History of Ontario Co., New York, Part 28

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"Further, we would remark that we conceive our plan to be a reasonable one, when it is considered that the trustees could hardly have suspected that any ex- pense would have to be incurred by them during the building of the academy, save for the building; and this remark is of more weight when it is recollected that scarcely none but churchmen have subscribed anything, and that some per- sons, not churchmen, have manifested a disposition not to pay their subscriptions, alleging that the thing is altogether Episcopal, in which thing they claim to have been deceived. Now we know from what source all this springs, but still the burden lies hard on the churchmen ; they will do what they promised, and they can do no more. The academy will cost seven thousand, and the land is worth two thousand more; nine thousand, all of which, save about five hundred, comes of churchmen. We hope you will give us an immediate answer, or at least your opinion of what we may safely expect, for we must commence on some different plan from the present one, in the first week in January next.

"We are laboring with a project for a college here, but not having mastered any plan, we say but little now; hereafter, and that soon, we will send you a detailed account of our scheme. In the mean time we hope a few of your thoughts, and those of our energetic friend, Mr. Verplanck, will be turned to the subject of an Episcopal college at Geneva.

" We are, etc., most respectfully,

[Signed]

[Signed] " DANIEL MCDONALD. "OBIN CLARK."

Recurring to the matter referred to at the close of this interesting letter, the. two professors were shortly ready with their plan for Geneva College.

" GENEVA, December 13, 1821.

"RT. REV. SIE,-We take the liberty of communicating to you our views relative to a college in this place. The necessity of having one west of Clinton is obvious, and some other place will soon advance pretenses to it if we do not. We shall say nothing to a person as well acquainted with the west as you are, rela-

tive to our claims, founded on local circumstances. But the necessity of our having a college is pressing. A college gives great weight and influence to that denomi- nation that has it and manages it well. We could educate more young men, and better, too, in a college than in an academy; because it would be popular, and possessed of better discipline. Such is the charm of a diploma to a youth, that he will ever prefer a college to an academy. Hence some will leave us. A diploma, like an oath in disputes, cuts off all controversy, and the possessor is admitted by the world as competent, without further examination. But what is worthy of deep attention in ecclesiastical concerns is this : he that goes to college must, and thinks he must, proceed through regularly. He that is a member of an academy thinks himself at liberty to study as much as he pleases and no more. Hence a college is indispensably necessary to us if we mean to have a learned clergy. Fifty thou- sand dollars, exclusive of academy buildings and lot, will be required by the regents, before they will permit us to exercise college functions. To obtain this sum to the satisfaction of the regenta, we propose: 1st. To get the regenta to accept of the Sherred professorship as a part of the required fund (if acceded to. by the trustees of the theological school), which is $10,000. 2d. We hope Trinity church would, in case we could obtain a charter, convert her donation into an annuity, which would count $11,000 more. 3d. We would hope to have another professorship here, $10,000 more, making $31,000. We think $9000 could be filled with sub- scriptions of lands, and some lands might perhaps be obtained from the State. And $10,000, the remainder, must be solicited through the county, secured on prop- erty, where the principal was not paid down.

"The professors in the theological school might be officers in the college. Thus, the president might receive the stipend from Trinity church. There might be a professor of divinity, as in New Haven; and the professor of ecclesiastical history might be professor of languages and history generally. The professor of divinity might also be professor of logic and rhetoric.

" We prees, and think there is more need of pressure, upon this point of a college from this consideration : Without flattery, we think that the whole weight of the theological branch here resta upon you. Sir, you are its author and supporter. But what guaranty have we of your life, of the good will of your successor, or of the favorable views of other States towards us after your exertions shall have ceased by the course of nature? But if we had a college with the proper professors, sanctioned by the trustees of the theological school, we should be safe, and always have the means of educating young men ourselves. Party feelings could do little mischief to a college, but might destroy a branch theological school.

