USA > New Jersey > The New Jersey coast in three centuries; history of the New Jersey coast with genealogical and historic-biographical appendix, Vol. I > Part 33
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The term higher education is that which designates the ultima thule of class and lecture room instruction. The seeker after knowledge here attainable has, in his first educational stage, acquired an elementary knowl- edge of the ordinary branches-his own language, history and mathe- matics-but this is necessarily fragmentary and disjointed. In his second stage, his knowledge of letters is broadened, and he is introduced to the study of causation and consequence. But his mental view is as yet kaleide- scopic, and it is the province of the higher education to focus his intel- lectuality-to afford him a comprehensive view of the results of the vast labors of investigators in all departments of human knowledge in all the ages, to develop his ability to correllate his mental acquisitions, and enable him to intelligently reach out into that illimitable field of a philosophy which comprehends all philosophies.
The mettle of those people of diverse nationalities who came to Amer- ica two and two and a half centuries ago is nowhere so clearly discerned as in their attitude toward education. Perhaps they had better foundation than have some of their descendants of to-day, for in their early school days the Bible was their reading book. At any rate the religious spirit dominated their lives, and all the colleges of their founding were inspired by religious purpose. Harvard, founded in 1636 by the Puritans, was dedicated to Christ, and its mission was to prepare young men for the Christian ministry, and Yale, with similar motive, was founded in 1700. These were both constituted by Protestant dissenters, while the College of William and Mary. in Virginia, founded in 1692, had for one of its prin- cipal objects the providing of suitable instruction for such as intended to. take orders in the Established Church. It is to be said of all these, and of others which were established later, that, if they did not directly grow out of ancient English universities, they derived from them their animus, inherited their traditions, adopted their curricula, and took theny for an exemplar in all things, save that they were (perhaps unconsciously, in large degree), affected by the new political conditions, and developed a broader and more progressive spirit.
In New Jersey were founded two educational institutions which have, one for more than a century and a half and the other for nearly a century and a third, pursued careers of wonderful usefulness, and have colored the history not only of the commonwealth but of the nation. As in the
. New England colonies, these were grounded in religious sentiment. The
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founders of the College of New Jersey had for their purpose the intel- lectual and religious instruction of youth, including the training of can- didates for the ministry, but, according to the charter, those of every re- ligious profession were to have equal privilege and advantage of educa- tion. Rutgers College, founded by Hollanders, was "for the education of youth in the learned languages, liberal and useful arts and sciences, and especially in divinity, preparing them for the ministry and other good offices."
The College of New Jersey (now known as Princeton University) was the fourth collegiate institution in America. It was at the beginning more American in character than were those then existent in the New England colonies, for it did not represent the convictions of any one church or nationality-its founders represented various religious sects and different nationalities, and hence it may be said that, in educational lines, it stood for that Americanism which grew out of the blending of all these diverse (and, in some respects, antagonistic) elements.
The history of the founding of the college is intimately associated with that of Presbyterianism in America. By 1720 the Presbyterian Church on the Atlantic coast and contiguous region had a veritable being, and at various synodical meetings plans were suggested for the estab- lishment of an institution of learning in order to avoid dependence upon schools in the mother country or in New England. Some ministers, un- willing to wait for concerted action, opened private schools in which they taught what would be called an academical course, while at the same time they served as preceptors to some who took up theological studies. Among these were two Presbyterian clergyymen who in subsequent years became, in turn, Presidents of the College of New Jersey-Jonathan Dick- inson of Elizabethtown, and Aaron Burr of Newark.
In this connection is to be named another Presbyterian minister, William Tennent, who, then residing at Neshaminy, in Pennsylvania, there established a school of liberal learning and of divinity. He himself reared for the purpose a log house about twenty feet long, and not quite so broad, of which George Whitefield said in his journal,-"It is in contempt called the College." From this pioneer place of learning came many who were afterward conspicuous in various relations, but with its history we are not concerned save in so far as it relates to educational beginnings in New Jersey. One of its graduates was Samuel Davies, who became the fourth president of the College of New Jersey, and it is presumable that his suc- cessor, Samuel Finley, was another of Tennent's students.
In 1739 the newly formed Presbyterian Synod received and acted upon overtures looking to the establishment of a seminary of learning,
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but nothing came of it. Referring to this ending, historians of Princeton University have remarked that, had the Synod founded a college, it is not probable that Princeton would have been selected as its site, and that, had Princeton been selected, the institution, by its official relation to the church, would have had a character and career very different from that of the College of New Jersey.
