History of Kalamazoo county, Michigan, Part 39

Author: Durant, Samuel W. comp
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Philadelphia. Everts & Abbott
Number of Pages: 761

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The entrance at the next academic year was consider- ably larger than for some years previous. But an event occurred Nov. 4, 1863, which caused a temporary derange- ment in the college affairs. President Stone and Mrs. L. H. Stone at this time sent in their resignation. This de- termination had been taken some time previous on their part, but only two or three of the trustees were aware of it, and not a single student in the institution had any sus- picions of their intentions until their resignation was ten- dered. The trustees were surprised, and proposed a committee of conference, but this was declined. As the resignations were peremptory, they were finally accepted, and a resolution was passed that " we assure them we shall ever cherish for them the warmest sympathy and Christian affec- tion, and we recommend the appointment of a committee to make each of them a proper expression of our feelings."

It is not necessary here to enter into the reasons given at the time for these resignations, tendered after more than twenty years of service in the institution. Dr. Stone had long been of the opinion that there were some unwise counsels among a portion of the trustees, there being a de- cided difference of opinions, especially in reference to the management of the female department. Their long con- nection with the school, and their services having been largely gratuitous, had been to the doctor's pecuniary dis- advantage. They felt that they had tried to do their full share in building up a successful institution, and their friends could well afford to excuse them from further ser- vice. Mrs. Stone also wished, if she spent any longer time in teaching, to do it in accordance with her own convictions of the best manner.

At a subsequent meeting of the trustees the following resolutions were passed :

" Resolved, 1. That the triumphant success, both in completing the building for the female department, and in the department itself, amply vindicates the wisdom, as his own sacrifices and untiring labors proved the earnestness of the zeal, of President Stone in establishing the female department.

"Resolved, 2. That in the opinion of this board, to the tireless energy, self-sacrificing labors, and able conduct of Dr. Stone and his earnest and accomplished wife, it is, under Providence, largely due that the village of Kalamazoo is adorned, its prosperity enhanced, and its social attractions so greatly increased, by this institution of learning."

In a historical sketch of Kalamazoo College, prepared at the request of the trustees by Rev. S. Haskell, the secre- tary of the board, and published in 1864, we find the fol- lowing description of the work done by Dr. and Mrs. Stone in their connection with the college :

"To Professor J. A. B. Stone fell the lot of following Dutton ; and the short course of the one is in contrast with the long course of the other. Dr. and Mrs. Stone commenced their labors in 1843; and they twain have been one flesh and one spirit in these labors, uninterrupt- edly, until the present time. Their work has been multi- form and multiplex. There is nothing which they have not touched, from the gravel beneath all material founda- tion stones to the finial of each pupil's edification in learn- ing and character, their means, the while, spreading as diffusively through the work as their labors have done. With the entrance of the institution upon its full college career Dr. Stone was appointed its president, and has so continued through these nearly nine years, Mrs. Stone throughout occupying the position of principal of the female department."

Professor Edward Anderson was requested by the trustees to act as president pro tem. until a permanent president should be appointed. After the resignation of Dr. and Mrs. Stone a difficulty arose between the students and Faculty. The students had known nothing of the resigna- tion until after it occurred, and being disappointed and dis- satisfied, without knowing the reason of their resignation, a large number of them, somewhere from a hundred and twenty to a hundred and fifty, determined to leave the college and petition the Faculty for a dismission. This movement was regarded in the light of a mutiny, and they were expelled, unless they returned to the institution. The trustees at first sustained the Faculty in their vote to expel them. Dr. Stone, who was still president of the board of trustees, called another meeting, made a statement of his under- standing of the case, assuring the trustees that there had been no communication between himself and the students before their request to be dismissed, the students also making a statement that they did not wish to break the laws of the institution, but thought that they had a right to withdraw peacefully, without giving their reasons, when a unanimous vote was passed that the Faculty should give them, on application, an honorable dismissal. Quite a number of those dismissed graduated at Adrian College, at Olivet, at the universities at Rochester, Ann Arbor, Chi- cago, and elsewhere.

