Landmarks of Tompkins County, New York : including a history of Cornell University, Part 71

Author: Hewett, Waterman Thomas, 1846-1921; Selkreg, John H
Publication date: 1894
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : D. Mason
Number of Pages: 1194

USA > New York > Tompkins County > Landmarks of Tompkins County, New York : including a history of Cornell University > Part 71

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Professor Smith retains his old interest in the university, and every year his visits are anticipated with the generous enthusiasm of the student world. Many chapters in his books are recognized as more elaborate discussions of lectures, or informal talks which have been given before the students of the university. Invitations to re- turn to England to assume the headship of University College, and offers of other high university positions have been alike declined for his home in his adopted coun- try. Even a seat in parliament has offered no attraction to him.

Politically, he has supported with great vigor the Liberal-Union cause in England, and opposed an independent government for Ireland. He has also been active in advocating closer commercial relations with Canada, which has had great influence upon public sentiment in that country. He regards intimate political relations in the future as the manifest destiny, and equally for the interest of both countries.

PROFESSOR WILLIAM DEXTER WILSON, D.D.

PROFESSOR WILLIAM DEXTER WILSON, who, upon his retirement, was elected Professor Emeritus, ranks eleventh in order of appointment, of the professors first chosen at the foundation of the university. He was born in Stoddard, N. H., February 28, 1816.

689

CORNELL UNIVERSITY.

A youth of great vigor and persistence of purpose, he prepared himself, largely through personal sacrifices and labor, for Harvard College. He missed the sym- metrical training which would have come from systematic college study, and entered the Divinity School at Cambridge when only nineteen years of age. Herc he enjoyed advantages of a high order; his ardor for knowledge and wide range of reading were unusual in one of his age, and he won marked recognition for his ability. After graduating from that school, in 1838, he entered the ministry of the Unitarian church, with which he was connected for several years. A conservative tendency in his nature, joined with an unusual reverence for authority and regard for established institutions, promoted by extensive reading of church history, led him to unite with the Episcopal church and take orders in its ministry. He began this portion of his career in the small parish of Sherburne, Chenango county, N. Y. Mr. Wilson was more of a scholar than a preacher, and his ability soon impressed his brethren in the ministry, and in the lack of theological schools, candidates for the ministry studied with the young clergyman, in accordance with former usage in this country, and to same extent in England. The native theological and philosophical bent of his mind was shown by his writings at this time, some of which attracted marked attention in in the denomination to which he belonged. He was soon elected to the chair of moral and intellectual philosophy in Hobart College, where he remained for eightcen years. Although the college was small, it occupied a position of considerable im- portance in the Episcopal church, especially as representing its interests in the western part of the State. Dr. Wilson filled an influential place in the diocesan and national conventions of his denominatton. He was in successive conventions, chair- man of the committee on the state of the church, one of the most important committees in suggesting and determining legislation. In 1868 he was chosen professor of moral and intellectual philosophy in the Cornell University. While filling with fidelity this chair, it is nevertheless true that his main work in connection with the university was in the official work of the registrar's office, a position he had held since the open- ing of the university. Possessing a native capacity for routine work, he enjoyed the details of bureau administration which would have been distasteful to most scholars. He has been aided by a vigorous and retentive memory, which holds names, faces and facts with unusual tenacity. In this office, Dr. Wilson came in contact with all the students who have been connected with the university, nearly four thousand in number. His position in advising them was one of great responsibility. While somewhat tutorial in manner, he heard and counseled with great candor all who sought his assistance, and he will be remembered with respect and affection by those with whom he came into more immediate relations. As a teacher his instruction was somewhat formal in character, and while not calculated to awaken the highest enthu- siasm, it was the result of fresh and unremitting study. The needs of the college with which Dr. Wilson was first connected, and of this university in its earlier days, caused a demand to be made upon him for lectures upon a wide variety of subjects. These could not in all cases be of equal excellence, as it is not possible for one person to be an investigator and original observer in widely removed fields. We find his lectures here covering moral and intellectual philosophy, the history of philosophy, American and constitutional law, political economy, logic, physical geography and climatology, political philosophy, comparative physiology with special reference to the phenomena of psychology, the history of civilization, Hebrew, general history and

690

LANDMARKS OF TOMPKINS COUNTY.