"This winter seems to present a combination of favorable circumstances for us to apply. Mr. Verplanck is in the Legislature; no application of the kind is ' pending. The census is recent, by which the importance of this western world is fresh in the minds of all; and the west is favorable to the majority in politics. Our friends here are decidedly for making an application this winter. Colonel Troup thinks there will be no difficulty in obtaining a charter. There will prob- ably be difficulties in obtaining the charter as we want it. We want it to be our own, but the property given must secure the control of it.

" We hope to hear from you touching this point ; in the mean time we shall open communication with Mr. Verplanck, with whom we trust you will consult, and assist us to do so. The legal course of procedure in the actual application is pointed out in the statutes, but we wish to have the thing well understood by the church before we move, that there may be unity in motion.

" We are, with great respect and obedience, " Your much obliged and dutiful presbyters, [Signed]. [Signed]

" D. MODONALD. "ORIN CLARK."

With the bishop's approval, and in accordance with the views so ably expressed in the letters written by Professors McDonald and Clark to their diocesan on the 22d of January, 1822, the trustees of the Geneva academy petitioned the regenta of the university for a college charter. The petition was as follows :

" To the Regents of the University of the State of New York ..

" The petition of the trustees of the Geneva academy most respectfully shew- eth : That your petitioners, solicitous for the prosperity of the institution with whose interests they are intrusted, and satisfied that the step they contemplate is the only effectual means of securing the ends for which it was established, have determined to make an effort to procure for it such endowments as they trust may, in the estimation of your honorable body, entitle it to the important powers and privileges of a college.

" The necessity of such an institution in this part of the country cannot but be obvious to all who have the least acquaintance with the extent, resources, and population of the western counties of this State. The simple fact that there are, in the contemplated district of country, more than half a million of people whose

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HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY, NEW YORK.

average distance from any college is more than one hundred miles, is sufficient, it is presumed, to put this point beyond question. Another instance of a population of equal extent who are so far removed from the advantages of such an institution does not, it is confidently believed, exist in the United States.

" Your petitioners are aware of the prevalence of an opinion that the multipli- cation of colleges is unfavorable to the advancement of literature and science, and that the number already chartered is sufficient for all the purposes of public edu- cation. But this idea is certainly incorrect, except in places where they are located so near as to interfere with each other, and cannot apply in the case under consider- ation, as Geneva is situated at such a distance from Clinton as must preclude the apprehension of any injury to the college at that place by the establishment of a like institution at Geneva.

" In a general view the idea is at variance with both reason and fact. No prin- ciple can be more obvious than that the diffusion of knowledge and the advantages of learning will be in proportion to the facilities afforded for acquiring them. But the fact that the most flourishing and respectable colleges in the Union are situated in those States whose population is far less than that of the contemplated district, is an ample refutation of the objection.

" Your petitioners, sensible that private and local interest ought ever to yield to considerations of public good, have been guided solely by a regard to this object in naming Geneva as the proper place for a college in the western district, and they assert, without fear of contradiction, that no spot more eligible in all respects can be selected within its limits. It possesses all the local advantages that can be desired for a literary institution. In its position it is central, and is easily accessible, by means of the lakes and Erie canal, to a vast population. It is sur- rounded by a country of great fertility, abundant in every production that can contribute to the wealth and comfort of its inhabitants, and in beauty and health- fulness is not surpassed by any place in this or any other country.

" Upon the whole, your petitioners are confident that when your honorable body shall take into consideration the destitute situation of this part of our State, its great and increasing population, and the great advantages to be derived to it from a well regulated and liberally endowed college, the only question which will pre- sent itself to your deliberation will be whether we have a reasonable prospect of raising funds sufficient to render such an institution useful and respectable. As to this point, your petitioners beg leave to state that they entertain no fears, and they would cherish the hope that what they have already done may be viewed as a pledge of their success in the accomplishment of this important object.

They have, as trustees of the academy, property, well secured, to the amount of .