In April, 1864, Hon. John M. Gregory, who was at that time State superintendent of public instruction, was elected president. After arrangements had been made to guarantee his salary,-for he did not propose to follow the example of his predecessor in the matter of salary,-he accepted the

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office, and entered upon his duty some time afterwards. Mr. Gregory was a graduate of Union College, was already favorably known as an educator, enjoyed the confidence of the public, and, bringing great energy to his work, could scarcely fail of success. The disturbance connected with the loss of so many students was a misfortune for which he was not responsible. But the property of the institution, the grounds, the ample buildings, some start towards an endowment, and the prestige which the school had already attained rendered his situation a more comfortable one than that of his predecessor twenty years before.

Dr. Gregory infused great energy into every department of the college, and made an effort to secure an able and effective Faculty. The catalogue of 1865-66 reports the whole number of students in attendance two hundred and seventeen, the young men being nearly twice as numerous as the young women. The students of both sexes in the collegiate classes were fifty-nine, the remainder being in the preparatory department. The members of the faculty were as follows : Rev. John M. Gregory, LL.D., President, Pro- fessor of Moral and Mental Philosophy and History ; Rev. Daniel Putnam, M.A., Professor of the Latin Language and Literature; Rev. H. L. Wayland, M.A., Professor of the Greek Language and Literature and Instructor in Chemistry and Physiology ; Charles D. Gregory, B.A., Principal of the Preparatory Department ; Robert H. Tripp, M.A., Instructor in Ancient Languages; Austin George, Instructor in Bookkeeping and Natural Science; J. W. Caldwell, Instructor in Mathematics; Joshua S. Lane, In- structor in Grammar and Arithmetic ; Miss Julia A. King, Preceptress and Teacher of German and English Litera- ture; Mrs. Martha L. Osborn, Teacher of French and History ; Miss Letitia J. Shaw, Teacher of Drawing and Painting ; Prof. J. Maurice Hubbard, Mrs. Sarah Hubbard, Teachers of Instrumental and Vocal Music.

President Gregory's career as an educator in Kalamazoo was not destined to be a long one. He was invited to be- come president of the Illinois Industrial University, which office he accepted after his resignation of the college presi- dency had been accepted. The trustees parted with him reluctantly, and passed the following resolutions indicative of their high esteem of his services :

"WHEREAS, Dr. J. M. Gregory has been called to another field of labor, and under a sense of duty has tendered to this board an uncon- ditional and immediate resignation of the office of president of Kala- mazoo College; therefore

" Resolved, That we hereby accept his resignation of said office.

" Resolved, That we hereby express our deep regret that his official relation to us and his present connection with our beloved institution are now brought to a close, disappointing our hope of his continued co-operation in this important work of Christian education, and de- priving the institution of services which we had come to think so essential to its prosperity; and that we tender to him our heartfelt thanks for the energy, devotion, and self-denial with which he has prosecuted his mental labors among us, and assure him that he has our high esteem and full confidence as a fellow-laborer in the Master's vineyard; and that he bears with him to his new field of labor our affectionate regards, while our earnest prayers shall ever go up to the throne of grace that the richest blessings of heaven may descend and rest upon him, and that when the Great Teacher shall gather his dis- ciples into his heavenly home we may together receive the crown of life.

: " Resolved, That ever recognizing the hand of God in the history of our beloved institution, and calling to mind the oft-repeated de-

liverances which. he has wrought for us in the past, and especially in the advanced position which he has enabled us to gain under the leadership of President Gregory, we are enabled to say, ' Hitherto the Lord hath helped us;' and believing that now, as in the past, he is on our side, we take courage and go forward, assured of his abiding favor, and feeling that the circumstances under which we are placed should only cause the friends of Kalamazoo College to gather more closely around it, with earnest prayer, increased faith, and enlarged liberality."

