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M. L.
GENEALOGY 974.102 B83GEA
REYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION
1
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01756 0092
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2014
https://archive.org/details/generalcatalogue02bowd_0
V GENERAL CATALOGUE
OF
BOWDOIN COLLEGE
AND THE
MEDICAL SCHOOL OF MAINE
Me.
no. 2
1794-1894
INCLUDING A HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE INSTITUTION DURING ITS FIRST CENTURY PREPARED BY GEORGE THOMAS LITTLE THE LIBRARIAN
Gc 929.11 B6701 b no.2
BRUNSWICK MAINE PUBLISHED BY THE COLLEGE 1894
trest. 60.2 Cune a 54+1.2 Educ UL 3520,415
HARVARD
COLLEGE
JUL 25 1894
LIBRARY.
The boldage
PRINTED AT JOURNAL OFFICE, LEWISTON, ME.
1805758
PREFATORY NOTE.
-
At their annual meeting in 1893, the Boards of Trustees and' Over- seers requested the librarian to issue a new edition of the general catalogue, which should include a concise history of the college. They also directed that this publication should not be distributed to the alumni gratuitously, but should be sold at one dollar a copy, a price that does not exceed the actual cost of manufacture.
The librarian soon found that the preparation of a concise history which should be both authoritative and symmetrical, involved the careful examination of a much larger amount of documentary matter than his other duties would allow him to undertake. To write a brief history well, one must first write a full history accurately. He has accordingly confined himself to issuing a historical sketch in which accuracy and a fair degree of completeness have been sought, but which, with the possible exception of the first chapter, does not claim to be based upon the perusal and study of all the original authorities and sources of information that have occurred to him as worthy of con- .
sultation.
The large amount of illustrative and interesting material to be found in old documents and in printed addresses which were not apparently used in the valuable history of the college prepared by Messrs. Cleave- land and Packard, has led him to quote freely from both these sources, believing that the very words of the chief actors and their contempora- ries afford truer pictures than would any attempt of his to remould them into his own narrative.
The general catalogue has been prepared on substantially the same plan as the last, that of 1889. It aims to give the date and place of birth, also, when necessary, of death, the residence and occupation, and the academic degrees of every graduate. Membership in the upper branches of State Legislatures and in Congress, the holding of other
SL-8-12:00
iv
BOWDOIN COLLEGE
of the higher political and judicial offices, and service in the late civil war are noticed. As a rule, residence in different places is not given unless the person has resided in each ten years. Change of occupation and other considerations, however, have frequently modified the appli- cation of this principle. When not otherwise stated the place of death is the residence last mentioned. Every one who detects an error, or can supply any deficiency, is earnestly requested to inform the compiler at once.
It was decided shortly before the printing had begun, to include in a separate list all regularly admitted academic students who had not received a degree from the institution. It was impossible in the brief time at his disposal for the compiler to engage in as extended inquiries as he would otherwise have attempted. It is sincerely hoped that many of the imperfect records in this portion of the catalogue will be completed at once through the co-operation of those who consult it. The names of many, known in earlier times as " university students," and more recently as " special students," have been omitted, because there was no source from which a satisfactory list could be compiled.
The length of time, four months, during which the volume has been in press, has rendered it possible to add at the close of the histor- ical sketch numerous facts and dates received too late for insertion in their proper place in the catalogue.
The writer takes this opportunity to express his gratitude for aid rendered by numerous correspondents, by several of the student assist- ants in the library, by General Joshua L. Chamberlain, LL.D., and Professor Jotham B. Sewall, A.M., who have read the advance sheets of the historical sketch, and especially by the assistant librarian, whose untiring labor has alone made it possible to prepare and print the volume without undue neglect of the routine work of the library.
BOWDOIN COLLEGE LIBRARY,
May 14, 1894.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
PREFATORY NOTE,
iii
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS,
vii
HISTORICAL SKETCH.
CHAPTER I. THE ESTABLISHMENT. ix Need and general desire for a college in Maine-First move- ments-Legislative delays-Location-Provisions of the char- ter-Criticism and proposed change- College townships- Massachusetts Hall.
