USA > Maine > Kennebec County > Waterville > The history of Colby College > Part 79
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a meeting if Mr. Chaplin should be obliged to follow the example of the apostle who preached in his own hired house.
At 10:00 o'clock we arrived in Waterville. Just before we reached the shore we observed a number of gentlemen coming toward us. We soon found their object was to welcome us to Waterville. I sat in the booth while Mr. Chaplin stepped on shore and was introduced to them. In a few minutes I was informed that a chaise was waiting for me, into which I stepped with Anna and Judson, and in a few minutes a boy drove us to Squire Boutelle's. Mrs. Boutelle met me at the door with as much freedom as though we had been previously acquainted. She and Mrs. Clark, a young woman who boards with her, were agreeable and very attentive to us. They formerly lived in Exeter. We took dinner with Mr. Partridge, a gentleman in the neighborhood who seems to be truly pious. Teams were immediately provided to carry our goods from the boat to the house. The attention and affection with which we were received, instead of banishing, revived the recollection of dear Danvers friends, from many of whom we received similar kindnesses.
Our house is convenient and very pleasantly located. It is rather retired from the thickest of the village, although neighbors are quite handy. A number have called upon us and seem quite friendly. They do not seem to be such ignorant, uncultivated beings as some have imagined. Many of those whom I have seen appear to be persons of education and polished manners. Nor have we been destitute of Christian company. Quite a number have been to the house, although but a few reside in the village, nor are they destitute of places for public worship. We were so happy as to find that Waterville contained two, though neither of them elegantly or completely furnished. The one in the vil- lage is about as large as the one in Danvers. The frame is good and the floor pews finished, but the upper part is yet without pews. Some think they will be finished. Others think after a while another and better one will be built in a more eligible spot and this one taken for some other purpose. This people seem as though they had been as sheep without a shepherd. The man who for- merly preached to them and to the people at Winslow is said not to favor ex- perimental religion, and two years ago they agreed to give him $1200 not to preach to them any more. $800 of the money is already paid. They now seem generally pleased with the idea of having preaching constantly, and we hope the desire will continue and increase. Before the Sabbath, a number of gentlemen waited upon Mr. Chaplin and requested him to preach in the meet- inghouse. He accordingly did and began his preaching among them by dis- coursing upon the love of God to sinners, John 3:16. On the second Sabbath more people attended than on the first, and more, it is said, than have been in the house for three years past. Christian friends from a distance of two, four and six miles attended. We have been pleased to observe the attention with which the congregation listened to the several services of the day, and were also gratified to observe the almost perfect stillness in the streets on the Sabbath. Already the Macedonian cry from a number of places has sounded in our ears. Already a number of applications from different places have been made for preach- ing. Even from China a person has been sent to procure a preacher, and in about three weeks Mr. Chaplin expects to visit the Baptist church in that place and break bread with them. However, it is but twelve miles from us.
July 16. Our hearts have been refreshed this week with a visit from our dear friends, Mr. and Mrs. Bolles. The sight of Christian friends is certainly
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enlivening. Since they have been here we have visited at Mr. Redington's. The family are very agreeable.
Sabbath Eve. This day we have been privileged with two excellent ser- mons from Mr. Bolles. The time will assuredly come when Waterville will as assuredly be driven to the Lord for an inheritance as any place over which he reigns.
Today Mr. Chaplin preached at Bloomfield, about twelve miles from the village. Calls for preaching are numerous.
Appendix I.
ADDRESS TO THE PUBLIC IN BEHALF OF THE MAINE LITERARY AND THEOLOGICAL INSTITUTION, MAY 21, 1819.
The Trustees of this Seminary were incorporated by the Legislature during the winter of 1813. At the same time they obtained the grant of a township which they were authorized to select from any of the unappropriated lands of the Commonwealth in the District of Maine. The grant was made on condi- tion that the Seminary should be erected within the limits of the township which the Trustees should select. At their request, however, the Legislature gave them permission to locate it in any part of the counties of Kennebec and Somerset; in consequence of which they finally resolved to establish it at Waterville.