After the resignation of Dr. Gregory the institution was without a regular president for a year or more, Professor Put- nam filling the place as president ad interim, and after his resignation this situation was occupied by Dr. Silas Bailey, who was then connected with the Kalamazoo Theological Seminary. During this time the number of students re- mained about the same as during the preceding year. Many plans were devised for an increase of the endowment fund, and for the general enlargement of the institution and in- crease of its usefulness. But the favorable time for a suc- cessful movement in this direction had not yet arrived. Dr. Samuel Graves, of Connecticut, had been called to fill the president's chair, but he declined. An invitation was also extended to Dr. Lemuel Moss, of Lewisburg University, but he did not accept the proffered honor.

The next effort in this direction was more successful. Sept. 28, 1868, the trustees voted unanimously to elect Rev. Kendall Brooks, D.D., of Philadelphia, president of the college. Dr. Brooks is a native of Massachusetts, a graduate of Brown University, and also of Newton Theolo- gical Seminary. He had been for some time a pastor, and had also experience as a teacher, having formerly been a professor in Waterville College. He was favorably known in Philadelphia as an editor and a man well versed in liberal studies. With such a reputation he entered auspiciously upon his presidential career, which has been continued until the present time.

In August, 1869, Professor Clark died, greatly lamented, after an illness of three months. The chair of Latin, vacated by his death, was filled in November following by the ap- pointment of Rev. Samuel Brooks, A.M., a graduate of Brown University of the class of 1852. Professor Brooks was instructor in Greek in Brown University in 1854-55, and was instructor in Hebrew in the Newton Theological Institution in 1860-61. He has held the professorship of Latin in Kalamazoo College from his appointment to the present time.

During the early part of 1869 an effort to add fifty thou- sand dollars to the endowment of the college was completed. This effort was commenced in connection with the call of Dr. Brooks to the presidency, and was chiefly under the direction of Professor Clark

In October, 1869, Dr. Bailey, who had served the col- lege three years, was laid aside from his work by sickness, and in December following he resigned his professorship. His health was never restored. He died in Paris, June 30, 1874, at the age of sixty-five years. He was made a Doc- tor of Divinity in 1849 by Madison University, and a Doc- tor of Laws, in 1871, by Franklin College.

In August, 1870, Prof. Wayland (who was made a Doctor of Divinity, in 1869, by Brown University) was chosen president of Franklin College, in Indiana, and re-

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signed his chair in this college. After a service of two years in Franklin, he became editor of the National Baptist, which position he now holds and adorns.

William C. Morey, A.M., became an instructor on the resignation of Dr. Wayland, and soon after was selected Professor of History and Political Economy. He resigned this chair in 1872, to accept a professorship in the Univer- sity of Rochester, where he remains till now. On his re- tirement, Rev. William T. Stott was made Professor of Natural Science. But after accepting the appointment, and having served the college one term, he was called to the presidency of Franklin College, and resigned. He still remains president of the college which has twice deprived Kalamazoo of an able teacher to fill that office.

Austin George, A.M., of the class of 1866, was employed as temporary Professor of Rhetoric and Literature during the college year 1872-73.

Howard G. Colman, A.M., of the class of 1869, was ap- pointed Professor of Chemistry in 1873, and still holds that chair. Lewis Stuart, A.M., of the class of 1872, was appointed Professor of Greek in 1875, and remained in that office till 1879, when he became Professor of Latin in the University of Chicago.

In 1869, Rev. Thomas W. Merrill, A.M., endowed a professorship, the income from which endowment was to become available in five years from that time. The pro- fessor supported by this endowment was to be college pastor, and to teach in such departments as might be assigned him. In 1875, Rev. Nathan S. Burton, D.D., was elected Merrill professor, but at the close of the college year 1876-77 it was found that the endowment was not yielding an income ; the professor obtained leave of absence for a year, and at the end of the year resigned his chair, as the endowment was still unproductive. In 1869, Mr. Merrill established two scholarships of five hundred dollars each, and in 1874 twenty-eight others of the same sum, the income to be given to students in the college preparing for the Christian ministry. Only the first two are as yet productive.