Soon began a conflict in the church, into which entered the question of Tennent's "Log College." The Synod had pronounced against the licensing by any Presbytery of ministerial candidates having only a private education, while a number of graduates and friends of the "Log College" had formed the Presbytery of New Brunswick, and this body had given ministerial license to one who was a "Log College" student, and had sent him within the bounds of the Presbytery of Philadelphia, which was in violation of the rules of the Synod. The differences in the Synod finally resulted in a rupture, and in 1745 the Synod of New York was created by. a union of the Presbyteries of New York, New Brunswick and New Castle, the latter composed entirely of "Log College" men. Tennent died the same year, and with his death expired the hopes of those who had desired that his school should be adopted as the synodical college.
At this juncture four clergymen-Jonathan Dickinson, Aaron Burr and John Pierson, who were graduates of Yale, and Ebenezer Pemberton, a graduate of Harvard-undertook the founding of a college, and with them were associated three laymen, William Smith, Peter Van Brugh Liv- ingstone and William Peartree Smith. These were all Presbyterians, but they were also broadly American, and, while providing for the education of candidates for the ministry, they regarded this as but one of the functions of the proposed college, and made ample provision for instruction neces- sary for admission to other professions.
Their first attempt at an organization was abortive. They had en- tered upon a terra incognita when they applied to Governor Morris for a charter, and he had summarily dismissed their petition for reasons which are only to be inferred. No college had received its warrant from sucli authority-two of them then existing, Harvard and Yale, had been char- tered by act of legislature of their respective colonies, and the third, Will- iam and Mary, received its charter from the sovereigns whose names it bore. Governor Morris may have held, with these precedents, that he was without authority in the premises. It is also presumable that his zeal as a churchman moved him to refusal, for he had previously denied a charter to a Presbyterian Church on the ground that there was no pre- cedent for so privileging a company of "dissenters."
Governor Morris died the following year, and was succeeded by John
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Hamilton, President of the Council. To him the college projectors re- newed their application, and he granted them a charter on October 22d, 1746. The act and the document itself were profoundly significant as seen in the light of subsequent events. It is not presumable that the Gov. ernor, or those to whom he committed such broad authority as he did, were conscious of how that important charter forecast in some degree that larger liberty which a few years afterward was to shine out in the de- claration of the independence of the colonies.
The charter of the College of New Jersey was the first granted to an educational institution by a colonial governor. He was not only the royal representative, but he was also a representative of the Established Church of England, and that which was created by his act was solely under the direction of Presbyterians, who were of the strictest sect of dissenters. Moreover, 'the board of trustees which he created represented four royal provinces, while his authority as governor extended over but one of them. The charter contained no restrictive clauses, except the provision that no acts for the government of the college should be passed which were re- pugnant to the laws of Great Britain or of the Province of New Jersey, nor did it provide for any governmental representation in the board of trustees. By its terms it safeguarded liberty of conscience by the pro- vision that no person should be debarred of any of the privileges of the college on account of any speculative principle of religion, and that those of every religious profession should have equal privilege and advantage of education.
This important paper was not recorded, but its substance has been preserved by contemporary annals. In the summer following its grant- ing (August 13, 1747), the "Presbyterian Gazette" printed an advertise- ment in which were given the names of the seven trustees before men- tioned. These had, as provided for by the charter, chosen five others to act with themselves, with equal power and authority, and these were the Rev. Richard Treat and four clerical representatives of the "Log College" interest. Samuel Blair, Gilbert Tennent, William Tennant, Jr., and Sam- uel Finley.
May 4th, 1747, the college was opened in Elizabethtown, under the presidency of the Rev. Jonathan Dickinson, who was the principal in- structor, with the Rev. Caleb Smith as a tutor, and this was the entire organization. October 7th following, Dr. Dickinson died. He was a native of Massachusetts, a graduate of Yale, and an eminent clergyman. He was not twenty-one years old when he became minister of the Presby- terian Church in Elizabethtown, with which he remained for nearly forty years. He was in all things a bone pastor. He had read medicine, and he
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treated his sick parishioners ; he knew something of law, and he aided them in their legal difficulties. He was an accomplished scholar, and a sincere Christian. He had lived to witness the beginning of the college enterprise which he had zealously labored for, and to which he had intended to de- vote his best effort during the remainder of his life. He had for a few months given instructions to the small first class in the embryo college. But even these were great accomplishments at that infant stage of the in- stitution, and if he were denied part in the greater work which was to follow, his effort had made that work possible, and his example and spirit were to prove a potent stimulus to those who were to follow after him and further advance that enterprise which he had begun.