CHAPTER II. THE BOWDOINS. xix The Huguenot ancestor-James Bowdoin, the merchant-Gov- ernor Bowdoin-His scientific and literary attainments-His political services-Hon. James Bowdoin, the patron of the Col- lege-His benefactions-His will-The contingent remainder- The Bowdoin Art Collections-Benefactions from other mem- bers of the family.
CHAPTER III. PRESIDENT MCKEEN'S ADMINISTRATION. . xxxi Rev. Joseph McKeen-Professor John Abbot-Requirements for admission-Inauguration of. President-The curricu- lum-Methods of instruction-Salaries-Library and appar- atus-Tutors-College discipline-Professor Parker Cleave- land-Cleaveland Recitation Room and Cabinet-Thorndike Oak-President's house-The old chapel-The first Commence- ment-President McKeen's death.
CHAPTER IV. PRESIDENT APPLETON'S ADMINISTRATION. xli
Rev. Jesse Appleton-Bible study-College discipline-Maine Hall-State aid-Commons-The President as a teacher- Professorship of English and Hebrew-Other instructors-Stu- dent societies-Religious life-President Appleton's death- Political antagonism to the college.
vi
BOWDOIN COLLEGE
CHAPTER V. PRESIDENT ALLEN'S ADMINISTRATION.
Rev. William Allen-State and College-Increase of students- Benevolent society-Winthrop Hall-Maine Hall burned-Pro- fessor Newman-Professor Packard-Professor Upham-Pro- fessor Smyth-Professor Longfellow-The old faculty-The curriculum by departments-Student life-Attempted removal of the president-Second fire in Maine Hall-President Allen's resignation.
CHAPTER VI. PRESIDENT WOODS'S ADMINISTRATION. . lxxiii
College finances-President Woods-His views on College dis- cipline-Residence abroad-The chapel-Tutors-Impairment of the endowment-Denominational position of the College- Collins Professorship-Representation of different denomina- tions in the Board of Trustees-Semi-centennial-Law school- Improvement of the grounds-The curriculum-Alumni be- quests-Resignation of President Woods.
CHAPTER VII. PRESIDENT HARRIS'S ADMINISTRATION. . 1xxxV President Harris-His views on collegiate instruction-Teach- ing of Natural Science-Changes in the corps of instructors -- Memorial Hall-Student societies-The Peucinian and Athe- næan-The Greek-letter societies-Resignation of President Harris.
CHAPTER VIII. PRESIDENT CHAMBERLAIN'S ADMINISTRATION. XC
President Chamberlain-Changes in college methods-The scientific department-Course in engineering-Its discontinu- ance and rearrangement of the curriculum-The military drill- The Alumni Association-Representation of the alumni on the Board of Overseers-The Winkley and Stone professor- ships-President Chamberlain's resignation.
CHAPTER IX. PRESIDENT HYDE'S ADMINISTRATION. . xcvi
Professor Packard's death-The college jury-Professor Chap- man as dean of the faculty. President Hyde-Mission of the small college-The Sargent Gymnasium-The curriculum- The observatory-The library-Benefactions-The Garcelon bequest-Renovation of Maine Hall-The Walker Art Build- ing-The Searles Science Building.
lii
CONTENTS
vii
CHAPTER X. MEDICAL SCHOOL OF MAINE. . cii
Establishment-State aid-Dr. Nathan Smith-Proposed hos- pital-Dr. John D. Wells-Medical professors-Adams Hall- Seavey Anatomical Cabinet-Changes in the curriculum-Pro- posed removal to Portland-Bequest of Mrs. Garcelon.
INDEX TO HISTORICAL SKETCH, cvii
ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS,
cxi
ALUMNI, .
27
MEDICAL GRADUATES, 104
HONORARY GRADUATES, 146
NON-GRADUATES, 157
UNDERGRADUATES,
177
SUMMARY,
181
INDEX,
183
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE
THE WALKER ART BUILDING.
ix
THE BOWDOIN GALLERY.
XXV
BOWDOIN COLLEGE IN 1822. Ivii
THE CHAPEL.
1xxiii
BOWDOIN COLLEGE IN 1862.
1xxxix
THE MARY F. S. SEARLES SCIENCE BUILDING.
xcvii
BOWDOIN COLLEGE IN 1892.
1
--
THE WALKER ART BUILDING.
.
HISTORICAL SKETCH.
CHAPTER I.