In 1873 the college received a legacy of two thousand five hundred and fifty dollars from the estate of Lewis A. Taft, of Wauseon, Ohio, who had been one of its students, the income of which is to be appropriated to students needing pecuniary assistance.

In 1878 the sum of eight thousand dollars was received from the estate of Mrs. Hannah Davis, of Allegan.

In 1877 it became apparent that the south tower of the new building was not sufficiently supported. It was re- moved and a new south front erected, and the whole build- ing thoroughly repaired and greatly improved.

The number of students enrolled for the current year (1879-80) is one hundred and forty-five. The Faculty as at present constituted is as follows: Rev. Kendall Brooks, D.D., President and Professor of Moral and In- tellectual Philosophy; Rev. Samuel Brooks, D.D., Professor of Latin; Howard G. Colman, A.M., Professor of Chem- istry ; Clarence L. Dean, A.B., Instructor in Literature and History ; Alexander Hadlock, P.B., Instructor in Math- ematics ; Frank D. Haskell, A.B., Instructor in Greek ; Alice M. Northrup, Instructress in French and German ; Z. S. Harrison, Instructor in Vocal Music.

MICHIGAN FEMALE SEMINARY .*

On the 15th day of December, 1856, a corporation was formed in the village of Kalamazoo, consisting of gentlemen of various Protestant religious denominations, " for the pur- pose of founding and establishing a female seminary within the township of Kalamazoo," in pursuance of an " Act to provide for the Incorporation of Institutions of Learning," passed by the Legislature of Michigan, and approved Feb. 9, 1855. In the articles of association it is provided that the institution " shall be known by the name and title of the Michigan Female Seminary." Its object was

"To establish, endow, and control a seminary of learning for the education of young ladies in the higher branches of a thorough female education, having reference to the entire person, physically, intel- lectually, morally, and religiously considered, and shall be essentially modeled after the Mount Holyoke Seminary, in Massachusetts, and the Western Female Seminary at Oxford, in the State of Ohio."

The control of the institution was vested in a board of twenty trustees and their successors, to form

" A body corporate and politic, with all the powers, privileges, im- munities, and liabilities which are given and granted in the Act above referred to, the said Trustees to divide themselves by lot into four classes, holding their offices for the terms of two, four, six, and eight years respectively, each Trustee to continue in office until his suc- cessor shall be appointed, and all subsequent elections, except to fill vacancies, to be for the term of eight years." It was expressly pro- vided, however, in Article 6, that " All elections of Trustees shall be subject to the ratification of the Synod of Michigan, or of such other Synod as shall have jurisdiction, and within whose limits said Semi- nary is located."

This provision insures the complete and permanent con- trol of the institution by the Synod.

In accordance with the original design, the board of trustees in 1856 selected and purchased a tract of about thirty-two acres of land, situated on the east side of the Kalamazoo River, as a site for the proposed seminary. It is a fine, healthful, and commanding location on the slopes and uplands of the bluff, which here fall away gradually to the river valley below, and the grounds are made more beautiful and picturesque by a scattering growth of forest- trees, mostly white oak. Upon the plateau overlooking the village and a large extent of the surrounding country, it was determined to locate the building, which, according to the original plan, was to consist of an immense brick three- story edifice, 219 by 140 feet in dimensions, nearly in the form of a Latin cross, and to have basement and attic sto- ries. The style was to be Norman, and the plan included a large central building and two wings, connected by broad corridors, the whole to be finished and furnished with all the essentials of a first-class institution of learning. It was to be heated with steam, supplied with hot and cold water for bathing and other purposes, lighted with gas, and to ac- commodate three hundred pupils and a corps of twenty teachers. The estimated cost was placed at one hundred thousand dollars.

The work of construction was commenced in 1857, and proceeded, with various delays and intermissions, until 1860, when it was suspended, and not renewed until after the close of the civil war.