Meantime, and prior to the death of Dr. Dickinson, Jonathan Belcher had been appointed Governor of the province. Prior to his coming, while Governor of the Massachusetts Colony, he had been actively interested 4 in Harvard College, and when he came to New Jersey he gave his aid to its new school, so recently founded, actively and sincerely. After much correspondence and conference with the trustees of the institution, in course of which various differences were adjusted, Governor Belcher, in the name of the King, on September 14th, 1748, issued a new charter to the College of New Jersey, the document reciting as its purpose the in- struction of youth in the learned languages and in the liberal arts and sciences, and providing that those of every denomination should have free and equal liberty and advantage of education, any different sentiments in religion notwithstanding. The original incorporators were renamed, with the exception of Dr. Dickinson, who had died, and the Rev. Samuel Fin- ley. The omission of the latter named was presumably due to the fact that he was unable to serve, inasmuch as he was already burdened with the cares of a church and the conduct of an academy in Maryland, which, in the then existing conditions, were far distant from the field which would claim a share of his attention. The number of the trustees was increased to twenty-three. Of the entire number, twelve were clergymen, and of these six were graduates of Yale, three were graduates of Harvard, and three had been trained at the "Log College" under the elder Tennent. Of the lay trustees, one was a graduate of Harvard, and three were graduates of Yale; two others were members of the Society of Friends, and one was a member of the Established Church-all others were Pres- byterians. In the face of strong opposition, the Governor of the province was constituted ex officio a member of the board of trustees. There is 110 room for thought that this provision, which was urged by Governor Belcher himself, was intended to impose upon the board any governmental influence except in a helpful way, and his zealous interest was recognized
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by the trustees, in 1755, when they addressed him in grateful terms as the founder, patron and benefactor of the college. The first of these terms (founder) was unhappy, for another Governor (Hamilton) had granted a prior charter, and the real founders of the institution were Dr. Dickinson and his associates. But otherwise the tribute to Governor Belcher was well deserved.
Concerning the charter of 1748 it only remains to be said that it is the present warrant for the existence of the present college. It was amended at times, but in each instance the amendment only served to confer greater powers, or to more properly indicate the enlarging scope of the institution. October 22, 1896, the one hundred and fiftieth anni- versary of the grant of the first charter was made the occasion for a sesquicentennial celebration, when the College of New Jersey took the name of Princeton University. The celebration was attended by the Pres- ident of the United States and the Governor of New Jersey, together with representatives of the Universities and learned societies of the United States and of many from similar institutions in Europe.
Dr. Dickinson was succeeded in the presidency of the college by the Rev. Aaron Burr, and the pupils were removed from Elizabethtown to Newark. November 7th, 1748, the first commencement was held, and its significance was appreciated by all concerned. A procession was formed at the residence of the Governor and moved to a suitable hall. The charter was read, the new Trustees subscribed to the prescribed oaths and decla- rations, and President Burr was installed. He delivered an oration in Latin, in which he lauded the educational advantages of the mother coun- try and of the New England Colonies, and gladly hailed the dawn of the sun of learning upon the Province of New Jersey. He eulogized the Governor as a generous patron whose friendship was manifested in the liberal pro- visions of the royal charter, which afforded privileges the most ample con- sistent with the natural and religious rights of mankind, laying the axe to the root of that anti-Christian bigotry which had been in every age the parent of persecution and the plague of mankind, such bigotry as would have no place in the College of New Jersey. Six questions in philosophy and theology were then debated in Latin by the students. Six young men received the degree of Bachelor of Arts-some, if not all of these, had been under the instruction of the lamented Dr. Dickinson, and among these was Richard Stockton, who was afterward one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.
On the same day the Trustees prescribed the standard of future ad- mission to the college, and, for the times, it was one of considerable dig- nity. The candidate was required to be capable of rendering into Eng-
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lish the orations of Cicero and Virgil; and of translating English into Latin, and the Greek Gospels into Latin or English. The curriculum was correspondingly broad-Latin, Greek and mathematics were to be studied throughout the entire course; physical science was represented by natural philosophy and astronomy ; logic was based upon text-books and was prac- ticed in discussions; rhetoric was taught in the same manner, and essays and declamations were required. Mental and moral philosophy were prom- inent studies of the advanced classes.
The college having been organized, its permanent location now be- came a question of commanding importance. The Trustees were as sa- gacious business men for their time as are their far removed successors of to-day, and they were intent upon selecting such a place as would be most desirable in point of accessibility and would at the same time most liberally aid them in providing suitable buildings and equipments. Newark was decided against as being too near to New York to satisfy the Trus- tees who resided in Pennsylvania. In 1750 the Trustees decided upon New Brunswick or Princeton, conditioning their choice between the two upon the financial inducements offered by these two villages, and in May following they named New Brunswick, provided its people should secure to the college one thousand pounds in proclamation money, ten acres of ground for a college campus, and two hundred acres of woodland not farther from the town than three miles. But Princeton was not inactive, and it soon complied with the conditions which had been submitted to New Brunswick, but had not been acted upon, and in September, 1752, the location of the college was fixed in the former named place.
