knew was to come. Money was raised in Amherst and in Boston to make good the $15,000 guarantee bond. The investigation lasted for more than two weeks and was thorough and exhaustive. All books and papers belonging to the institution were sub- mitted to the committee ; every subscription note and obligation was care- fully examined. As a result of these labors. the committee submitted to the House, Jan. 8, 1825, a report favorable to the institution in all essential features, closing with the recommendation that a charter be granted. This report was accepted by the House, Jan. 28 ; by the Senate, Jan. 29. Feb. 21, the bill, having been somewhat amended, passed to be enacted in both branches of the Legislature, and having received the signature of the acting governor, Marcus Morton, became a law, and Amherst College a chartered institution. Information of the granting of the charter was received with great rejoicing in the town of Amherst.
No one man was more active or influential in gaining a charter for Amherst College than was. President Humphrey. He realized fully that a critical time had arrived in the history of the institution, that without formal recognition by the state it could never hope to gain the power for useful- ness anticipated by its founders. He was a persistent worker, leaving no stone unturned, no influence untried, that might aid in gaining the desired end. In so doing, he gained greatly in the esteem of his fellow-workers and in the respect and love of the students at the college. From unpopular- ity, accidental as it was undeserved, he won an esteem and affection as generous as the heart of man could desire. His sound common sense and practical wisdom, united with high moral and Christian principle had a most beneficent influence upon the lives and characters of the students at the college. He taught them not alone the wisdom in books, but how to
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think and reason for themselves. He gave as much, if not more, thought to the development of character than of intellect. Under his wise and careful administration the college grew and prospered, ranking at one time in the number of its students above Harvard and second only to Vale among the collegiate institutions of New England.
The protracted struggle to secure its charter brought Amherst College prominently before the public ; the result was at once apparent in a great gain in its membership. The number of students enrolled in 1823 was 126, in 1824 it had increased to 136, in 1825 to 152, and in 1836 it attained the aggregate of 259. A catalog of the faculty issued in October, 1825, printed for the first time in Amherst, contains the following names : Rev. Heman Humphrey, D. D., president, professor of mental and moral philos- ophy and professor of divinity; Rev. Edward Hitchcock, A. M., professor of chemistry and natural history ; Rev. Jonas King, A. M., professor of Oriental literature ; Rev. Nathan W. Fiske, A. M., professor of the Greek language and literature and professor of belles-lettres ; Rev. Solomon Peck, A. M., professor of the Hebrew and Latin languages and literature ; Samuel M. Worcester, A. M., professor of rhetoric and oratory ; Jacob Abbott, A. M., professor of mathematics and natural philosophy ; Ebenezer S. Snell, A. M., tutor of mathematics. The same catalog gives the name of John Leland, Esq. as treasurer, and Rufus Graves as financier.
The professors were mostly young men and comparatively unknown in the world of letters, but they were filled with ambition and with a pro- gressive spirit which were naturally attractive to young men about to enter college. The equipment was far inferior to that found at the older and wealthier colleges. The college library existed in but little more than name, and the apparatus for the illustration of the sciences was rudimentary and imperfect. There was, however, a promise of better things to come ; friends of the college, who had stood by it in its darker hours, were pre- paring to aid it still further and add to its means of usefulness.
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