THE ESTABLISHMENT.
Need and general desire for a college in Maine-First movements- Legislative delays- Location - Provisions of the charter - Criticism and proposed change-College townships-Massachusetts Hall.
BOWDOIN COLLEGE does not trace its origin to the munifi- cence of an individual, the zeal of a denomination, or the devel- opment of a previously-existing school of lower grade. Its establishment was due to a wide-spread feeling among the people in the District of Maine that a college was needed within their borders. The population of the three counties of York, Cum- berland, and Lincoln, which, in 1778, acquired the name of the District of Maine by the action of the Continental Congress, increased rapidly after the close of the War of the Revolution. The census of 1790 showed, in round numbers, one hundred thousand inhabitants. Many of these were natives of the inore populous portions of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and accustomed to the educational advantages the older towns had long enjoyed. They desired similar privileges for their children. But they were poor, and the hundred miles that separated Portland from Boston was a more effective barrier than thrice that distance to-day. The cost of a journey from Lewiston to Cambridge exceeded a term's tuition. The higher education, if for any save the few wealthy families, must be had in their midst.
The earliest recorded expression of this desire came from Lincoln County, one of whose representatives had a bill drawn up in 1787 for the establishment of Winthrop College. This name was chosen, the preamble states, out of high respect and grat- itude for the character and memory of Governor John Winthrop, and also of others of his name and race, among them Governor John Winthrop, of Connecticut, and John Winthrop, LL.D., 2
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BOWDOIN COLLEGE
late Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy at Harvard. Its government was to be like that of Harvard, its location to be determined by a convention of the clergy of every denomination, and of suitable representatives from the towns or plantations with- out a minister, together with the justices of the peace and the judge of probate for the County of Lincoln. It was to receive a land grant from the state and to raise ready money by a lottery.1 The legislative journals do not show that action was taken on this bill ; but to it, perhaps, may be attributed the setting apart, in March, 1788, of a township in this county for the use of some college to be established in the future.
The next fall the justices of the peace in the County of Cumber- land, in their capacity as a court of sessions, petitioned the General Court of the Commonwealth for a college, quoting in their prayer from the state constitution of 1780. The first part of the second section in the fifth chapter of this instrument reads as follows :
" Wisdom and knowledge, as well as virtue, diffused generally among the body of the people being necessary for the preservation of their rights and liberties ; and as these depend on spreading the oppor- tunities and advantages of education in the various parts of the country, and among the different orders of the people, it shall be the duty of Legislatures and Magistrates, in all future periods of this Common- wealth to cherish the interests of literature and the sciences, and all seminaries of them."
At the same time the Cumberland association of ministers sent a similar petition. This body was composed of Congrega- tional clergymen, who, with a single exception, were graduates of Harvard College. They represented all the churches except three that then held religious services regularly within the county. These petitions were presented in November, 1788, and referred to a committee. No further legislative action is recorded till February, 1790, when leave was granted the petitioners to bring in a bill. For some reason, not now apparent, Hon. Josiah Thacher, who, as an original petitioner and a member of the senate, was earnest for the establishment of a college, did not
1 The proposed bill is printed in full in the Cumberland Gazette of February 7,1788.
-
.
xi
HISTORICAL SKETCH
bring in a bill till January of 1791. It was promptly passed in the upper house. In the lower house it met with opposition because Gorham was selected as the site for the institution, and it was finally referred to the next legislature.
Meantime active measures were taken by different towns in Cumberland County to secure the location of the college within their borders. Rev. Alfred Johnson, of Freeport, secured con- ditional subscriptions in his vicinity amounting to nearly four thousand dollars, and urged that this town, on the highway be- tween Portland and the Kennebec, was most favorably situated, since, by the last census, as many of the inhabitants of the state lived to the east as to the west of it.
The inhabitants of North Yarmouth assembled in town meeting arrived at the following natural, if somewhat naive, conclusion :
"And also taking into Consideration that this is not a trading or Market-Town, nor like to be, that it has not any County Courts held in it, is much of an inland Town thô accommodated with a good Harbour, and that a Colledge may be set nigher or more remote from the Bay as may be judged most convenient, and yet stand upon some good Road in the vicinity of a Number of Husbandmen, not so much exposed to many Temptations to Dissipation, Extravagance, Vanity and various Vices as great Sea-port Towns frequently are, it became their opinion, judging as they hope with Impartiality, free from local Prejudices, that this Town was the most Suitable Place for fixing the said Colledge."