Also a lot, for buildings, of eight acres, valued at

$1,500 2,500

On which they have erected a large stone edifice, containing a chapel and rooms for the accommodation of sixty students 7,000

They also receive an annuity from the corporation of Trinity church, New York, of seven hundred and fifty dollars per annum, for the support of a principal and assistant in the academy, which, it is ex- pected, would be rendered permanent to the president of the college, and which arises from a principal of not less than 10,714

$21,714

" In addition to which they have encouragement of aid from other sources, from which they feel justified in calculating with confidence upon raising funds within the term of three years to the amount of more than fifty thousand dollars, and which shall produce annually more than three thousand dollars.

" Wherefore your petitioners humbly pray your honorable body to grant them college powers, to take effect at the expiration of three years from the date of the grant, provided your petitioners within that period shall acquire permanent funds as your honorable body shall deem sufficient for the important objects of collegiate education.

"And your petitioners will ever pray.

"By order of the board of trustees of Geneva academy.

[Signed]

"JAMES REES,

"Senior Trustee .*

"GENEVA, January 22, 1822."

The result of this application appears in the following document on file among the college archives:

"In pursuance of a resolution of the regents of the University of the State of- New York, passed April 10, 1822, it is hereby certified that the regents have declared their approbation of the plan on which it is intended to found and provide for a college at Geneva, in the county of Ontario, and that the term of three years be allowed for completing the same; and if at the expiration of that time it shall

appear to the satisfaction of the regents that the said plan has been executed, and that permanent funds, producing annually the sum of four thousand dollars or upwards, for the benefit of said institution, have been properly secured, the said regents have further declared that the said institution shall thereupon be incorpo- rated as a college according to the laws of the State and the regulations of the re- gents.

"In witness whereof the seal of the said regents is hereunto affixed at the city of Albany, the 16th day of April, 1823.

" Attest:

[L.s.] [Signed] "GIDEON HAWLEY, "Secretary.

"N.B .- The term of three years commenced on the 10th day of April, 1822.

[L.s.] "G. HAWLEY, Secretary."

A hurried lettert from the Rev. William B. Lacey, D.D., Rector of St. Peter's, Albany, to Bishop Hobart, gives the secret history of this step:

"ALBANY, April 10, 1822. "RT. REV. SIE,-The regents have this moment decided (five against three) to grant the Geneva petition, on condition that the corporation raise a fund that shall produce an annual income of four thousand dollars. So I trust we shall have an Episcopal college in the State of New York."

A letter written the following day by the Hon. William A. Duer to the bishop intimates that in the case of the Ithaca petition, granted on the same terms, the pecuniary requirement was considered as effectually precluding the possibility of the petitioners' success. In view of the strenuous opposition made to the Geneva project, to which the Hobart correspondence bears ample testimony, it may be that there were hopes that a like failure might attend both projects.

An interesting letter from the bishop, which we give from the original MS. preserved among the college files, throws further light upon the history of this in- teresting period :

"NEW YORK, April 15, 1822.

"MY DEAR SIR,-You must not suppose because you have not heard from me that I have been indifferent to the application from Geneva for a college. The moment I heard of it I took all the measures in my power to promote its success, and addressed letters to several of the regents, and in some cases, I believe, with effect. You are much indebted for the success of the application to Mr. Duer and Mr. Verplanck, particularly the former, who brought in the report to the regents, and I think it would be well for yourself and Mr. Clark and some of the friends of the church at Geneva to write to him a letter of thanks. It is unfor- tunate that Ithaca is connected with you. But there was no help for it. They will find it difficult, I should think, to raise four thousand dollars per annum, and I am afraid this will be a difficulty with you. Means, however, must be devised for surmounting it.

"You, who know how much I have thought and how much I have planned and labored for this object, can readily conceive my gratification at seeing it thus far accomplished,-sooner, indeed, than I could have expected. Providence has favored us. I am the more gratified, inasmuch as I have found it difficult to make the clergy and others in this quarter feel as I have felt on the subject. And even now M. and W., etc., seem to care little about it. It will give unfeigned pleasure, however, to Bishop Bowen, of South Carolina, who recently wrote to me, expressing, as he has often done, his deep sense of the importance of our having a college, and wishing success to the plan in relation to Geneva. . . .