the philosophy of history. While of necessity dependent upon the views of others in his treatment of many of these subjects, Dr. Wilson has been a constant reader, thinker and accumulator of facts. The study of mathematics has been a recreation to him. His work as a writer has been extended since his connection with this university. He has published works on logic, psychology, the scientific and philo- sophical evidences of the truth of religion, and numerous articles in theological reviews. He has made little effort to extend the circulation of these works, and they are not widely known, and yet able thinkers regard them as books of much acuteness and ability. Dr. Wilson has devoted much attention to recent scientific discoveries, especially in their bearing on revelation. In a wider sphere he has exercised an influence on education in the State. He has been active in the meetings of the university convention, and often made reports of great value upon the studies of the secondary schools. Dr. Wilson was consulted in 1872 with reference to accepting the presidency of the University of Wisconsin. He has received three degrees, that of D.D. from Hobart College, LL.D from the Redford University, an institution formerly existing in Tennessee, and L.H.D. from the regents of the University of the State of New York.

PROFESSOR CHARLES CHAUNCY SHACKFORD.

PROFESSOR CHARLES CHAUNCY SHACKFORD was born in Portsmouth, N. H., Septem- ber 26, 1815. He was a descendant of those whose religious faith and education were important factors in the early history of New England. President Chauncy of Har- vard College, whose name he bears, was one of his ancestors. It is not strange that scholarship was his birthright, and that he graduated, as so many of his kindred had done, at that venerable university. He was the first scholar in the class of 1835, of which Judge E. R. Hoar, formerly attorney-general, Judge Lander and other eminent men were members. After graduation Mr. Shackford studied theology in Union Theo- logical Seminary, and resided also in Andover, where he continued advanced studies. After entering the Congregational ministry, his views changed and he united with the Unitarian denomination. His longest period of service as a preacher was in Lynn, Mass., where his activity in all questions of reform and education left a lasting im- press on the community. Like so many of the clergymen of his denomination, Mr. Shackford was a scholar whose favorite pursuits were literature and theology. He studied German philosophical literature with enthusiasm, and devoted special atten- · tion to Goethe, a work relating to whom he translated, viz .: The Conversations with Chancellor von Müller. He was also an ardent student of Faust. He translated many works from German literature, among them Auerbach's Villa Eden and Ger- man Tales.

In 1871 Mr. Shackford was elected professor of rhetoric and oratory and of general literature in this university, and from that time his entire energies were devoted to building up and strengthening his department. Few professorships were so exacting as this, and his instruction constantly opened new fields to his students. The instruction in general literature, of necessity, embraced literary periods and

691

CORNELL UNIVERSITY.

authors naturally treated by professors in special departments, but in the field of rhetoric and oratory, in drill, in themes and orations, and in preparation for the commencement stage and literary contests, Professor Shackford spared no labor or effort, not only to train classes, but to give to individual students his personal at- tention. He had a heart full of sympathy with young men in their strivings, and interested himself in everything that concerned their intellectual advancement. His aid in promoting the growth of the literary societies has been a part of their his- tory. In personal association he was a delightful companion, always free of access, and always generous in promoting all university enterprises. In all questions of educational policy, he was progressive, a true disciple of the Boston school of thought to which he naturally belonged. Professor Shackford contributed articles of great ability upon literature to the North American Review, when it was the lead- ing review of the country, also to the Christian Examiner and to Harper's Magazinc. His genial spirit and tact made his university carecr one of most pleasant memory both to his colleagues and the student world. The class of 1884 placed a portrait of Professor Shackford in the library as its memorial gift. Professor Shackford resigned his position in June, 1886, after fifteen years of service. He spent his remaining life in delightful literary occupation, preparing a volume of essays and lectures for publication, which was issued after his death, which occurred in 1891.

[The following brief personal sketches have been prepared by the editor and publishers of this work, from data supplied by the persons to whom they relate, and not by the writer of the university history]:

Atkinson, George F., was born in Monroe county in March, 1854, educated at Olivet College, Michigan, and Cornell University, graduating from the latter in 1885, with the degree of Ph. D. He taught at the University of North Carolina (1885-1888); Uni- versity of South Carolina (1888-1889), Alabama Polytechnic Institute, 1889-1892, and Cornell University in 1892. He came to Cornell in 1892, as assistant professor cryp- togamic botany, and is at present associate professor. He married in 1887 Lizzie Kerr, and they have two children.