They accordingly voted to give conditionally the School Farm of two hundred acres, while a considerable amount was promised in labor or money by individuals.
The people of Portland presented their claim for the college in a long petition, raised thirty-five hundred dollars by subscrip- tion, and selected a site "on the top of a height called Bramhall's Hill about three-fourths of a mile from the central part of the compact settlement." Their spokesman and most influential advo- cate, Rev. Dr. Samuel Deane, wrote to a member of the legisla- ture as follows : 1
" In favor of placing the college in Portland, we say, That the people in this vicinity are better able to do something towards building
1 Maine Genealogist and Biographer, vol. 1, p. 114.
xii
BOWDOIN COLLEGE
and endowing a college than those in any other part of the county, or of the whole District of Maine; and that were the College voted by the Hon. Court into any other town, no College at all would be erected or endowed. We say also that Portland is far more central and con- venient, as it respects the whole County of Cumberland, than any other place is or can be. And that it is not ten miles to the South West of the centre of ye inhabitants of the five Counties ; and vastly more con- venient for the district, than any other place, for going and returning, by land or water; as well as sufficiently distant from all other colleges and Universities. And that if the two Eastern young counties should in time become populous, there will be plenty of room for another College, 150 miles eastward of this.
We say, Seminaries of learning ought to afford a publick education ; and that they ought to be, ever have been, and ever must be in populous places. They ought to be, because it is a matter of importance that students should be in the way of getting some knowledge of men and manners, while their geniuses have a juvenile flexibility, and before their rustick habits become fixed and unalterable ; that so they may be more fit to mix with mankind, and to fill publick stations with comfort, and a prospect of usefulness. They ever have been in populous places ; witness those in all parts of Europe, and the most of those in America. They on the whole, ever will be in populous places, because a Univer- sity will be the means of making any place populous, in which it is placed, in one or two centuries.
We say, It will be in favour of the College to be sited in Portland, on account of obtaining provisions : for these the Steward of the College will be able to purchase most of the kinds which will be needed, and at least one fourth part cheaper than they could be got in any other town in the county, as it is already become a considerable market town."
At least three other towns had earnest advocates in the legislature, and the members from the District of Maine were naturally unable to agree. At their request the House of Rep- resentatives passed, 15 June, 1791, a bill establishing the College of Maine within the County of Cumberland, leaving the location to be decided later. The Senate, however, did not concur in this action. In January and in June of 1792 this bill was again considered, but the question of place prevented concurrent action by the two branches of the legislature. The next year the differences were outwardly harmonized, and on the 28 March, 1793, a bill
xiii
HISTORICAL SKETCH
incorporating Bowdoin College passed each house. But Governor John Hancock did not sign it. It has been said this failure was due to the name of the institution, that of his late political rival ; it is more just as well as more charitable to ascribe it to the loca- tion, which was not at Portland. In February and in June of 1794 the matter of location was again considered by the legis- lature. A formal expression of opinion was sought from each member of the General Court from the District of Maine and a large majority was found to be in favor of Brunswick. This choice was unquestionably of the nature of a compromise, in which geographical position far outweighed any other advantages offered. On Tuesday, 24 June, 1794, the charter of Bowdoin College, having passed both houses, received the signature of Governor Samuel Adams.
It is interesting as well as instructive to note that, during this agitation for a college, five academies, each with a land grant from the commonwealth, had been established in the District of Maine, Hallowell in 1791, Berwick in 1791, Fryeburg in 1792, Wash- ington at East Machias in 1792, and Portland in 1794.