In February, 1818, they made choice of Rev. Jeremiah Chaplin as Pro- fessor of Theology, and the Rev. Ira Chase as Professor of the Learned Lan- guages. The latter, however, did not accept his appointment; and the Seminary was opened by the former alone, on the sixth of July following. At a special meeting of the Trustees, holden on the 12th inst., Mr. Alva Woods, a graduate of the University at Cambridge, and a student of the Theological Institution at Andover, was appointed a Tutor.
The design of the Trustees in founding this Seminary is not limited to such students as have the gospel ministry in view, but extends to those who are desirous of engaging in any of the learned professions. It has, accordingly, a literary as well as a theological department. Students who enter the former are re- quired to possess nearly the same literary qualifications, and to pursue in general the same course of studies as those who enter the several colleges in this Com- monwealth.
Students who belong to the theological department are arranged in three divisions. The first consists of those who have received a completely classical education. These are to tarry two years and to devote their whole attention to Theology and Sacred Literature. The second division consists of those whose advantages for literary improvement have been small and who do not propose to obtain a completely classical education. These are to tarry for four years, the three first of which they are to devote to the study of the Learned Languages and some other branches of Literature, and the last to Theology. The third divi- sion consists of students who, like those of the second, have enjoyed but few
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advantages of a literary kind, and who propose to read no books but those writ- ten in the English language. These are to tarry two years, and are required to devote the first to English Grammar, Common Arithmetic, Rhetoric, Logic, Geography, and English Composition, and the last to Theology.
The Literary Department, it is expected, will be put into operation in September next.
The number of students in the theological department is at present 17. It will probably increase during the coming summer.
The vacations at this Seminary are as follows: the first begins on the third Wednesday in August and continues three weeks; the second on the last Wed- nesday in December and continues eight weeks; the third on the first Wednes- day in May and continues two weeks. The price of tuition is four dollars a quarter. Decent board, exclusive of washing, mending and beds, may be ob- tained for about one dollar a week; with the addition of these for $1.50. The usual price of wood in winter is $1.50 a cord.
Students are permitted to assist themselves by keeping school during the winter vacation, and may be absent for that purpose four or five additional weeks, provided the instructors deem it necessary.
Having given the foregoing sketch of the origin, progress, design and present state of the Institution, the Trustees solicit the attention of those persons who wish to make a right improvement of the property with which the Lord of heaven and earth has been pleased to bless them.
The local situation of Waterville, the Trustees conceive, recommends it, in no small degree, as a suitable place for the establishment of such a Seminary as that which is here contemplated. It has, or shortly will have, an easy communica- tion, not only with the various parts of New England, but with several of the British Provinces of North America. Besides, the country around it, especially on the north of it, to a very considerable extent, is remarkably fertile, a circum- stance that renders it highly probable that this part of Maine, should the bless- ings of Heaven attend it, will in a few years become very populous, and will of course furnish a very considerable number of students to the Institution. It is important to add that, as the fertility of the soil in this section of the country cannot fail to afford to the inhabitants of Waterville a plentiful supply of the necessities and comforts of life, so it authorizes the expectation that provisions of almost every kind, and consequently board, will be afforded there at as cheap a rate as in any part of New England.
Nor should it be forgotten that the Seminary in behalf of which public patronage is now solicited is especially intended for the instruction of students of divinity. On this account, it will, if handsomely endowed and well conducted, attract the attention of a large number of pious young men who will repair to it for the purpose of obtaining an education, and who, feeling a deep concern for the welfare of those around them, will exert a most salutary influence on each other and on the students generally. It has long been regretted that, at many of the Literary Institutions in this country, a large number of the students are utter strangers to experimental and practical religion. The pious young man who becomes a member of any of those seminaries is placed in circumstances far from favorable to his spiritual progress. This lamentable fact can hardly fail to have weight with such persons as justly appreciate the importance of ardent piety in a gospel minister. And the Trustees feel it ought to influence those to whom this paper may come, especially the inhabitants of Maine, to patronize the
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Institution at Waterville. All the students in this Seminary, at present, have the gospel ministry in view and are hopefully pious. How much better it must be for a pious youth to receive instruction at a seminary where a large propor- tion of the students possess a spirit congenial to his own, and feel it to be their duty to exhort, admonish and reprove him, as need may be, than at a seminary where the predominant influence is of a directly contrary tendency.