Babcock, Charles, born at Ballston Spa, Saratoga county, N. Y., educated at home, at the Irving Institute, Tarrytown, N. Y., and Union College, Schenectady, N. Y., graduating with the degree of A. B. in 1847, and receiving the degree of A.M. three years later. He spent five years in the study, and five years in the practice of archi- tecture in New York city; then taught four years at St. Stephen's College, Annan- dale, N. Y., when he entered the ministry of the Episcopal church. In 1862 he re- moved to Orange county, N. Y., and served there as a missionary for nine years. In 1871 he was called to the professorship of architecture in Cornell University, and has held that position ever since. He married in April, 1853, Elizabeth A., daughter of Richard Upjohn, the architect.

Bailey, Liberty Hyde, was born in South Haven, Mich., March 15, 1858. He was educated in the Michigan Agricultural College and at Harvard, and graduated from the former in 1882, receiving the degree of B.S. in 1882, and M.S. in 1886; taught in

692

LANDMARKS OF TOMPKINS COUNTY.

his alma mater, and also at Cornell University, coming to Ithaca in 1888. Mr. Bailey has been the author of the following books: Annals of Horticulture in North America for 1889; Annals for 1890; Annals for 1891; Annals for 1892; Annals for 1893; The Horticulturist's Rule-Book; The Nursery Book; Cross-Breeding and Hybridizing; American Grape Training; Field Notes on Apple Culture; Talks Afield; a revision of Gray's " Field, Forest, and Garden Botany;" also several monographs of groups of plants, and many private addresses. He is now associate editor of Johnson's Uni- versal Cyclopedia, in charge of agriculture, horticulture, and forestry. He is also secretary-treasurer of the World's Horticultural Society. In 1888 he came to Cornell to accept the professorship of general and experimental horticulture, which position he still holds. In 1883 he married Nettie Smith, of Lansing, Mich., and they have two children: Sara May and Ethel Zoe. The ancestry on the paternal grandmoth- er's side came from the Pilgrim immigration in the Mayflower, on the paternal side from English ancestry, which came to America about 200 years ago. On the moth- er's side from the Harrison family, a branch of the family of which William Henry Harrison and Benjamin Harrison are members.

Barr, John Henry, was born at Terre Haute, Indiana, June 19, 1861. He was pre- pared for college at the Mankato State Normal School of Minnesota and by private instruction, and entered the university of Minnesota, from which he graduated in 1883, with the degree of B.M.E .; M.S. in 1888, and from Cornell University in 1889 with the degree of M.M. E. He taught at the University of Minnesota as instructor, assistant professor and professor of mechanical engineering '85-91; Sibley College, Cornell University, assistant professor 1891 to date. His literary work has been as follows: Editorial writer Northwestern Mechanic '90-91; occasional contributions Cassier's Magazine; Sibley Journal of Engineering, and others. He came to Cornell as a graduate student in '88-89, as assistant professor of mechanical engineering '91, which position he still fills, in charge of machine design. He married June 4, 1884, Katherine Louise Kennedy, and they have one son, John H. Barr, jr. The family is of Scotch-Irsh descent on the paternal side, and English on the maternal side. He wrote articles on machine tools for report of United States commissioner general to the Paris Exposition of 1889. He has written " Notes on Kinematics" '91; and a Course in Kinematics '93; small works printed privately for use of his own classes. Professor Barr is a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. He spent two and one-half years in engineering work in the Lake Superior copper dis- trict, and has done some expert work in engineering since he began teaching.

Bennett, Charles Edwin, was born in Providence, R. I., April 6, 1858, educated in Providence public schools, graduating from Brown University in 1878, with the de- gree of A. B. He taught at the University of Nebraska 1884-89; University of Wis- consin 1889-1891; Brown University 1891-1892. His literary work has been as fol- lows: Sounds and Inflections of the Cyprian Dialect, 1888; Xenophon, Hellenica, Books V-VII., 1892; Tacitus, Dialogus de Oratoribus, 1894. He came to Cornell in 1882, as professor of Latin language and literature, which position he still holds. He married June 28, 1886, Margaret Gale Hitchcock, and their children are: Margaret, Lawrence Gale, Harold Selden and Helen. His father's name was John Lawrence, and his mother Lucia Dyer.

Bristol, George Prentice, was born in Clinton, N. Y., June 21, 1856, educated at Hamilton College, Johns Hopkins Universities, Universities of Leipzig and Heidelberg,

693

CORNELL UNIVERSITY.

graduating from Hamilton College in 1876 with the degree of A.B. He taught at Delaware Literary Institute, Franklin, N. Y., 1877-1879, Hamilton College 1882-1888, Cornell University 1888. His literary work has been as follows: Published an edi- tion of the Speeches of Lysias in 1892. He went to Cornell in 1888, as assistant professor of Greek, and is at present associate professor of Greek. He married Lucia E. Raymond July 16, 1880. His father was teacher of classics, grandfather first valedictorian of Hamilton College, great-grandfather one of the founders of Hamilton College, The family is of the Pedagogue race.