The charter states the purpose of the institution to be the education of youth ; and adds that its funds are to be appropriated in such manner as shall most effectually promote virtue and piety, and the knowledge of such of the languages and of the useful and liberal arts and sciences as the corporation shall direct. It defines at length the officers and the provinces of the two bodies associated in the government of the college. These are the Trustees and the Overseers. The former board consists of not more than thirteen nor less than seven, of whom the President and the Treasurer of the college are ex officio members. They have the right to remove any one of their number when, by reason of age or otherwise, he shall become incapable of discharging the duties of his office ; to fill all vacancies ; to hold real and personal estate, the net annual income of which shall not exceed "ten thousand pounds "; 1 to confer such degrees as are usually conferred by
1 Ten thousand pounds was equivalent to $33,333. By enabling acts passed by the legislatures of Massachusetts and Maine in 1891, and accepted by the Boards of the college, this proviso is removed, and the institution is not restricted as to the amount of funds it may hold in carrying out the purpose of its charter.
xiv
BOWDOIN COLLEGE
universities ; 1 to elect the president, professors, and instructors, to fix their salaries and define their duties ; in general to serve as the executive board of the institution. No corporate business, however, can be transacted unless seven Trustees are present, and no act of theirs is valid until it is agreed to by the Overseers. These also form a corporate body, consisting of not more than forty-five nor less than twenty-five persons, of whom fifteen form a quorum. The President of the college and the Secretary of the Trustees are ex officio members. The Overseers have the right to remove a member for incapacity or neglect of duty ; to fill all vacancies in their number ; to require an account of the Treasurer of the college and to fix his bond ; and, most important of all, to veto any act of the Trustees. No person except the President and the Secretary of the Trustees can be at the same time a member of each Board. The legislature has the right to grant further powers to the corporations, or to alter or annul existing powers as far as necessary to promote the best interests of the college.
The closing section of the charter grants, from the unappro- priated lands belonging to the Commonwealth, five townships, each six miles square, with the provision that the Trustees or their assigns should cause fifteen families to be settled on each of these townships within twelve years. The customary reserve is also made in each township of three lots of three hundred and twenty acres each, for the first settled minister, for the use of the ministry, and for the use of the schools.
The provisions of this charter were manifestly influenced by those of Harvard College,2 which then had a Board of Overseers that included the clergymen of the vicinage and the members of the State Senate. The first draft of the bill for the establishment of the "College of Maine " provided a single board of control, consisting of seventeen persons, of whom a majority should be laymen. The disadvantages resulting from the conduct of college
1 A proviso restrained the corporation from conferring any degrees except those of Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts until January 1, 1810.
2 Of the New England colleges, only Harvard, Brown, Bowdoin, and Bates have this twofold form of government.
XV
HISTORICAL SKETCH
interests by two separate bodies were fully stated by President Timothy Dwight of Yale, on the occasion of his visit to Bruns- wick in 1807.1
The existence of a large board with no power to originate, but with the right to negative the measures of a smaller body, renders the government, he says, "uncertain, prolix, and indecisive, furnishes room for the operation of multiplied personal interests, prejudices, intrigues, and unfortunate compromises ; and, generally prevents the order, energy and decision, attendant upon a single board. A body of Overseers, occasionally called together to meddle with the affairs of the college, will usually feel so little interest in them, except at the moment, as never to be in possession of the system intended to be pursued ; the wisdom and expediency of one part of which will often depend more on its relation to the other parts, than on its own nature. Often they will not come together, at all, in such numbers as to form a quorum; and will thus prevent the accomplishment of the business for which they were summoned. The very numbers of which they consist, will of course include many, who are incompetent judges of academical concerns, and many more, who will never take pains to inquire into their nature, or to possess themselves of that judgment, which their capacity would in better circumstances enable them to form. Their decisions, therefore, will often be sudden ; often crude, and not unfre- quently hostile to the very interests, which they would wish to promote. To secure the prosperity of such an institution, it is indispensably . necessary, that a system, embracing all its interests for a considerable period at least, should be carefully formed and closely pursued. All, who are to vote, should distinctly understand this system ; and, when- ever they come to act, should have it fully in their minds ; so as to comprehend readily the relation, which every new measure has to the general scheme, and its proper influence on measures already adopted. This can be done, only by a long continued, and minute acquaintance with the affairs of the institution ; and can never be done by men, who, occupied busily in totally different concerns, come rarely and casually, to the consideration of these. The votes of such men will be governed by the impulse of the moment ; by whim ; by prejudice ; by attachment to a friend, or a party ; and sometimes, not improbably, by the mere fact, that their duty requires them to vote, when perhaps, they are wholly at a loss whether the vote, actually given, will be useful or mischievous. If such a system be not so pursued ; the interests of a
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