The benefit here contemplated will not be confined to students of a religious character. It will extend to students of every description. In a seminary where many are truly pious, the rest can hardly fail of being overawed and may be expected to refrain from many vices into which their unhallowed passions would otherwise hurry them. Associating daily with those who pay a sacred regard to the precepts of the gospel, they can hardly fail to impose a restraint on their words and actions. Parents who intend to give their sons a classical education should be excited to patronize an Institution the plan of which is so eminently adapted to promote morality and piety as well as to facilitate the acquisition of useful knowledge.
This Seminary, though under the direction principally of one denomination, is nevertheless open to persons of every religious sect. From the literary de- partment no one will be debarred who maintains a decent moral character. Nor will anyone be debarred from the theological department (to whatever denomina- tion of Christians he may be attached) who is able to exhibit satisfactory evi- dence of his piety and of possessing gifts adapted to the gospel ministry.
The pressing need of this Institution for pecuniary aid is one of the most weighty of those considerations which have induced the Trustees to address the public on this occasion. They have undertaken to erect two buildings, one for the accommodation of students, the other for the accommodation of in- structors. To meet the expenses which the completion of these buildings must necessarily create, they propose to sell a part of the township above mentioned and a part of the lot which they lately purchased in Waterville. From the sale of these lands and from subscriptions pledged but not yet collected they hope to obtain a considerable sum. Subscriptions obtained in Waterville and vicinity amount to about $3000. Of this sum almost $1800 has been expended on the lot. The remaining $1200 is still due to the Trustees. The money thus obtained will be inadequate to complete the buildings. Besides, the Institution is in want of a library and a philosophical apparatus, neither of which can be obtained with- out the expenditure of a pretty large sum. There is now one instructor, and ere long will be two, for whom support must be found.
In these circumstances the Trustees feel it incumbent upon them to make application for aid to the pious and charitable of every religious persuasion, and they flatter themselves that the application will not be in vain. They cannot but indulge the hope, that while large sums are annually given to Bible societies, to other literary and theological institutions, and to a variety of establishments, the Institution under their care will not be forgotten. The Trustees especially address themselves to those who are distinguished by the possession of large fortunes. They beg leave to remind such that they are but stewards under God, the great proprietor of all things, and are accountable to Him for the use they make of the treasures committed to their care.
But the Trustees do not apply to the opulent only. They extend their solicita- tions to those whose narrow circumstances will not permit them to do much for pious and charitable purposes. Persons of this description may perhaps excuse themselves from giving, on the ground that what they are able to give is too little
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to do any good where thousands of dollars are wanted. The reasoning of these people would be correct, did each of them know that he was the only individual from whom money could be obtained. But such persons should consider that they form the most numerous class of people in every country, and that if some thousands of them unite in giving only a few cents each, the aggregate of the whole will be a considerable sum.
It is hoped by the Trustees that the benevolent in the various parts of New England, and in some of the British Provinces, will afford them aid in this im- portant and arduous undertaking. But they will not despair, although they should be disappointed in this expectation. Enough, they conceive, might be raised in the District of Maine to supply the immediate and most pressing needs of the Institution, were such of the inhabitants as are bound both by duty and interest to assist them disposed to do it. This section of the country is supposed to contain about 240,000 souls. Now, admitting that of the whole population a sixth part only are able to give anything, and that of these one half are already pledged for the support of other seminaries, still 20,000 would remain to patronize the one established at Waterville. And should each of them give but fifty cents, the sum of $10,000 would be obtained. This, with what the Trustees have reason to expect from tuition and sale of lands, would probably be sufficient for two years to come. But should the 20,000 above mentioned contribute fifty cents an- nually, the Trustees would scarcely stand in need of donations from the opulent or of aid from the Legislature. Ten thousand dollars obtained annually would, with the blessing of God, soon raise this Seminary to a respectable rank among the Literary and Theological Institutions of New England.