In the spring of 1866, Rev. John Covert was appointed

# Taken mostly from a history of the institution published in a Kalamazoo directory for 1867.

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HISTORY OF KALAMAZOO COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

to take charge of the work and finish the building already erected, so that it might be used for school purposes. Lu- ther H. Trask was subsequently appointed superintendent, and W. H. Codington assistant. The centre building was completed, and a school opened on the 30th of January, 1867, with the following Faculty : Miss Jeannette Fisher, Principal ; Miss Sarah A. Greer, Miss Jane W. Smead, Miss Julia Esty, Miss Laura E. Newhall, Miss Fanny O. Guernsey.

The wing upon the south side of the building was erected in September, 1874. Messrs. Bush & Paterson were the contractors. This building is of wood, two stories in height, and about sixty by twenty-four feet in dimensions. It is calculated to accommodate thirty-two pupils, and has no recitation-rooms. The main building contains the chapel and recitation-rooms. The original intention was to expend about one hundred thousand dollars, but a variety of causes contributed to prevent the full consummation of the plans. The total expenditures, as the property now stands, aggre- gate about sixty-five thousand dollars for land, buildings, improvements, furniture, and apparatus. The institution has accommodations for about one hundred pupils.

The average number of pupils per term for all the years since it was opened, in 1867, has been about sixty, and the present attendance (January, 1880) is about thirty-seven.

The following is a list of trustees since the organization :

Board of Trustees, 1857 .- Rev. George Duffield, Pres- ident ; Rev. O. P. Hoyt, Shubael Conant, Rev. Alfred Bry- ant, F. W. Curtenius, Rev. S. D. Pitkin, E. B. Ward, Rev. Henry Neill, H. G. Wells, Rev. H. S. McElroy, James Taylor, Rev. Wm. S. Huggins, John Milham, L. H. Trask, Allen Potter, Wm. L. Booth, D. A. McNair, Hiram Ar- nold, W. A. Tomlinson, C. H. Hall, Rev. J. J. Slocum.

Succeeding 1857 is an interim of nine years. The board for 1867 was as follows: Rev. George Duffield, D.D., De- troit ; Rev. Job Pierson, Kalamazoo ; Rev. Milton Bradley, Richland ; Rev. W. Kellogg, Washtenaw County ; Rev. A. Bryant, Berrien County ; Rev. E. S. Wishard, Tecumseh ; F. W. Curtenius, H. G. Wells, Wm. A. Tomlinson, Allen Potter, C. W. Hall, James Taylor, L. H. Trask, John Mil- ham, E. H. Van Deusen, M.D., H. O. Hitchcock, M.D., H. Arnold, Kalamazoo.

1868-69 .- Rev. William Hogarth, D.D., Detroit; Rev. Calvin Clark, Marshall; Rev. E. S. Wishard, Battle Creek ; Rev. Milton Bradley, Richland; Rev. Job Pierson, Ionia ; Rev. Joseph A. Ranney, Three Rivers ; Rev. Norman Kel- logg, Stony Creek ; Rev. H. H. Coolidge, Niles; Edward B. Ferry, Grand Haven ; Allen Potter, Hiram Arnold, C. W. Hall, H. G. Wells, F. W. Curtenius, L. H. Trask, H. F. Cock, H. O. Hitchcock, M.D., James Taylor, John Milham, Wm. A. Tomlinson, J. Parsons, Kalamazoo.

In 1870-71, Hon. A. Sheley's name is added, and H. F. Cock's does not appear.

1871-72, Rev. William Hogarth, D.D., Detroit ; Rev. George Duffield, D.D., Saginaw ; Rev. Calvin Clark, Mar- shall; Rev. J. A. Ranney, Three Rivers; Rev. Milton Bradley, Richland; Hon. H. H. Coolidge, Niles; Hon. Alanson Sheley, Detroit; Elisha Taylor, Detroit; Edward P. Ferry, Grand Haven ; Edward S. Moore, Three Rivers ; C. W. Hall, Allegan ; Hon. H. G. Wells, Jonathan Par-

sons, F. W. Curtenius, John Milham, James Taylor, Hiram Arnold, L. H. Trask, William A. Tomlinson, Henry Gilbert, Allen Potter, Kalamazoo.