Burr, George Lincoln, is of Puritan ancestry, the son of a physician, and was born the 30th of January, 1857, at Oramel, a village in Western New York. At the out- break of the Civil War his father entered the army, and his mother returned to her earlier home at Newark Valley, N. Y., where Burr spent his boyhood. When four- teen years of age he entered Cortland Academy at Homer, N. Y., to prepare for col- lege. Upon his graduation thence in 1873, the latest alumnus of the old institution, he taught for a few months, and then, as a more promising means of working his way through college, apprenticed himself to the printer's trade at Cortland, where before the end of his three years he rose to the foremanship of the office. In 1877 he entered Cornell with his sister, for a time supporting both by his work in the univer- sity printing offiee, then domiciled in Sibley College. But soon after the return of President White from Europe in 1878 he was called to the charge of the president's historical library, at the head of which he has ever since been. During the remain- der of his college course he was also an assistant in the University Library. As an undergraduate Mr. Burr devoted himself especially to philology and to history, and upon receiving the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1881 he became private secretary to the president of the university, with the half-honorary title of Instructor and Exam1_ ner in Modern History. In 1884 he went abroad and spent two years in study and research in various universities and libraries in Europe, mainly at Leipzig, Paris and Zurich. Returning to Ithaca in 1886 he resumed his relations with Mr. White, who had meantime resigned the presidency of the university, becoming his assistant in historical research, and in 1887 again going abroad for a year's investigation in for- eign libraries. In the fall of 1888 he entered upon the duties, no longer to be de- ferred, of a teacher of history in the university; the following year his instructorship was made an assistant professorship, at the end of the next he became an associate professor, and a year later, in 1892, he was elected to a full professorship of Ancient and Mediaval History. His duties as a librarian and teacher have left him as yet little time for literary work. Apart from a few papers and magazine articles, mainly in the history of religious persecution, he has published only an annotated catalogue, still in progress, of the historical library under his charge. But a life of Charles the Great from his pen is announced for early issue, and he is understood to be also at work upon a history of witch perseeution in Christendom.

Caldwell, George Chapman, was born at Framingham, Mass., in 1834. He was educated in the district schools of New England, and at the academy at Lunenburg, Mass., graduating from Harvard University and the University of Göttingen, receiv- ing the degree of B.S. from Harvard (Lawrence Scientific School) in 1855 and of Ph. D. at Göttingen, Germany, in 1857. Professor Caldwell is the author of the fol- lowing works: "Agricultural Chemical Analysis," " Introductory Chemical Prac-

694

LANDMARKS OF TOMPKINS COUNTY.

tice." "Manual of Qualitative Analysis," "Notes on Chemical Analysis," " Manual of Elementary Chemical Analysis," and numerous contributions to agricultural and other perodicals and newspapers. He came to Cornell in 1868 as professor of agri- cultural chemistry, is now filling the position of professor of general and agricultural chemistry, and is head of the department of chemistry at Cornell University. In 1861 he married Rebecca S. Wilmarth, and they have two children; Francis Cary, and Grace Wilmarth, both born in Ithaca. His father, who graduated from Harvard in 1828, was a teacher and a Unitarian minister, and the ancestry is traced back to John Caldwell of Ipswich, Mass., born in 1624, who came from the North of England.

Carpenter, Rolla Clinton, was born in Orion, Oakland county, Mich., where he re- ceived his first schooling. He also attended school at Pontiac, Mich., and then entered the Michigan Agricultural College, from which he graduated in 1873 with the degree of B.S., and later from the Michigan University, in 1875, with the degree of C. E. He took the degree of M.S. from the Michigan Agricultural College in 1876, and that of M.M. E. from Cornell in 1888. He was for one year a civil engineer en- gaged in the construction of a railroad. He was professor of mathematics and civil engineering in the Michigan Agricultural College from 1876 to 1889. His literary work has been various articles in engineering periodicals, and two books, Experi- mental Engineering; notes on Mechanical Laboratory Practice. He came to Cor- nell in 1890-91 as associate professor of experimental engineering, which position he now holds. In 1876 Professor Carpenter married Marion Dewey, and they have three children: Naomi, George and Charles. His ancestors were New York peo- ple, of English stock.