Appendix J.
SPECIAL LAWS OF MAINE, 1820-1828, CHAPTER VIII.
An Act to enlarge the powers of the Maine Literary and Theological Institution, June 19, 1820.
Sect. 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in Legislature assembled, that the President and Trustees of the Maine Literary and Theological Institution are hereby authorized and empowered to confer such de- grees as are usually conferred by universities established for the education of youth; provided that the said Corporation shall confer no degrees other than those of Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts until after the first day of January, 1830. And provided also that the said Corporation shall not make or have any rule or by-law requiring that any member of the Trustees shall be of any particular religious denomination. Provided, that no student belonging or who may hereafter belong to said Institution, sustaining a fair moral character, shall be deprived of any privileges of said Institution, or be subject to the forfeiture of any aid which has been granted by said Institution, for the purposes of enabling
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him to prosecute his studies, or be denied the usual testimonials on closing his studies, or be denied admission to said Institution, on the ground that his in- terpretation of the scriptures differ from those which are contained in the ar- ticles of faith adopted, or to be adopted by said Institution.
Sect. 2. Be it further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, that the Legis- lature of this State shall have the right to grant any further powers to alter, limit or restrain any of the powers vested in said Corporation, as shall be judged neces- sary to promote the best interests thereof.
Appendix K.
AN ACT TO CHANGE THE NAME OF THE MAINE LITERARY AND THEOLOGICAL INSTITUTION, FEBRUARY 5, 1821.
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives in Legisla- ture Assembled that, from and after the passing of this act, the name of the said Maine Literary and Theological Institution shall cease, and the same shall hence- forth be called and known by the name of Waterville College, any act to the contrary notwithstanding; and nothing in this act contained shall be construed to impair or annul any of the rights, powers or privileges of the said Corporation.
Appendix L.
PETITION OF THE TRUSTEES OF THE MAINE LITERARY AND THEOLOGICAL INSTITUTION TO THE LEGISLATURE OF MAINE, MAY 21, 1820.
To the Hon., the Senate and House of Representatives in Legislature as- sembled:
Respectfully represent the Trustees of the Maine Literary and Theological Institution that this Institution was incorporated by an Act of Legislature in 1813, and at the same time was endowed with a grant of a township of land; that in 1818 the Trustees established the Institution in Waterville, and in July of the same year instruction commenced under the direction of the Reverend Jeremiah Chaplin, Professor of Theology; that the Reverend Avery Briggs has since been appointed Professor of Languages and commenced instruction in the summer of 1819; and that the number of students now in the Institution is twenty-two.
They further represent that, since the establishment of the Institution, bene- factions of generous individuals have amounted to about seven thousand dollars,
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by means of which they have been enabled to purchase eligible grounds for the erection of suitable buildings, and to erect and finish a dwelling house and out- buildings for the accommodation of one of the professors, and have the greater part of the materials now collected for a brick edifice 120 feet long, 40 feet wide, and three stories high, to contain 36 rooms for students.
They further represent that it was the original design of the Trustees, when- ever their funds and prospects should warrant, to establish a sufficient number of professors and tutors to instruct in all the different branches of science and lit- erature usually taught in our colleges; that in establishing the Institution in Water- ville, they believed they thereby attained one important point necessary to its future growth and prosperity; that its situation in the State is central and in the midst of a large agricultural district, not surpassed, if equalled, by any other part of Maine, in consequence of which the price of board now is, and will prob- ably continue to be, not more than two-thirds what it is at the other colleges in New England.
And your petitioners believe that literary institutions should be organized and conducted with a wise regard to the situation and exigencies of our state, and that the true interests of science, as well as of every free state, require that the means of acquiring a liberal education should be made accessible to the mid- dling classes of citizens as well as the more opulent. They therefore pray that the powers given by their charter may be enlarged and that the power of be- stowing such degrees as are usually conferred by other colleges may be given to this Institution.