Class going out Dec. 24, 1873: Hiram Arnold, Rev. Milton Bradley, Hon. H. H. Coolidge, Niles; Jonathan Parsons, William A. Tomlinson, L. H. Trask.

Class going out Dec. 24, 1875 : Rev. William Hogarth, D.D., John Milham, Hon. Edward S. Moore, Rev. J. A. Ranney, Hon. H. G. Wells.

Class going out Dec. 24, 1877 : Hon. F. W. Curtenius, Rev. Calvin Clark, Edward P. Ferry, Allen Potter, Hon. A. Sheley.

Class going out Dec. 24, 1879 : Rev. George Duffield, D.D., Henry Gilbert, C. W. Hall, Elisha Taylor, James Taylor, Rev. George D. Baker.

Class going out Dec. 24, 1881 : Rev. Milton Bradley, E. O. Humphrey, Jonathan Parsons, William A. Tomlinson, L. H. Trask, Hon. H. H. Coolidge.

Class going out Dec. 24, 1883: Rev. A. T. Pierson, D.D., Hon. Edward S. Moore, Rev. J. A. Ranney, Hon. H. G. Wells, Rev. J. H. France.

Class going out Dec. 24, 1885: Hon. F. W. Curtenius, Hon. O. M. Barnes, Hon. Edward P. Ferry, Hon. William A. Howard, Hon. Alonzo Sheley.

The executive committee has been composed as follows :

First, 1857 .- Rev. J. J. Slocum, Hon. H. G. Wells, Hon. F. W. Curtenius, Hiram Arnold, James Taylor, con- tinued until 1867.

1868 .- Hon. H. G. Wells, Hon. F. W. Curtenius, L. H. Trask, C. W. Hall, William A. Tomlinson, continued until 1870.

1871 .- Hon. F. W. Curtenius, Hon. H. G. Wells, Wil- liam A. Tomlinson, L. H. Trask, Henry Gilbert, continued until 1879.

The present officers are as follows : Hon. Alanson Sheley, President; Hon. H. G. Wells, Clerk ; Hon. E. O. Hum- phrey, Treasurer.

Executive Committee: Hon. F. W. Curtenius, Chairman ; Hon. E. O. Humphrey, Clerk ; Hon. H. G. Wells, L. H. Trask, Esq., Henry Gilbert, Esq.

Teachers .- Miss Jeannette Fisher continued as principal from 1867 until 1879, when she was succeeded by Mrs. E. E. Thompson, a graduate of Mount Holyoke Seminary, South Hadley, Mass., who is the present principal. The other teachers, commencing with 1867, have been Miss Julia Esty, Miss Sarah A. Greer, Miss Laura E. Newhall, Miss Jane W. Smead, Miss Fannie Guernsey, Miss Mary O. Chase, Instrumental Music ; Miss Sarah Clute, Domestic Department. In 1867, Miss Sarah E. Felton appears as Teacher of Music, and Mrs. F. S. Mott, Domestic Depart- ment. In 1868, Miss A. Amelia Smead appears as Assist- ant Principal, and Miss Martha H. Cleveland, Miss Mary Mclellan, Miss Lucy J. Beebe, Miss Aristina D. Webster as Teachers, and Mrs. Anna Williams, Domestic Depart- ment. In 1869, Miss Mary E. Cram and Miss Alice E. Campbell appear as Teachers, and Miss L. L. Bradford as Teacher of Music. In 1870, Miss M. B. Bradford appears as Assistant Teacher of Instrumental Music for a part of the year. In 1871, addititional teachers' names are Miss Sarah E. Dorr, Miss Julia T. Parsons, Miss Martha A.

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History of Kalamazoo county, Michigan, Part 39

Author: Durant, Samuel W. comp Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Philadelphia. Everts & Abbott Number of Pages: 761

Author: Durant, Samuel W. comp
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Philadelphia. Everts & Abbott
Number of Pages: 761