Church, Irving Porter, was born in Ansonia, Conn., July 22, 1851, was educated in the public schools at Newburgh, N. Y., Riverview Military Academy, at Poughkeep- sie, and at Cornell University, graduating from the latter with the degree of B.C.E. in 1875. He took the degree of C.E. in 1878. He has taught at different institu- tions, among them being Ury House School, Fox Chase, Philadelphia, and Cornell University. Professor Church has contributed to various engineering periodicals, and is the author of the following works: Statics and Dynamics (1886); Mechanics of Materials (1887); Hydraulics (1889); all of which were issued later, in one volume, as Mechanics of Engineering ; also Notes and Examples in Mechanics (1892). Our sub- ject came to Cornell in September, 1876, as assistant professor of civil engineering, and now fills the chair of applied mechanics in the College of Civil Engineering. In 1881 he married Elizabeth P. Holley, of Niagara Falls, and they have two chil- dren: Edith Holley and Elsie Sterling. Among his ancestors were Gov. John Win- throp, of Massachusetts; born in 1587, died in 1649; Col. Elisha Sterling, who par- ticipated in the war of 1812, born in Connecticut in 1768; and Chief Justice Samuel Church, of the Supreme Court of Connecticut; born in 1785, died in 1854.

Cleaves, Edwin Chase, was born April 1, 1847, at Hopkinton, Mass .; was edu- cated in the public schools of Fitchburg, Mass., and the Worcester Polytechnic In- stitute, graduating from the latter institution in 1873, with the degree of B.S. He then accepted a position as draughtsman at Washburn & Moen's wireworks, Worces- ter, Mass., until his call to Cornell in September, 1873. He is the author of a series of drawing books in the Krüses course of industrial drawing. His first position in the university was as assistant professor of freehand drawing, and mechanical draw-

695

CORNELL UNIVERSITY.

ing, of which he is now associate professor. . December 30, 1873, he married Mary E. Prew, of Fitchburg, Mass. ; and March 19, 1889, Mrs. Abby L. Moses, of Holden, Mass. The father of our subjeet was Franeis E. Cleaves, born at Wenham, Mass., in September, 1816, died in November, 1883. He was a Baptist clergyman. The mother was Sarah A. Fogg, born in 1822 at Meredith, N. H., and died in 1854.

Collin, Charles A., was born in Benton, Yates county, and graduated from Yale College with the degree of A. B. in 1866, and of A.M. in 1869. He taught at Nor- wieh, Conn., at the Free Academy, from 1866 to 1870, in the spring of the latter year being admitted to the bar in Conneetieut, and in New York in the fall of the same year. From 1870 to 1887 he praetieed law in Elmira, coming to Cornell in the fall of 1887 as professor of law, now filling the position of commissioner of statutory re- vision. May 23, 1871, he married Emily Lathrop Ripley, of Norwich, Conn., and they have two children: Dwight R. and Grace L. The aneestry of the family is French Huguenot, Seoteh Presbyterian, and New England Puritan.

Comstock, John Henry, was born in Janesville, Wis., February 24, 1849, educated in Mexico Academy, Mexico, N. Y., Fally Seminary, Fulton, N. Y., and Cornell Uni- versity, graduating from the latter in 1874 with the degree of B.S. He taught at Cornell University (1872-1879-1881 to date) and was United States entomologist in 1879-1881. His literary work was as follows: Reports as entomologist for the United States department of agriculture, 1879, 1880 and 1881; report on Cotton Insects, 1879; Introduction to Entomology, 1888; artiele Hymenoptera in the Standard Nat- ural History ; artiele Entomology in Johnson's Cyelopedia; Evolution and Taxono- my, etc., Wilder Quarter-Century Book; First Lessons in the Study of Insects, now (February, 1894,) in press; many entomologieal artieles in various journals, and in the bulletins of Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station. He came to Cornell in 1869 as a student, and at present holds the position of professor of ento- mology and general invertebrate zoology. He married October 7, 1868, Anna Bots- ford, of Otto, N. Y. The parents of Mr. Comstoek were Ebenezer and Susan M. Comstoek. His mother's maiden name was Allen. Both father and mother were of Stephentown, N. Y.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

Landmarks of Tompkins County, New York : including a history of Cornell University, Part 71

Author: Hewett, Waterman Thomas, 1846-1921; Selkreg, John H Publication date: 1894 Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : D. Mason Number of Pages: 1194

Author: Hewett, Waterman Thomas, 1846-1921; Selkreg, John H
Publication date: 1894
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : D. Mason
Number of Pages: 1194