Sylvanus Boardman John Hovey Jeremiah Chaplin Nathan Weston, Jun.
E. T. Warren Calvin Stockbridge
Committee of the Trustees
Appendix M.
LAWS OF MAINE, 1861, CHAPTER 40. RESOLVE MAKING A GRANT OF LAND TO WATERVILLE COLLEGE, MARCH 9, 1861.
Resolved, that the Land Agent be directed to convey to the Trustees of Waterville College two half-townships of land of average quality, to be selected by him and to be applied by said Trustees to the benefit of the said college; provided, however, that the said land shall revert to the State unless there be subscribed and paid into the funds of said college by private subscription the sum of $20,000 by the first day of April, 1863.
Laws of Maine, 1862, Chapter 109. Resolve to amend Chapter 40 of the resolves of 1861, making a grant of land to Waterville College, February 4, 1862.
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Resolved that Chapter 40 of the Resolves of 1861 be and hereby is amended so as to read:
Resolved that the Land Agent be directed to convey to the President and Trustees of Waterville College two half-townships of land of average quality to be selected by said agent, and to be applied by the said President and Trustees to the benefit of said College; provided however that the said land shall revert to the State unless the subscriptions to the said College now being made by indi- viduals shall have reached at least the sum of $20,000 on or before the first day of April, 1863, and unless $20,000 shall have been actually paid into the treas- ury of said College on or before the last day of December, 1870, from the sub- scriptions now being made as aforesaid.
Appendix N.
LAWS OF MAINE, 1867, CHAPTER 180. AN ACT TO CHANGE THE NAME OF WATERVILLE COLLEGE, JANUARY 23, 1867.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in Legislature assembled as follows:
Sect. 1. The name of the corporation "The President and Trustees of Waterville College" is hereby changed to "The President and Trustees of Colby University."
Sect. 2. This act takes effect when approved by the Governor.
Appendix O.
LAWS OF MAINE, 1874, CHAPTER 500. AN ACT ADDITIONAL TO THE ACTS WHICH CONSTITUTE THE CHARTER OF COLBY UNIVERSITY, FEBRUARY 17, 1874. (Empowering the Trustees to elect their own chairman)
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in Legislature assembled as follows:
Sect. 1. The powers vested jointly in the President and Board of Trustees, by the acts which constitute the charter of Colby University, are hereby vested in the Board of Trustees, of which the President shall not be a member ex-officio; but the Board may elect their own presiding officer to hold office for such term as shall be prescribed in the by-laws.
Sect. 2. This act shall take effect when approved.
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Appendix P.
LAWS OF MAINE, 1899, CHAPTER 1. AN ACT CHANGING THE NAME OF COLBY UNIVERSITY, JANUARY 25, 1899.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in Legislature assembled as follows:
Section 1. The name of the corporation "The President and Trustees of Colby University" is hereby changed to "The President and Trustees of Colby College."
Section 2. This act shall take effect when approved.
Appendix Q.
LAWS OF MAINE, 1903, CHAPTER 150. AN ACT TO AMEND THE CHARTER OF THE PRESIDENT AND TRUSTEES OF COLBY COLLEGE, MARCH 11, 1903. (Authorizing the election of alumni trustees)
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in Legislature assembled as follows:
Section 1. That Section 3 of an act entitled "An Act to establish a Literary Institution in the District of Maine, within this Commonwealth," passed by the General Court of Massachusetts and approved February 27, 1813, and from time to time amended, be further amended by inserting after the word "trustees" in the eleventh line thereof the following words: "except as hereinafter provided," and by adding to the end of said section the following words: "And provided also that nine of the trustees shall be elected by the Alumni Association of Colby College, to be known as Alumni Trustees, and to be elected, three each year, for terms of three years, in such manner as said Association may provide, so that said Section 3, as amended, shall read as follows:
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