"The branch theological school is, as you may suppose, not popular with many, and it was not an easy matter to obtain for it the arrangements which have been made. As our income will this year fall short of our expenditures, I have been afraid to press more for Geneva than has been obtained. . . .

"The organization of the college, particularly with regard to the trustees who are to be appointed, and other matters, will require a great deal of deliberation, as much will depend on these measures. I expect, God willing, to be at the west- ward this summer, and conclude it will be well for me to spend some days at Ge- neva. "Very truly and affectionately yours,

"The Rev. Dr. MCDONALD." "J. H. HOBART.

In the report on the state of the church, at the next general convention in 1823, it is referred to as a matter of public congratulation to the whole church, " that there is now a prospect of securing at Geneva, in this diocese (New York), what has so long been a desideratum in our church-a college, to be under the management and direction of its members.".

Warmly as Bishop Hobart had espoused the scheme of a " branch" theological seminary at Geneva, the plan was not generally " popular," as the bishop frankly confessed, and the next general convention in 1823 recommended to the trustees " to reduce the expenses of the seminary by abolishing the branch school at

* College archives.

. t From the unpublished Hobart MSS. in the keeping of the general convention of the churet.

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PLATE XVII

COL.AUGUSTINE SACKETT.

MRS. AUGUSTINE SAGKETT

RES. OF COL. AUGUSTINE SACKETT , CANANDAIGUA, ONTARIO CO., NEW YORK.

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PLATE XVIII.

COLONEL MELANOTON LEWIS.

To sympathise with the oppressed, to break down the barriers of social caste, and to give equal chance, right, and privilege to all, is the true spirit of the philanthropist and the republican. Viewed in this light, the life and character of Colonel Melancton Lewis is a fit illustration of these types of genuine manhood. He is a native of New Eng- land, the son of Benjamin Lewis and Ruth Tillotson, dur- ing life, residents of West Stockbridge, Berkshire county, Massachusetts. On November 3, 1795, Melanoton, the second in a family of three, was born. His father, a farmer in moderate circumstances, was a thorough-going, practical man, fond of his calling and desirous that his sons should choose the same vocation for life. When fourteen, Melano- ton became desirous of attending the academy, but finding this opposed to his father's wishes, he abandoned his plan and conformed to parental direction. Herevolved thought as he turned the furrow, and so gained in the esteem of his townsmen as to be sent by them as their representative in the legislatures of 1827 and 1831. He was married, Septem- ber 21, 1820, to Emeline Moffit, and in 1822, nineteen years after the mother's death, his father, dying, bequeathed the farm to the subject of this sketch.

In the spring of 1886, Colonel Lewis went to Ashtabula county, Ohio, thenoe removed to Rochester in the year fol- lowing, and in 1838 came to the village of Victor. Here he purchased commodious and pleasantly-situated property, which has ever since been his home.

In 1844 he engaged in partnership with Albert Simmons, in the mercantile pursuit, and continued in business for thir- teen years. Not a taste for this pursuit, but a regard for

the welfare of his son Melaneton, and his advancement in life, sotusted Colonel Lewis to become a merchant. The con began as a clerk, and became a partner, and both father and son retired from the firm in the fall of 1857. In 1861 the son resumed business in the old store with his former partner and remained there till his death, February 27, 1864. Subsequent years were employed by Colonel Lewis in the settlement of accounts and the closing up of business. The character and popular estimation of Colonel Lewis may be gathered by s consideration of oficial raak, private opinion, and social relation. As a soldier, during that provident period when a well-organised militia was ro- garded as essential to security, he rose to the command of a regiment. As a man of judgment, he was magistrate for nine years, and served on the Board of State Valuation in 1831. A believer in religion, he has been for thirty-four years a trustee in the Congregational chureb. A firm and honest friend to the down-trodden and enslaved, and a be- liever in the great principles of liberty and equality, he has sought the greatest good to the greatest number; and firm as an Abolitionist, he was no less independent as a Re- publican. He is a friend to the free-school system, in the belief that general education, by lessening crime and im- parting skill to effort, is an amaple return for the bardens of taxation. In language he is exact and comprehensive; in manner, engaging. Abroad, he is social; at home, cheer- ful and pleasant. He receives life as an experience, and regards the ordering of human events as ultimately designed for man's welfare. The past is contemplated in general with satisfaction, and the future is awaited with tranquil mind.