In July, 1754, ground was broken for the college building. which was completed in 1757, under Robert Smith as architect. It was of stone, one hundred and seventy feet long and fifty-four feet wide, with a central projection of four feet to the front and twelve feet rearward. As now, it was of three stories, and was surmounted by a cupola. Its rooms would accommodate one hundred and forty-seven students. The assembly hall was the largest and finest in any college in the country, and contained a gallery in which was set up an organ purchased by voluntary subscription, and full-length portraits of the King and Governor Belcher, the latter sur- mounted by his coat-of-arms in carved and gilded wood. On the second floor was the library, which contained about twelve hundred volumes, which were the gifts of friends of the college in America and in England. In the lower story were the dining hall and kitchens and steward's apartments. Governor Belcher was one of the most liberal donors to the building fund, and aided the young college in all possible ways. In recognition of his in- terest and services, the Trustees purposed to name the building in his
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honor, but he modestly declined this distinction and requested them to call it Nassau Hall, after his royal master, King William III, who was of the illustrious House of Nassau, and his wish met with compliance. In this building, in the autumn of 1756, with seventy students, President Burr opened the first collegiate session in Princeton, and on that occasion he delivered an appropriate discourse.
The cost of the college building had exceeded the means of the Trus- tees and their immediate friends, and two clergymen-the Rev. Samuel Davies and the Rev. Gilbert Tennent-had been sent abroad to solicit as- sistance. They were sanctioned in their mission by the Synod of New York, and Governor Belcher provided them with letters of appeal to his friends in Great Britain. Their efforts were attended with abundant suc- cess, and the Trustees were enabled to proceed with the building of the college, and also to provide a residence for the President. The contribu- tions included twelve hundred pounds sterling contributed in London, and five hundred pounds from the west of England and from Ireland. In ad- dition, collections for the college were taken in the Presbyterian churches in Scotland under authority of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, and in Ireland under authority of the Synod of Ulster, and three hundred pounds were also contributed to the ministerial educational fund.
The original college building was of such excellent material and so well constructed that its walls survived two disastrous conflagrations (in 1802 and in 1855) which destroyed the interior.
The young college sustained a great loss in the death of President Burr, which occurred in September, 1758, less than a month after the death of its stalwart friend, Governor Belcher. President Burr was but forty- one years of age, and he had been President for the entire eleven years of the existence of the college, excepting the few months of President Dickin- son's inaugurary administration. He was studious, devout and sagacious. Of him was said by his panegyrist, the Rev. Caleb Smith, that "his arms were open to any good man of any denomination. A sweetness of temper, obliging courtesy and mildness of behavior, added to an engaging candor of sentiment, spread a glory over his reputation, endeared his person to all his acquaintances, recommended his ministry and whole profession to man- kind in general, and greatly contributed to his extensive usefulness.". The death of Dr. Burr occurred immediately prior to an event which, had he lived to witness it, would have filled his soul with joy, and would seem to have been a fitting close to his nobly useful life. For four days after his passing away occurred (in September, 1757), the first commencement in Princeton, when a class of twenty-two was graduated.
The Trustees met, and seventeen out of the twenty voted to. call to
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the Presidency of the college the Rev. Jonathan Edwards, then of Stock- bridge, Massachusetts, and the father-in-law of the man whose position he was called to fill. Mr. Edwards was reluctant to leave his work among the Indians, and it was only after repeated and most urgent solicitation that he finally complied, and this marks the beginning of a pathetic incident. He arrived in Princeton and was installed as President February 16, 1758. A week later he was inoculated for protection against smallpox, and he died March 22d, not much more than a month after his coming. Of no man could it be more truly said that "his works do follow him." His connec- tion with the college was singularly brief, but its influence was of the wid- est and most enduring. It is said that he only propounded a few questions on divinity subjects to his class, but his comments upon the answers given were so instructive as to be remembered by the students with the greatest satisfaction and wonder. His illustrious name, in itself, gave the college a notable prestige, and, as was remarked by Dr. Maclean, "probably no man connected with this institution has contributed so much to its reputa- tion both at home and abroad."
The ministerial work of Mr. Davies, who was termed as, next to Whitefield, the most eloquent preacher of his age, belongs to ecclesiastical history. He was a determined supporter of the cause of religious liberty, and to him, as much as to any one man, the Presbyterians of Virginia were indebted for the vindication of their rights to worship their God after the manner of their sainted forbears. His career as a college head was con- spicuously useful during his brief career of but a year and a half, his death occurring February 4, 1761, when he was but thirty-seven years of age. He possessed strong elements of popularity, and the college had conse- quently greatly increased its number of students. He modified existing modes of correction of offending students, and he popularized the college library by publishing its catalogue, prefacing it with his suggestions to the students as to their reading, and characterizing the library as "the most ornamental and useful furniture of a college, and the most proper and val- uable fund with which it can be endowed."
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