COL. MELANCTON LEWIS.

RES.or COL. MELANCTON LEWIS, VICTOR, ONTARIO Co, N.Y.

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HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY, NEW YORK.

Geneva."* This could not properly be done without some equivalent; and to enable the trustees of the general theological seminary to effect it, the trustees of the Protestant Episcopal Society for Promoting Religion and Learning in the State of New York, in February, 1824, agreed to advance to the trustees of the seminary eight thousand dollara, or to secure the annual interest of that sum. The trustees of the seminary received from the several parties concerned at Geneva, a formal renunciation of all claims on the seminary, secured the annual interest of eight thousand dollars at six per cent. towards the endowment of the proposed college, and in return to the Protestant Episcopal Society, gave to its trustees four scholarships in the seminary.t

This instrument of renunciation we append in full, as it forms one of the important links in the chain connecting Hobart College with the venerable Society for the Promotion of Religion and Learning, from which it has received so many proofs of interest and support.

" To all to whom these presents shall come or may concern :

" We, the trustees of the Geneva academy, the rector, churchwardens, and vestrymen of Trinity church at Geneva, Orin Clark, rector of the said church and professor in the branch theological school heretofore established at Geneva, in connection with the general theological seminary of the Protestant Episcopal church in the United States, Daniel McDonald, lately principal of the Geneva academy, and professor in the same branch theological school, and Samuel Colt and William S. De Zeng, a committee charged with the collection of funds for the permanent endowment of the new college at Geneva, send greeting.

" Whereas, by a certain instrument of writing under our seals, dated the twen- tieth day of July, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and twenty- four, we the several parties above named, soting for ourselves and on behalf of all others interested in the branch theological school above mentioned, did forever renounce all connection between the said general seminary and branch school, and all claims and demands by or on the part of the said branch school upon the said general seminary, on condition that the said general seminary should cause the sum of eight thousand dollars to be appropriated towards the permanent endow- ment of the new college then proposed to be established at Geneva, or should secure to its use and benefit the interest of that sum perpetually, in half-yearly payments, at the rate of six per centum per annum.

" And whereas, the said then-proposed college has since been incorporated, and the said general theological seminary has since caused the yearly interest of eight thousand dollars, payable half-yearly, at the rate of siz per centum per annum, to be secured to the use and benefit of the said college by means of a grant for that purpose made by the Protestant Episcopal Society for Promoting Religion and Learning in the State of New York, and an appropriation of real estate satis- factorily mesuring the due payment of the said interest, which grant and appropri- ation we have accepted and do accept as a full performance of the condition above mentioned by and on the part of the said general seminary. Now, therefore, know ye that we, the several parties above named, acting for ourselves respect- ively, and for and on behalf of all other persons and bodies corporate in any wise interested or concerned in the premises, in consideration of the said grant and appropriation, and of the sum of one dollar to each of us in hand, paid by the trustees of the general theological seminary of the Protestant Episcopal church in the United States, have, and each of us hath, ratified and confirmed, and by these presenta do, and each of us doth, fully and unconditionally ratify and confirm, the instruments of renunciation and release hereinbefore recited and referred to.

" In witnees whereof, we the trustees of the Geneva academy, and we the rector, churchwardens, and vestrymen of Trinity church at Geneva, have caused our respective seals to be affixed to these presenta; and we the said Orin Clark, Daniel McDonald, Samuel Colt, and William S. De Zeng have to these presents affixed our hands and seals this twenty-fourth day of June, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and twenty-siz.

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History of Ontario Co., New York, Part 28

Author: Publication date: Publisher: Number of Pages: 391

Author:
Publication date:
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 391